It’s bad enough the Eagles can’t do something as simple as catch the football these days, to the point where it’s cost them in the standings. For fans, it’s infuriating to watch this team shoot itself in the foot one way or another week after week, even when they win, never quite remedying the full comedy of errors.
But even if you’re not a fan – whether rooting for the opponent or have no stake in their games at all whatsoever – the Eagles are committing a far greater sin than being a mediocre football team. This squad is straight up difficult to watch right now.
The Eagles are boring.
The Eagles are boring, and that’s not even a subjective statement. There are ways to measure exactly how boring they are and why.
Take punts for example. Now, maybe you were a punter in high school or just love special teams plays. The rest of the human population thinks a game where two teams punt the ball back and forth to one another is slow and painful to watch.
Sadly, the numbers suggest that’s been the Eagles’ season in a nutshell to date.
The Eagles’ 37 punts are tied for the third-most in the NFL. The 41 punts the defense has forced are tied for second. The 78 total punts by both teams in Eagles games are tied for third with the Indianapolis Colts, behind only the Houston Texans and Seattle Seahawks.
NFL
Obviously, it’s a good thing the Eagles defense forces punts. It’s decidedly less awesome that their offense gives the ball right back, especially when it’s made for so many thrilling punter duels this season. Blech.
As if that weren’t enthralling enough, Eagles games feel like they’re taking an eternity this season. Unsurprisingly, there’s probably something to that as well.
Chip Kelly’s uptempo offense can work to prolong games when things aren’t clicking, which – let's be honest – has often been the case. The Eagles are trying to maximize the number of plays they run in a game, resulting in an increase in stoppages when the quarterback is throwing too many incomplete passes.
Let’s not blame Sam Bradford for everything, though, including the length of games – he already has enough on his plate. There have also been an exorbitant number of penalties this season, which of course stop the clock and cause delays.
The Eagles have committed 51 penalties, which is tied for ninth in the NFL, while their opponents are on the hook for 65, the second-highest total in the league. Subtracting offsetting penalties (as tabulated by nflpenalties.com), there have been 113 stoppages caused by flags – only the Colts, Texans and Buffalo Bills have been exposed to more.
It probably shouldn't come as any surprise that all of the other teams mentioned herein thus far have losing records, including the Eagles. They’re just a bunch of inconsistent teams playing ugly football.
Even when the Eagles win, it’s often not been a whole lot of fun because of the manner in which they’re grinding them out. Watching this team has felt like a chore at times, not something done for entertainment.
If it were one week here or there that was like this, that would be one thing. Almost every Eagles game this season has been a punt-filled, flag-infested slop fest that’s set offense in football back 50 years, not to mention provided little in the way of excitement, regardless of rooting interest.
Then again, people tend to overlook a lot of ugly, boring football when their side comes out on the winning end more often than not, like the Carolina Panthers for instance. Now 6-0 on the season, they’ll take their win on Sunday night, and all of the "boring" wins their team has posted this season.
When the team in question is 3-4 like the Eagles, all anybody can do is find something to complain about.