Eagles Week 3 Notes & Observations: It’s a Start….

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first game of the season on Sunday afternoon, beating the 2-0 New York Jets 24-17 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

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It was certainly nice to see the Eagles get in the win column, and while we saw a lot of improvement (defense, special teams), there are still a number of concerns that I don’t think Eagles fans can overlook.

So, for now, it’s a start…

Note: These stats and observations are compiled from various sources on the web. Mainly twitter accounts of Eagles beat reporters like Reuben Frank, CSN Philly, and ESPN.

Notes & Observations

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• Sproles 89 yd punt return — second-longest punt return TD in Eagles history. Damaris Johnson had a 98-yarder vs. Cowboys in 2012.  He broke five tackles on his 89-yard trip to the end zone.

• Most punt return TDs in Eagles history: DeSean 4, Sproles 3, Van Buren, Westbrook, B-Mitch 2.

• Including three with Saints, Sproles now has six all-time punt return TDs. That is tied for 8th-most in NFL history.

• Since 1970, Eagles have more punt return touchdowns in East Rutherford [five] than in Philadelphia [four].

• The 21 points in the 2nd quarter was the Eagles’ biggest quarter since Dec. 22, 2013, when they had 21 in first and fourth quarter vs. Bears.

• Jordan Hicks is first Eagles LB with a forced fumble, fumble recovery, sack and interception as a rookie since Ray Farmer – now Browns GM – in 1996.

• Eagles netted just 52 yards of offense in the second half. Bailed out by big-play defense.

• This is first time Eagles have netted fewer than 235 yards of offense in consecutive games since Mike McMahon was quarterback [Dec. 2005].

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• Sam Bradford threw 28 times for 118 yards. That’s just 4.2 yards per attempt. He still hasn’t thrown a pass longer than 32 yards this year.

• Ryan Mathews was able to consistently pick up positive yards Sunday, and he was playing behind the same offensive line as DeMarco Murray when he ran 21 times for 11 yards the first two games.

• Mathews ran 24 times for 108 yards Sunday against the NFL’s No. 1 defense, and although he had his second bad drop of the year and a bad fumble, he also caught a 23-yard touchdown, Bradford’s best look of the day.

• Mathews only had four carries the first two games of the year while the Eagles tried to get Murray going — he only played six snaps against the Cowboys.

• The combination of Nelson Agholor, Miles Austin, Riley Cooper and Josh Huff is just doing nothing. Huff didn’t play Sunday, but none of the others caught a pass. Through three games, Jordan Matthews has 16 catches for 231 yards. All other Eagle receivers are a combined 13 rec for 122 yds.

• The Eagles won this one with defense (three second-half takeaways) and special teams (punt return TD).

• They had just 232 total yards of offense and only 53 in a scoreless second half.

From CSN Philly

Key plays

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Rookie inside linebacker Jordan Hicks stood out in his first start, recovering a Brandon Marshall fumble and intercepting a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass in the fourth quarter when the Jets were gaining momentum.

The key play early that gave the Eagles some separation was Darren Sproles’ jaw-dropping, video game-like 89-yard punt return touchdown in the Eagles’ 21-point second quarter. Sproles bounced off multiple Jets defenders and shimmied his way up and across the field to give them a two-score lead that didn’t go back to single-digits until 2:32 remained. Most long returns involve numerous key blocks, but this one was mostly Sproles.

The Eagles had been waiting for a special teams or defensive score to give the offense a much-needed boost. They scored 11 TDs on returns last season but had none in the first two weeks.

"Tell you the truth, I don’t even know what I did" @DarrenSproles credits team for record TD: http://t.co/JD2e1FUXVm pic.twitter.com/p7YfZbGDnM

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 28, 2015

QB report

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Sam Bradford did not have an impressive game, so if you’re counting at home that’s two decent quarters out of 12 this season.

Bradford was a check-down machine again, barely looking deep and completing just two passes of 20-plus yards. This is a real issue. Bradford appears averse to contact and is throwing the ball in the flat almost instantly. Routes just are not developing deep down the field. You want a QB to take what’s given to him, but if Bradford and Chip Kelly don’t open this offense up, the three-and-outs and quick drives will continue to pile up.

Bradford was 14 of 28 passing for 118 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions. He averaged 4.2 yards per attempt.

His TD was a 23-yard wheel route to running back Ryan Mathews.

Run game improves

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With DeMarco Murray sidelined by a hamstring injury, Mathews got the start and rushed 23 times for 106 yards. Mathews rumbled for 27 yards on one first-quarter run to equal the Eagles’ season-long rush.

Mathews’ stone hands are becoming a problem, though. He dropped two more passes on the day to give him three on the season, and one of the drops against the Jets was a 10-yard route that Mathews could have possibly taken the distance because there was nobody in front of him.

And Mathews had a bad fumble in the fourth quarter, having the ball punched out of his arms and up into the air, where a Jets defender caught it. The Jets started that drive in Eagles territory but it ended when Hicks came up with the timely pick.

Sproles also received double-digit carries and scored a goal-line TD.

Credit the offensive line for opening up many more holes than they did the first two weeks.

Assessing the secondary

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In his first action of the season, rookie cornerback Eric Rowe had a breakup on Jets WR Devin Smith and later intercepted a ball intended for him in the end zone.

Walter Thurmond made several nice plays down the field, and was impressively able to keep both feet in bounds on a fourth-quarter INT deep in Eagles territory. Thurmond possessed the ball, planted one foot and dragged the other.

Malcolm Jenkins continues to make plays and sure tackles. He’s had a strong season save for two dropped INTs.

Byron Maxwell didn’t have a true rebound game, but he wasn’t victimized as badly as he had been in the first two weeks. Marshall had 10 catches and a TD, but most of his routes were underneath (110 receiving yards, 11 per catch).

Injuries

Murray missed the game, as did Kiko Alonso (knee), Mychal Kendricks (hamstring) and Taylor Hart (shoulder).

Left tackle Jason Peters left the game in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.

Starting right guard Andrew Gardner left the game with a right foot injury and did not return. Matt Tobin took his place.

Safety Chris Maragos also exited with a left knee contusion and did not return. That led to some playing time for Rowe and E.J. Biggers, who allowed an end-zone grab by Jeremy Kerley in the fourth quarter.

What’s next

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The 1-2 Eagles are back on the road for the third time in four weeks to face the Redskins next Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Eagles avoided an 0-3 start, which would have put them in terrible position with so much season left to play. Since 1990, only three teams that started 0-3 were able to make the playoffs. The win may have had more to say about the Jets’ chances for a good season, but it did represent progress. With a game at Washington next week, the Eagles can get to .500 and gain some ground in the NFC East race.