6 Numbers That Tell The Story Of The Eagles Lackluster Win Over Browns

A win is a win. We told ourselves that so many times last year, we started to believe it. But those ugly Eagles wins eventually turned into ugly losses. And now it carried into this season despite the new Coordinators and some new faces on the roster. Their latest ugly win came over the Browns.

Related: Eagles Get The Week 6 Win, But Questions Linger On Offense

They did get the win. It is more than you can say about any other team in their division. But squeaking out a win vs the now 1-5 Browns is not going to make anyone feel better. They were 9.5-point favorites over this team. The expectation was that they would demolish them. But this offense, with all the weapons they have, crawled across the finish line, managing just 20 points.

This offense was talented last year. It got even better this year with the addition of Saquon Barkley. Yet somehow it is still underperforming. The Browns’ defense is not Swiss Cheese, but a roster this talented should score more than 20 points.

(Photo by Heather Barry/Getty Images)

The defense meanwhile looked great. They allowed just 3 field goals and held the Browns to 244 points. They also finally got pressure, specifically from the edge where both Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith got in on sacks. But it is also the Browns, the worst offense in the league. They deserve credit for doing what they need to do, but it is hard to crown them for doing what every team has done to the Browns.

Still, they got the win and kept themselves in the running for the NFC and the NFC East. With the schedule coming up, they could be 7-2 when they go into the Thursday Night Game vs the Commanders. But they don’t look right, just like they didn’t look right last year when they were 10-1.

So what should we take away? Were there any positive takeaways to be had? How bad are they in the 1st quarter right now?

Here are 6 Numbers That Tell The Story Of The Eagles Lackluster Win Over The Browns

• 0

  Let’s start with a positive, Jalen Hurts had a turnover-free game. 0 interceptions, and 0 fumbles. It is something we haven’t seen in a long time. Hurts stats may not jump off the page, but he had a pretty decent game despite the team scoring just 20 points. His TD pass to AJ Brown was a thing of beauty, as was the pass to Brown that sealed the win. Jonathan Vilma might have called it an underthrow, but it was placed right into Brown’s breadbasket where he was the only player who could make a play on it.

  His season so far has been underwhelming. Yes, he was without his best weapons, but he also should be able to carry the team when those guys are out. The mistakes have been far too common. But we also have seen glimpses of the guy they paid that big contract to. Maybe now that everyone is healthy, they can finally get the offense moving.

  Underdog NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "AJ Brown in his return:9 targets6 receptions116 yards1 TD1 game-ending catchHe's back back.pic.twitter.com/7zhqR1sFBH / X"

  AJ Brown in his return:9 targets6 receptions116 yards1 TD1 game-ending catchHe's back back.pic.twitter.com/7zhqR1sFBH

• 39.6

  Quinyon Mitchell has looked the part in his 1st 5 games so far. On Sunday he had his best game yet. Again, it is the Browns, so take everything with a grain of salt. But even when playing a bad team, you can tell how good an individual player is, and Mitchell was amazing.

  He allowed a passer rating of 39.6 when targeted. Deshaun Watson had a passer rating over 90, so it is not just that Watson was bad. He was efficient, just not productive. But Mitchell was drawing some of the toughest assignments on the team, especially once Slay was ruled out, and he shut his side of the field down, allowing just 1 catch for 10 years. Mitchell should have had his 1st interception, but CJ Gardner Johnson ran into him stealing that chance.

  If you are looking for a bright spot, Mitchell is it. Cooper DeJean also looked pretty great. The Eagles very well may have found their CB tandem for at least the next 4 years.

  Jeff Kerr on X (formerly Twitter): "The #Browns targeted Quinyon Mitchell 6 times.Deshaun Watson was 1 of 6 for 10 yards targeting Mitchell (39.6 rating). #Eagles / X"

  The #Browns targeted Quinyon Mitchell 6 times.Deshaun Watson was 1 of 6 for 10 yards targeting Mitchell (39.6 rating). #Eagles

• 14

  The Eagles have played 5 games this season. That is 5 chances to score in the first quarter, 75 minutes of game. In those 75 minutes though, they had 13 drives, controlled the clock for 32:39 minutes, and scored 0 points.

  Now it should be said that they ended the 1st quarter with the ball in week 1, and then went on to score on that same drive in the 2nd quarter. Vs the Browns, they had the ball to end the 1st quarter and went on the score an FG. But both of those were the 3rd drive of the game. The first two drives have been the real problem. In the first 2 drives of every game, a total of 10 drives, they have 140 yards, 0 points, and 4 turnovers. That is 14 yards a drive. They have 2 Interceptions, a bad snap for a fumble, and a turnover on downs.

  Those drives should be their best drives. They are the plays you get to script. But for the Eagles, they are their worst drives of the game every week.

  FOX Sports: NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "The Eagles have still not scored any first quarter points this season. pic.twitter.com/Qlvtg5vzBL / X"

  The Eagles have still not scored any first quarter points this season. pic.twitter.com/Qlvtg5vzBL

• 21

  The Eagles D-Line has been a major issue this year. They showed up in week 3 vs the Saints but otherwise had been missing in action the other 3 games. But they showed up vs the Browns. The Browns O-line is a mess, and every team has done this to them, but it was refreshing to see consistent pressure out of this defense.

  The Browns had 33 pass-block snaps, the Eagles had 21 pressures. Some of those came on the same snap, but there was consistent pressure. And it came from places we hadn’t seen yet this year, Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith got sacks. Well in Huff’s case, a half sack, but still, it is .5 more sacks than he had in the first 4 games. Jalen Carter had another monster game with 5 pressures and a sack.

  We need to see it more, and vs better O-Lines, but it was a very encouraging sign.

  Shane Haff on X (formerly Twitter): "Nice rush rep by Bryce Huff + a good twist from Zack Baun and Jalen Carter = a sack#NFLMath pic.twitter.com/NUST05TFhx / X"

  Nice rush rep by Bryce Huff + a good twist from Zack Baun and Jalen Carter = a sack#NFLMath pic.twitter.com/NUST05TFhx

• 4.5

  We didn’t need to see AJ brown play again to know how much they missed him. But even if the offense overall was underwhelming on Sunday, he was not. AJ Brown came back after missing 3 games and looked as good as a WR can look. 6 catches, 116 yards, and a TD. Including as we mentioned the great play that sealed the win.

  But perhaps even more impressive, he averaged 4.5 yards per route run. YPRR is a stat that does exactly what it sounds like it does. It takes the WRs yards, vs how many routes they ran, and averages it out. It tells you how impactful that WR is, taking into account how much playing them they get. 4.5 is a very good number. For context, 6 weeks in, Nico Collins leads the league with 3.61 YPRR.

  That part of the Eagles game we know works. Hurts and Brown have as good a connection as any QB/WR duo. The Eagles just need to figure out how to get everything else to work.

  NFL on X (formerly Twitter): "AJ BROWN IS BACK.📺: #CLEvsPHI on FOX📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/U1QF0FGRjI / X"

  AJ BROWN IS BACK.📺: #CLEvsPHI on FOX📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/U1QF0FGRjI

• 21.2

  This Eagles offense should be great. It has the talent to be a top 5 offense. But 5 games in, they look average. They average only 21.2 pts per game. That is 18th in the league. not only are they not a top offense, but they are also a bottom-half offense. They are 10th in yards per game at 366.8. Something is wrong. The talent is there, which makes it a coaching issue. Whether it is Nick or Kellen Moore, they need to get more out of this talented roster. You can say they have missed some of their players, but they had both WRs this week and still struggled to score. If this offense is not elite, this team isn’t winning anything.