Flip the script? Eagles desperately need to start faster originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles’ slow starts pre-date Kellen Moore’s arrival to Philadelphia but it’s a major problem in 2024.
On Sunday in Tampa, the Eagles’ offense started the game with three straight three-and-outs and didn’t pick up a first down until the 6:32 mark of the second quarter.
Through four games, the Eagles are the only team in the NFL that hasn’t scored a single point in the first quarter.
“Yeah, we haven’t started games the way we’ve wanted to,” Moore said. “This week being a bye week, we are just doing such a deep dive on so many things. This is a really fun for us to task to navigate and find a way to get going sooner, get going quicker because there are moments coming out of second halves we’ve had successful drives. But we’ve got to start faster, so that’s a big focus for us just to continue to evaluate that and find our way.”
The Eagles against the Buccaneers were without A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Lane Johnson and their defense was a mess. They had no shot to come back in that game once they got down big.
And it was a disaster in complementary football. The Eagles’ defense couldn’t get off the field and the Eagles’ offense couldn’t pick up a first down to keep their defense off the field. Things began to snowball. While Vic Fangio’s defense obviously needs to be better, the offense has to get off to faster starts.
Here’s a look at the Eagles’ first quarter numbers through four games:
Points: 0 (32nd)
Plays: 42 (32nd)
EPA/play: -0.55 (32nd)
Yards per game: 44.3 (29th)
Passing yards per game: 30.3 (27th)
Rushing yards per game: 14.0 (30th)
The Eagles are passing the ball on 57.1% of their plays in the first quarter and those passing plays aren’t working. They have an EPA/play of -0.52 on pass plays (31st in NFL) in the first quarter. But the runs aren’t working either; they have an EPA of -0.60 on run plays in the first quarter, which ranks dead last in the NFL.
With these kinds of struggles early in games, it’s fair to wonder why the scripted plays aren’t really working for the Eagles. This is a part of the game plan that is built in for a few different reasons.
Moore on Tuesday was asked for his philosophy about the opening script.
“Every week can take different paths,” he said. “In general, usually it’s about identifying the defense and getting touches to your players. Those are really your main focuses there. We’ve got to do a better job. I’ve got to do a better job of finding that for us and allowing us to be more successful there.”
Have defenses been presenting differently than what the Eagles expect every week?
“Not necessarily,” Moore said. “I think certainly there will be a flavor every game. I think defense did a tremendous job, certainly have seen it the last few years of giving you a little different presentation each and every week.
“We know certainly with the way we play, our style, we’re going to get some different looks than we anticipated. So, I think our guys do an excellent job. There are some really good examples of just playing adjustment football within the games. We’ve just got to start faster. Simple as that.”
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