It’s not very accurate to measure the Eagles’ defense in terms of yards per game or points per game, considering how much that unit has been forced to play.
Thanks mainly to the inconsistencies of the Eagles’ offense — which is second-to-last in the NFL converting third downs — the Eagles’ defense has played more than 37 minutes per game so far.
Just a month into the season they’ve already played 28½ minutes more than the average NFL defense.
Or about one full game.
They’re on pace to play the equivalent of nearly four more entire games this year than the average NFL defense.
They've also faced 294 plays, most in the NFL and 11th-most in the NFL over the last 20 years.
They are simply asked to do far more than the average NFL defense. So the normal ways of measuring team defenses don’t apply.
NFL
Four weeks into the 2015 season, the Eagles’ defense ranks 14th in points allowed with 79 — less than 20 per game — and 21st in yards allowed per game at 374.
The disparity between yards and points per game is due to the Eagles’ overall good work in the red zone. Despite the Redskins’ game-winning touchdown Sunday from four yards out, the Eagles are seventh-best in the NFL in red-zone defense, allowing touchdowns on 45.5 percent of opposing drives inside their 20-yard line.
But what stat would most fairly measure a defense that plays 37 minutes a game?
It’s points per possession. Since the Eagles face more plays and more drives than any other team, points allowed per possession is the most accurate measuring stick of exactly where this defense is and how it compares to other defenses.
And what happens when you divide points allowed by drives faced?
The Eagles are actually sixth-best in the NFL in points allowed per drive at 1.61.
But playing opposite an offense that ranks 31st in the NFL in third-down conversion, 29th in yards per play and 29th in yards per game, the Eagles' defense is in the position of having to defend the field more than 14 minutes more than the opposing team’s defense.
The only teams allowing fewer points per drive than the Eagles through four games are the Jets (1.02), Broncos (1.24), Seahawks (1.37), Panthers (1.42) and Cards (1.55).
All defensive units considered among the best defenses in the NFL.
The Eagles’ time-of-possession average of 22:52 is the worst by any NFL team after four games since the expansion Cleveland Browns were at 20:17 four games into their inaugural season of 1999.
That means this Eagles defense has been asked to play more through the first month of the season since any defense in 16 years.
What about the argument that the Eagles' defense has more opportunities to make big plays since it's on the field more than other defenses? The reality is the Eagles are fourth in the NFL in takeaways.
Chip Kelly always maintains time of possession doesn’t mean anything.
And Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis has steadfastly refused to use time of possession as an excuse. Even though the Eagles' defense had already played more than 41 minutes Sunday when it allowed the game-winning touchdown against the Redskins.
But at least one member of the Eagles’ offense said this week it’s simply unfair to ask the defense to play as much as it has so far.
“We can’t put our defense on the field for that many plays and expect them not to be tired at the end of the game,” tight end Zach Ertz said after practice Tuesday.
“That’s just how I feel. As an offense, I feel like the defense is doing an unbelievable job keeping us in the game to give us an opportunity to win the game for us. But we’ve got to do a better job.”
The numbers back him up.