The Philadelphia Eagles got their first home win of the year and improved to 2-3 on the season after defeating the New Orleans Saints by the score of 39-17 on Sunday.
It was another nightmarish start for the Eagles on the offensive side of the ball.
The Eagles offense turned the ball over on each of their first three drives.
On the first drive, Josh Huff put the Eagles in great field position after taking the opening kickoff near midfield. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly decided to go for it on a fourth-and-seven. Quarterback Sam Bradford overthrew Riley Cooper on the play, resulting in a turnover on downs.
On the second drive, Brent Celek, Cooper, Zach Ertz and Huff all caught a first down pass to put the Eagles in the red zone. Bradford ended up throwing an interception to Brandon Browner on a pass that was intended for Cooper in the end zone.
On the ensuing drive, the Saints took a 7-0 lead on a six-yard touchdown catch by Benjamin Watson. The Eagles clearly weren't prepared, as Watson was uncovered on the play. Someone for Philadelphia probably should have called a timeout before the ball was snapped.
On the fourth drive for the Eagles offense, Huff scored caught his first career touchdown reception on a 41-yard pass from Bradford to even the score at 7-7.
The Eagles offense drove down the field again on their third possession. Ryan Mathews helped the offense get down the field after three consecutive first down plays (two rush, one catch). A pass interference penalty set the Eagles up for first-and-goal. Bradford was intercepted by Delvin Breaux on second-and-goal.
Bradford now has now thrown three interceptions in the red zone, which is the most in the NFL.
Other than the touchdown drive to Watson, the Eagles defense played well in the first half.
The Eagles forced one turnover and forced the Saints to punt on four of their seven drives. On the second play of the sixth drive for the Saints offense, Fletcher Cox forced a fumble on Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks picked up the ball, making it his fourth straight game with a fumble recovery.
The Eagles capitalized off of the Brees fumble, as Caleb Sturgis made a 39-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead at halftime.
On the opening drive of the second half, the Saints tied the game at 10-10 on a 21-yard field goal by Zach Hocker.
The Eagles took the lead on the ensuing drive, and they never gave it back.
The offense scored points on each of their six drives in the second half. Mathews scored on a short touchdown run to put the Eagles up by the score of 17-10.
A second forced fumble of the game forced by Cox on Brees put the Eagles in great position to score another touchdown. Cox had three sacks and two forced fumbles on the day. Celek scored a touchdown on the next play, and the Eagles took a 23-10 lead.
The next three drives for the Eagles offense resulted in made field goal attempts by Sturgis. He did miss an extra point, but he made all of his other attempts in his second game for Philadelphia.
On the sixth offensive drive for the Saints in the second half, Walter Thurmond intercepted Brees and returned the ball to the 4-yard line. It was Thurmond's second interception of the season.
The Eagles forced four total turnovers on the day.
On the next play, DeMarco Murray scored on a rushing touchdown to give the Eagles a 39-10 lead.
After the Eagles lost 23-20 to the Washington Redskins last week, and Murray told reporters that he needed to get the ball more. He had 20 carries for 83 yards and 7 receptions for 37 yards.
The Saints scored a touchdown in garbage time to cut the down the Eagles lead to 39-17. On the last play of the game, Bradin Cooks scored on a touchdown reception.
After Sunday's win, the Eagles improved their chances of winning the NFC East division.
At 2-3, the Eagles are tied with the Redskins and Dallas Cowboys in terms of overall record. Washington lost to the Atlanta Falcons in overtime, and the Cowboys lost to the New England Patriots. The New York Giants (3-2) currently sit at the top of the division, after beating the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
The Eagles play the Giants next week at Lincoln Financial Field on Monday Night Football.
Michael Malia is a contributing intern for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Facebook (Michael Malia) or Twitter @Michael_Malia.
