The Falcons out smart Chip Kelly and the Eagles

The Eagles went into the Georgia Dome with high expectations.

Overall, the game was a tale of two halves.

Bradford, in his first regular-season game in almost two years and making his debut for the Eagles, was 36 of 52 for 336 yards. “I look at rush per attempt and pass per attempt and then points allowed per drive”. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. Even on Alonso’s interception and on Byron Maxwell’s third-down breakup of a pass intended for Julio Jones down the right side near the end of the first quarter, the protection was there.

The journey begins Monday night with Bradford locked in on the actual game, not his rehab, the risk of another injury or Beasley coming off his blindside.

There was a glimmer of hope however as one new signing didn’t want to be shouted down over Twitter tonight…

The Eagles, who fell behind 20-3 at halftime, seemed unstoppable in the second half. Odell, are you playing linebacker now? You know they’re hungry.

Instead, the Falcons threw the ball to star receiver Julio Jones and relied on the leg of trusty veteran kicker Matt Bryant.

“[Kelly] is a great offensive coordinator and a great coach”, Murray said. The Eagles have been here before, remember Jacksonville?

There were questions as to who the Eagles were going to use at nickel back. They had a chance just like us to win the division. It was Matt Ryan’s first pick thrown in the red zone since Week 16 of the 2013 season. Ryan Matthews chimed in with an additional 24 yards through the air, and Murray added only 11, but caught Bradford’s only passing TD of the night.

The next Eagles possession would be a critical yet angering one.

Alarming: Bradford, who was never sacked but got hit eight times, took precautionary X-rays after the loss. Beasley brought noticeable pressure several times and, with 5:21 left until halftime, swatted a Bradford pass that forced a Philadelphia punt; shortly thereafter, disruption from Jarrett led the Eagles QB to throw an interception to William Moore. Walter Thurmond intercepted Ryan on Atlanta’s first possession of the second half, giving the Eagles the ball at the Falcons’ 8.

This time, the Eagles couldn’t come all the way back from a big hole in the season opener.

However, in merely six plays, Bradford led the Eagles on another scoring drive.

Elsewhere in the Eagles’ secondary, the safeties should have combined for three interceptions. A Bryant field goal gave the Falcons a little more breathing room. Especially the second half, it was a blast.

Darren Sproles: Just like last year’s Week 1 game, Sproles helped move the offense when it was stagnant. The team that emerged for the second half was clearly ready to play.

Another Bryant field goal for the Falcons. The team hit 4th&1 in field goal range…and Chip….decided to opt to go for a field goal.

From Chip Kelly, to Cody Parkey, there was a lot of blame to go around in last night’s defeat.

The Eagles come up huge defensively and will force the Falcons to punt with 2:00 left. The Eagles had their chances to retake the lead. In the second half, Ryan was just 7 for 12 for 95 yards with an interception. Some of it might have been coaching but most of it was bad personnel decisions, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines. Bradford needs to sink into that rhythm quicker because another overall team performance like that against Dallas…won’t sit well.

“We couldn’t get anything going in the first half”, Bradford said.