Chip Kelly Still Has Confidence in Sam Bradford

The Eagles have a short week to prepare for a road game against the undefeated Panthers (5-0) next Sunday night.

New York Giants cornerback Jayron Hosley (28) is tripped up by Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff (13) after Hosley intercepted a pass from quarterback Sam Bradford during the first half of an NFL football game Monday, October 19, 2015, in Philadelphia.

For all the consternation about the Eagles during the last five weeks – from the inconsistencies of Bradford to the struggles of the offensive line to their inability to hold a late lead in Washington – the Eagles stumbled into an enviable position after six games.

The Eagles were 1-3 before a 39-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints at home last week. Which reminds us, have we used the déjà vu reference yet? “We need to simulate it as best we can, but you also can’t go live, full-go, and have a rush get after him and try to hit him in practice, just because you don’t want to lose your quarterback in practice”. “This was a good Giants team and we were able to execute”. The NFL suspended him for the first four games of this year following a league investigation.

Let’s check out a few of the key stats and players from this one so we can figure out why things played out the way they did. We’re heading in the right direction. And the Eagles offense looked like the offense that ran the ball effectively with LeSean McCoy as the lead running back in 2013 and 2014. The new coordinator is Steve Spagnuolo, the architect of the unit that throttled Tom Brady and the then-perfect New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

“Terrible read by me; bad decision to make that throw”, Manning said, when speaking of the first interception. But honestly, I was really trying to make a play and be a high energy guy. “We’ve got to do a good job of beating press coverage, beating man coverage and winning our individual matchups”.

The Giants’ run defense is greatly improved. The loss of Prince Amukamara to injury this week won’t help. Ryan Mathews had another efficient game, picking up 40 yards on nine carries. “We got the five yards, got the first down and went down and scored”. That came on third down and kept alive a drive that ended up in a Philadelphia touchdown.

The Eagles expect Beckham to play.

“He’s our Mufasa, he’s the leader of our defense; he’s the leader of this football team”, Chip Kelly said afterward of Ryans, who later recovered a fumble, and was playing his best game since last November’s Achilles’ tear, when he left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.

“It is something that I never really had a problem with in my career”, he said. The Eagles were off to a typical slow start but the defense took control and got the ball back on the Giants’ second possession of the game.

Lincoln Financial Field was shaking that night. “They’re going to be fired up”. Prime time on Monday night, it should be a great atmosphere. But Romo’s replacement – Brandon Weeden – now has been benched for Cassel because “we want to see if we can get our offense going a little bit more“, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. The Eagles started pressing and jumping routes, which led to the pick 6 by Nolan Caroll, and the play calls coming in from the offensive guru Ben McAdoo remained persistent.

“It was hard for him to be away from the game, but he was ready to go when he had the opportunity to come back”, Garrett said.