It’s not Chip Kelly’s fault the Philadelphia Eagles defense allowed the Washington Redskins to go on a 90-yard, go-ahead touchdown drive, much of which was run in the two-minute drill and culminated in this tremendous Pierre Garcon catch.
He’s not a defensive guy, he works the offense. What is Chip Kelly’s fault is his increasingly ineffective offense, mainly featuring (or missing) players of his own choosing. It was an offense that was shutout in the first half against the Washington Redskins, took a lead in the second half but couldn’t put together a final drive that would have kept its NFC East rivals from having enough time to march down the field for a huge win — one which moved Philly to 1-3 while the Redskins went to 2-2.
In the first half, Sam Bradford’s offense had drives of three, four, four, three and seven plays (the last of which culminated in a missed chip-shot field goal). The second half started far better, with Philly scoring two touchdowns on its first two possessions (but only tying the game at 13 because of a missed extra point) and then taking advantage of a bang-bang Redskins turnover to grab a 20-16 lead.
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But it was what the team did on the next few possessions that might eventually help seal Kelly’s fate. There was a punt after a six-play drive and then, crucially, a three-and-out that started at midfield and, like so many drives, was felled by two poor runs to start that put Bradford in a third-and-long. Philadelphia needed to cobble a few first downs to put pressure on Washington and maybe force the team to start taking timeouts. But altogether, the drive lasted just 1:27, giving the ‘Skins plenty of time to march down the field for the game-winning score.
Kelly has no one to blame but himself for his offense’s inability to win games. He shopped for the groceries and is cooking the meal, as the old metaphor goes. Is his coaching the problem? It’s hard to tell since the players tasked with running the offense basically define mediocre. It’s Kelly’s inability to serve as his own GM that may be his Waterloo. He let go DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy. He traded Nick Foles, who once had a season of 27 TDs and 2 INTs with Kelly, for the oft-injured Sam Bradford. That might be something to do in year 1, but not in year 3, when a team should be hitting its stride under a new coach, not searching for an identity.
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The former Oregon coach is in year three of a five-year contract. Unless Philly completely implodes the rest of the year (say 4-12 or worse), it’s hard to imagine Kelly not being around for 2016 — unless a major college job comes open that’s enticing enough to cause him to leave the NFL. But next year it’s do-or-die, playoffs or bust. He’s not getting an extension for the money he’s getting now and he’s certainly not coming back for a lame-duck season in 2017. Chip Kelly’s stock is trending way down and it’s entirely on him.
All told, Philly had 12 possessions on Sunday. From first to last, they lasted: 1:20, 1:08, 2:13, 1:15, 2:17, 3:06, 1:33, 0:51, 0:21 2:56, 1:27 and 0:26. One drive lasted longer than three minutes. Seven lasted less than 90 seconds. The final time of possession was Washington at 41:08 and Philadelphia at 18:52.
(AP)
So, come to think of it, maybe the Eagles’ inability to stop the Redskins in the final minutes of the game was all on Kelly. Even when his quick-pace offense succeeds, it exhausts his defense. On a failed day such as Sunday, that exhaustion may well have been the difference between victory and defeat.
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