Santoliquito: Sam Bradford Looks Great In Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. (CBS) — Micah Hyde thought he had him. The Green Bay defensive back came off the edge untouched and right there before him was Eagles' quarterback Sam Bradford, who was looking right to dump the ball to Ryan Mathews, swinging out of the backfield.
In a split-second, Bradford turned his head and threw to a spot, where Trey Burton was crossing. And just like that, Bradford threw his second touchdown pass in as many possessions against the befuddled Green Bay Packers defense Saturday night.
The brief sequence provided the very reason why Bradford is an Eagle and why this team may be on the verge of something special. In less than seven minutes, Bradford completed 10 of his first 10 passes, for 121 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter (and a QB rating of 156.7).
With 2:11 left in the opening quarter, Eagles' coach Chip Kelly walked over and shook Bradford's hand telling him his night was over.
Bradford was very comfortable in the pocket. He had great accuracy. He withstood the pressure that the Packers showed. The most impressive play was the second TD toss to Burton. Bradford stayed in the pocket and wasn't rattled. After seeing his primary receiver, Mathews, was covered, Bradford quickly found Burton cutting across the field. What's more was Bradford took the hit from Hyde and got back up.
This was a larger sample size than what fans saw of Bradford last week against Baltimore, when an amped-up Bradford completed 3 of 5 passes for 35 yards and directing the Eagles to a touchdown in the opening drive of their 40-17 victory over the Ravens.
This week, Bradford played with far greater poise. He was in for 18 plays, directing the Eagles to 9 first downs and three touchdowns, which included an 8-yard pass to Darren Sproles, the 3-yard score to Burton and a 7-yard strike to Brent Celek.
The Eagles were so efficient in their first series that they didn't need a third down. Their first third-down play came on Bradford's touchdown pass to Burton. Of the 18 plays Bradford ran, the Eagles actually had one third-down play. While Bradford was in, the Eagles amassed 152 yards of total offense and averaged 8.4 yards a play.