Is Chip Kelly's Eagles' Week 3 Turnaround a Sign of Things to Come?

The Philadelphia Eagles took a big step forward Sunday with a convincing 24-17 victory over a streaking New York Jets squad.

Fresh off back-to-back losses against the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, respectively, the Eagles defense and running game made major strides and carried them to a win, despite underwhelming play from quarterback Sam Bradford.

Getting off the schneid was huge for the Eagles, and Bradford made that crystal clear in his postgame comments, where he told reporters that he felt "like the first couple of weeks, there was a lot of pressure on us. I feel like we were all pressing a little bit. It's just nice to get that first one. Now that pressure's gone."

In speaking about their first win, embattled head coach Chip Kelly told the Associated Press that he:

"

...thought it was gritty. We knew going in this was going to be one of those kinds of games. To use a boxing analogy, two guys were going to stand in the middle of the ring and start throwing at each other.

"

Bradford totaled 118 yards and a touchdown through the air on 14-of-28 passing and did not turn the ball over—something he had yet to accomplish this season.

That said, Bradford's ability to protect the ball was overshadowed by ineptitude on third down. After converting on a long third down in the offense's first drive and again in the team's second drive, Bradford posted incompletions on three consecutive third-down attempts before finally completing a nine-yard pass to Darren Sproles on a 3rd-and-20 attempt during the opening drive of the second half.

All told, Bradford logged just three completions on 10 third-down passing attempts, and the team converted on just four of their 15 third-down tries.

Fortunately for Bradford and head coach Chip Kelly, the rest of the Eagles roster picked up the slack.

Consider what the duo of running backs Ryan Mathews and Sproles were able to accomplish against a Jets defense that had allowed just 197 yards on the ground over the season's first two games.

Player	Carries	Yards	Average	Touchdowns	Fumbles
Ryan Matthews	28	108	4.3	0	1
Darren Sproles	11	17	1.5	1	0
Total	39	125	3.2	1	1

With a combined 125 yards on the ground, Mathews and Sproles accounted for over half of the Eagles' 231 yards on offense. Mathews also logged the team's only receiving touchdown on the day, catching a 23-yard pass from Bradford in the second quarter.

That duo also set the team up for their first, first-quarter score of the season—a 30-yard, Cody Parkey field goal—logging 40 yards on five carries.

"

#Eagles take 3-0 lead over #Jets. First points the #Eagles have scored in the first quarter this season. #PHIvsNYJ

— B/R Insights (@BR_Insights) September 27, 2015"

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles defense dominated the Jets offense through most of the game, limiting them to just 137 yards of offense and seven points through the first half of action.

All told, the Jets were able to rack up 323 yards of total offense—276 of which came through the air—but the Eagles defense put pressure on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick when it mattered and racked up the turnovers, forcing three interceptions (two in the fourth quarter) and a fumble over the course of the game.

Those 321 yards were the fewest the Eagles have allowed in any game to this point, and the four forced turnovers were the most of any game—they forced four turnovers in the first two games combined.

The defense managed only one sack on the day, but the unit played a disciplined game—the entire team committed just five penalties for 21 yards—and put consistent pressure on Fitzpatrick throughout the contest.

Perhaps the most important facet in this win was the play of the Eagles special teams unit.

Sproles made history with his sixth career punt-return touchdown, while the special teams unit managed 99 total yards on four returns (three punt and one kick). 

On top of that, the unit allowed just 69 return yards on seven punts.

But what does this all mean moving forward? Well, it's a start.

The Eagles defense was abysmal through the season's first two contests, and their poor run defense was a huge part of that—they allowed 100-plus yards to each of their first two opponents. Meanwhile, their own rushing attack turned things around in a big way, logging their first game of 100 rushing yards.

The main question marks now remain in the team's quarterback play, which was less than stellar in this Week 3 win, and its pass defense, which has allowed at least 250 yards in each of its first three games.

Adam Hunger/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press/Associated Press

In the next two weeks, the Eagles will learn a lot about their defense, as they're facing two teams—the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints—who are averaging 228 and 329 yards per game, respectively, through the air.

Fortunately, those numbers are a bit skewed as the Redskins benefited from a 300-plus yard performance against a lousy Giants secondary by Kirk Cousins, and the Saints are now operating with Luke McCown under center.

On offense, Bradford and Co. need to continue to protect the ball—their lone turnover this week (a Mathews fumble) was their lowest single game total thus far. In addition, the improved offensive line play—one sack allowed and 123 yards rushing—should pay major dividends when DeMarco Murray returns.