Philadelphia Eagles: 5 biggest problems with offense

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Sep 20, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) during warming up before game against the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Starting Slow

Andrew Luck’s statistics look beyond awful, but that’s partially because playing the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets will do that to you. Meanwhile, the Eagles don’t get the same excuse, because while the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys have looked legit on defense, that clearly doesn’t explain why the Eagles are 29th in points scored per drive.

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons why the Eagles are struggling so badly through two weeks, and one reason is their lack of fast starts. Not only are they slow-starters on their drives (as evidenced by their sheer volume of three-and-outs and poor third-down conversion rate), but they have been putrid in the first half of games.

Averaging a league-worst 2.1 yards per carry never helps, but it’s hard to establish a running game when your quarterback has the second-worst first-half QB Rating (53.1, only Luck’s is worst). That forces the Eagles to throw the ball even more, and for as run-heavy as the Eagles were supposed to be this season, no team has run a higher percentage of passing plays.

Against the Jets insanely good run defense, which completely took out the Browns and Colts running games, the Eagles may have difficulty finding balance on offense, which is something they’ve been unable to do against the Falcons and Cowboys anyway.

Next: Which Eagles Are Among NFL's Most Important Players?

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