The Eagles came into the 2015 season with high hopes and similar expectations.
And many of those expectations hinged on the play of Sam Bradford. After a long time off the field because of injury, Bradford’s play has been very inconsistent through seven games.
At the bye week, Bradford has thrown for 1,766 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He's already just five interceptions away from a career high. His passer rating is 76.4, which is good for 29th in the NFL.
But despite Bradford’s struggles, Kelly hasn’t thought about making a switch at quarterback.
“No, not at all,” Kelly said on Monday.
Why not?
“Because I think our quarterback is playing well,” Kelly answered.
Bradford hasn’t been great but recently, his team hasn’t helped him much. The Eagles dropped eight passes on Sunday night in Carolina. Self-inflicted wounds, including dropped passes and bad penalties, have been a big problem.
The Eagles have 51 penalties this season; nine teams have more. But the Eagles’ penalties, especially against Carolina, came at bad times and in bad ways.
The Eagles' defense hasn't been the problem.
The Birds have given up 360.4 yards per season (16th in the league) but have 19 takeaways to lead the NFL. Their turnover differential, however, is plus-four because the offense has turned the ball over 15 times, the second-highest number in the league.
Because of offensive struggles, the Eagles are the first team since the 2006 Cardinals to have 19 takeaways through seven games with a losing record. (Those 2006 Cardinals had a turnover differential of plus-four too and were 1-6.)
But even with all the struggles, Kelly, during his press conference on Monday, said he doesn’t anticipate any big changes after the bye week, when the team travels to Dallas to face the Cowboys. The Eagles won’t be back at practice until next Tuesday.
“I told our guys after the game I think we are a good football team,” Kelly said. “We just need to clean things up.”