The Eagles' Calm Ruled The Day
PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — Overtly, it didn't look like a very serene sideline during the first half of the Eagles' game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the season opener on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Internally, the Eagles had a strong sense that they would turn their inept first half around, after trailing 17-0.
There was no yelling or screaming at halftime. No one flipping out. No cussing or screaming.
"Execution was a key problem in the first half across the board, I think all of us, the offensive line did a terrible job of pass blocking, run blocking, it didn't feel right, the cohesion wasn't there," Eagles' center Jason Kelce said. "It was just really bad. It's about as bad as a half of football we've played here that I've seen since Chip Kelly has been here. Offensively, we could have done a better job. But no one panicked. We knew we could come back. It was really just a matter of executing."
Zach Ertz shined. The second-year tight end out of Stanford was targeted five times, catching three passes for 77 yards and a team-high 25.7 yards a catch. His 25-yard touchdown reception from Nick Foles in the third quarter pulled the Eagles to within 17-14.
"The whole first half was uncharacteristic of us," Ertz said. "For us to come out and play the way we did in the second half is a true testament to who we are. Good football teams find ways to win in this league. And we think we're a good football team. We just executed better. We settled down. We knew we're a good team. No one got down on anyone.
"It was very calm [during halftime]. We knew were going to face some adversity. We had some linemen [left guard Evan Mathis and right tackle Allen Barbre] go down early and we had a lot of turnovers. We know the potency of this offense and what we can do. We have a very complete team and we showed we do have confidence in ourselves. [Coach Chip Kelly] was very calm."
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