Zone Read: Eagles-Texans, the Day After
CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN…
1. Why the Eagles left J.J. Watt unblocked on third down in the second quarter?
It looked like the Eagles called a bootleg that was designed to leave the Texans’ left defensive end unblocked. The problem? That left defensive end was J.J. Watt. He was not fooled at all and sacked Sanchez, forcing the Eagles to settle for a Cody Parkey field goal.
Overall, Watt had seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and five QB hits. He is a truly disruptive force and was very active, but the Eagles still piled up 483 yards and had 30 first downs.
2. Why Kelly went for it on 4th-and-1 from the Houston 4 with 4:07 left?
At the time, a field goal would have made it a six-point game and forced the Texans to get in the end zone to earn a victory.
“I thought we did a great job of not only taking a lot of time off the clock but coming away with a touchdown to make it a two-score game,” Kelly said. “I really didn’t want to settle for a field goal in that situation because then it would have just been six points. Obviously if you can get it extended to 10, it was big. But I thought that whole drive just told you a little bit about how we’re coming together a little bit offensively. I think it bodes well for the future.”
On these key coaching decisions, McManus and I go on record in the press box before the results about whether we agree or disagree. I was on board with Kelly’s decision. The Eagles were running the ball well, while the defense had given up some big plays and was working without DeMeco Ryans. That’s a time to put the game away.
It was also interesting that the Eagles lined up under center with Polk as opposed to shotgun with McCoy like the previous week against the Cardinals. And it didn’t hurt that the offense had Kelce at center instead of David Molk.
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THE NUMBER THAT MATTERS: 3
That’s the number of red-zone trips the Eagles had. And they converted all three into touchdowns. Sanchez threw a beautiful pass to Jordan Matthews for an 11-yard score in the second. Polk powered one up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown in the third. And Jeremy Maclin made a fantastic grab for an 8-yard score in the fourth.
The Eagles entered the game dead last in red zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns just 34.78 percent of the time. But they got the job done in the red zone against Houston.
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THE BEST OF 140
Eagles have highest point differential and the worst turnover differential in the NFC.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 2, 2014
It has been a strange, strange season.
When does Jeff Lurie come down to the sideline to tell Chip Kelly which QB to play? — Noah Becker (@Noah_Becker) November 2, 2014
The best part about this Tweet is it’s unclear which (both?) NFC East team he’s mocking.
@JohnMiddlekauff @SheilKapadia @JayGlazer Maclin should ask for $10M per yr to re-sign w/Philly given interest in V-Jax & DeSean’s old deal.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) November 2, 2014
Maclin knows what the Eagles were willing to pay DeSean Jackson in 2013, and he likely heard that the team tried to acquire Vincent Jackson (due $9.77M next season). Maclin is going to be looking to get paid this offseason.
Speaking of Maclin…
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