Tale of the tape: How the Eagles beat the Chargers
3 October 2017 Eagles News
The Philadelphia Eagles improved their record to 3-1, defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 26-24. It was a hard-fought game and in the end, the Eagles got the all-important road victory and will now come back home to face the Arizona Cardinals.
Every game in the NFL has a story to tell and it just so happens with this one, the statistics alone tell you a novel worth of information. Here is the tale of the tape in the game, it is time to dive in deep into the final statistics from this game.
The ultimate team statistic is the time of possession, it means not only is your defense staying on the field, but it also means your defense is getting off of it quickly too. Against the Chargers, the Eagles dominated the time of possession 39:18 to 20:42. This season, the Eagles have led the league in time of possession and once again, they imposed their will on the opposing team by controlling the clock.
Another very telling statistic is that the Eagles converted on nine of 16 third-down plays. Last season, the Eagles struggled to convert third downs and this season, they have been much better. Through four weeks, the Eagles have converted on 51% of third downs, a much-improved area by the team.
The Eagles also did a very good job of protecting the ball. They did not commit one turnover and were really effective on offense. In all honesty, the game was always in the Eagles control.
However, the biggest telling tale of the game this past Sunday was the Eagles rush attack.This is why the Eagles were never in danger, their rush attack was just too much for the Chargers. The Eagles picked up 214 yards on 42 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per attempt. Under Doug Pederson, the Eagles are 8-1 when running the ball more than 30 times. The Eagles knew they could be effective on the ground and really took it to the Chargers.
It was an impressive game by the Eagles in all aspects. If the Eagles follow the same formula they used versus the Chargers every week, they will be very successful this season.