By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
We're into the second calendar month of the NFL season and the Philadelphia Eagles are still undefeated. Granted, they spent this week relaxing at home, or deer hunting in North Dakota, but it is still refreshing to say.
Last week, we discussed how the Eagles ability to take care of the ball borders on historic levels. But here's a quick rundown of three other numbers that show why the Eagles have had few issues disposing of their early-season opponents.
22.9: Through the first three games, the Eagles special teams have been nothing short of spectacular. Besides allowing a punt return touchdown in garbage time against the Chicago Bears, the coverage units have been especially dominant. On average, the Eagles opponents are starting drives at their own 22.9-yard-line, which was fourth-best in the league through Week 3. In fact, only five of the Eagles opponents' 34 drives have started outside their own 25-yard-line.
Under Chip Kelly, special teams were always a huge priority and the depth of the roster sometimes took a hit because of it. However, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp has proven to be a tremendous coach during his four years with the team.
In both 2014 and 2015, his unit was recognized by the Dallas Morning News as the first and fifth-best special teams units, respectively. Donnie Jones looks as good as ever and the Eagles just seem like a hungry bunch when they are racing down the field after a returner. Year 4 under Fipp's command may be the Eagles best.
162: The best part is, once the Eagles defense gets on the field, they get off it as quick as possible. Through Week 3, they faced an NFL-low 162 plays, 12 less than the next best team. During the Kelly era, the Eagles defense consistently put up decent numbers on a per-drive basis, but when they were forced on to the field too often, the points and yards added up. Now, with an offense that values control of the ball and clock, the defense is performing like an entirely different unit.
In addition to having the fewest plays against, the Eagles have allowed a score on just 11.8 percent of their drives, a league best, and have allowed .59 points per drive, also tops in the NFL. In fact, the Eagles rank in the top five of every single per-drive defensive stat including time, yardage and plays. It's truly incredible what Jim Schwartz has been able to do with this defense in the short time he's been in charge.
18.6: Last year, Doug Pederson got his first taste of play-calling in the NFL when Andy Reid let him call the second half plays for the Chiefs offense. Kansas City scored 13.25 points per half with Pederson at the helm. A solid number, but it pales in comparison to the 18.6 points the Eagles are averaging during the second half of their games in 2016. That is so ridiculous that it's higher than what eight teams averaged for entire games through the first three weeks of the season.
The Eagles have scored touchdowns on eight of their 18 second-half drives this season. Unlike Reid, his mentor, Pederson has shown an astounding ability to adapt as the game goes on, finding and attacking the weaknesses of the opposing defenses. The rookie head coach looks so confident on the sideline and seems to have everything under control, it's amazing that he's only coached 180 minutes of real, NFL football.
It's only three games, but it's nearly impossible to poke holes in the performances the Eagles have put on the field thus far. Eventually they will have a clunker. That's just football. But for now, what Pederson, Schwartz and Fipp have done with this football team needs to be appreciated because, in just nine months, they have turned a 7-9 team into a possible contender with three units capable of elite performances.
