The Philadelphia Eagles seem to have been one troublesome team since the moment this season began and even before. Chip Kelly, LeSean McCoy, Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, DeMarco Murray, Racism, Genius, Firing. All these words, so many losses, and they’re still pretty much in control of their own destiny in the NFC East.
The win over the New England Patriots didn’t just stop a losing streak and a run of giving up 45 points back-to-back. It almost changed the potential outlook on a season overnight, with just one win. That’s how the NFl works in such a short season, and especially without enough teams with a winning record, which allows the 5-7 Eagles to feel like not that they can just win their division, but that they have a shot of doing something in the playoffs, just like the preseason predictions foretold.
And playing against the Bills, there’s really nothing to not expect. Two teams that can look great one week and then stink up the stadium for two in a row following that. The Eagles playing Bradford is obviously much better than having Sanchez out there trying to look like an NFL quarterback. But pass rushing Tyrod Taylor isn’t the same as hitting Tom Brady, which they did with ease a week before. The offense will probably need to take a more prominent role this time.
Happy or not, Murray is having a disappointing season. McCoy, who left Philadelphia with bad words coming out of his mouth about Kelly left and right? And the media reminded him of that recently just to make the encounter a little bit more interesting? He might not be the player he was two years ago, but the Bills are making good use of him in a varied running offense that has an elusive quarterback besides speed and power on the ground.
Ryan Mathews might be playing again which is good news for Kelly. He has been better than Murray this season in any case, and after Murray both complained about his touches and started to lose time on the field, the Eagles may have finally moved on from him, at least for this season. When you pay a player that much, even one bad season can’t take him out of the picture, even if the extra usage from last season may have been the thing that’s causing this lackluster 2015 performance.