On Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., the Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Washington Professional Football Team in their first NFC East divisional contest. The Eagles, unlike their last two games, will be looking to start off strong as the first half of games have not been good to them.
As a matter of fact, in the first half of games this season, the Eagles have been outscored 34-6. But in the second half, it is a whole different story. The Eagles are a different team on both sides of the ball. In the second half of games this season, they outscored their opponents 58-10. Lets just say this formula will not work all season; it will eventually catch up to them.
One of players that has started out slow in the first half of games this season is quarterback Nick Foles. Foles and the entire Eagles offense has not looked good in the first half at all. The epitome of that was the regular season and home opener versus the Jacksonville Jaguars. In that game, Foles did not had happy feet and was scared to pull the trigger on a couple of passes.
In eight drives against the Jaguars in the first half, Foles was 15 of 28 for 158 yards, but had two fumbles and an interception. That was one of the reasons why the Eagles were down in the game and could not get consistency. There were many drives that stalled, and when the Eagles got into the red zone, Nick Foles turned the ball over.
When you look more in depth on why Foles has struggled in the first half of games this season, it is because of turnovers. Last season, Foles did not have a problem with turnovers, but this is a whole new season. With about 11 minutes left in the first quarter against the Jaguars on third down, Foles did not pull the trigger on the throw and hesitates. By time he did all of that, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Chris Clemons blew by Eagles left tackle Jason Peters and sacked Foles, causing him to fumble. That was the end of the Eagles first drive.
Then on the Eagles second drive of the game, Foles would fumble the ball again. This time, on a 2nd and 20 with 7:15 left in the first quarter, Foles had time in the pocket, scrambled around trying to extend the ball instead of throwing the ball away. That extra time he took gave Jaguars defensive end Alan Branch the time he needed to maneuver past Peters.
Finally, the last turnover Foles had in the game came with 10:18 left in the second quarter as the Eagles were in the red zone threatening to score a touchdown. Foles under-threw tight end Brent Celek and with Jaguars cornerback Alan Ball playing perfect defense, he was able to get the interception. That would be the end of Foles’ turnovers as he came back with a vengeance and the Eagles would go onto win 34-17.
Now, on Monday night football against the Indianapolis Colts, Foles played much better in the first half as he was 13 of 21 for 187 yards and an interception. Through the first two drives of the game, he put the Eagles in perfect position to score points but kicker Cody Parkey would make the first field goal and then miss the next.
Foles’ only turnover would come with 40 seconds left in the first half on the Colts 47 yard line. Foles was in the shotgun formation and had good protection from his offensive line, stepped up in the pocket and delivered a deep ball to wide receiver Jeremy Maclin as he had one on one coverage against cornerback Greg Toler. Well, just as you expect, Toler somehow intercepted the ball and that’s how the Eagles went into the half down 17-6.
Again, we all know what happened. Darren Sproles ignited the Eagles’ offense and they won 30-27 on a game winning field goal kick from Parkey.
To sum all this up, the Eagles and Nick Foles need to start out fast on Sunday. If they don’t, we will most likely see a repeat performance of the first two games of the regular season. To tell you the truth, I am not sure the third time is a charm for the Eagles to make another come back.
[Photo: Philly.com]
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