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SportsActive · 13h

Eagles' 2-0 start hides NFL-worst first-down offense

Despite two wins, Philadelphia ranks 30th in the league on first down as linemen cite new-scheme growing pains and self-inflicted mistakes.

newest coverage 11h agosummary written 11h ago4 pieces NewswiresMastodon

What to know

  • The Eagles rank 30th in the NFL in first-down EPA/play (-0.208) and success rate (26%) through two weeks, per RBSDM.
  • Only 2 of the Eagles' 48 first-down plays have produced a first down or touchdown; the run game averages 2.94 yards per play on first down.
  • Jalen Hurts' off-script scrambles and third-down throws have kept the Eagles at 2-0 despite the first-down inefficiency, which is not seen as sustainable.
  • Linemen disagree on the cause: Tyler Steen points to unfamiliarity with the new wide-zone scheme, while Jordan Mailata says it comes down to technique and penalties, not the scheme itself.

“It's not the things that we haven't seen from the defenses. It's like just defenses in general. It's more how we are supposed to react because depending on the player, depending on what scheme you're running, you might react to a different blitz or a different movement in a different way. And that's kind of where the problems lie.”

Tyler Steen, Eagles right guard · Yahoo Sports ↗ · Sep 26

Jalen HurtsJalen Hurts Eagles quarterbackTyler Steen Eagles right guardJordan MailataJordan Mailata Eagles offensive tackleSean Mannion Eagles offensive coordinator

Eagles' 2-0 start hides NFL-worst first-down offense
Yahoo Sports

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in one half hour at Today, 5 AM; 4 pieces over 14 hours (3 articles · 1 post) Today, 5:36 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Today, 6:06 AM — quietToday, 6:36 AM — quietToday, 7:06 AM — quietToday, 7:36 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Today, 8:06 AM — quietToday, 8:36 AM — quietToday, 9:06 AM — quietToday, 9:36 AM — quietToday, 10:06 AM — quietToday, 10:36 AM — quietToday, 11:06 AM — quietToday, 11:36 AM — quietToday, 12:06 PM — quietToday, 12:36 PM — quietToday, 1:06 PM — quietToday, 1:36 PM — quietToday, 2:06 PM — quietToday, 2:36 PM — quietToday, 3:06 PM — quietToday, 3:36 PM — quietToday, 4:06 PM — quietToday, 4:36 PM — quietToday, 5:06 PM — quietToday, 5:36 PM — quietToday, 6:06 PM — quietToday, 6:36 PM — quietToday, 7:06 PM — quiet 12
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  1. 2

    Mailata says Eagles must break 'bad habits', denies scheme excuse

    Offensive tackle Jordan Mailata calls fixing first-down play the top priority, citing technique lapses and penalties, and pushes back on the idea that the outside-zone scheme itself is unnatural.

    “We got to finish up on the blocks, and that's something that we have to find within. There's no other way to tell you it, but we got to want it more than they do.”
    — Jordan Mailata
    1. 1 outlet Eagles’ 2-0 start is masking an ugly offensive problem: ‘Bad habits’ and not ‘enough exposure’

      first by Yahoo Sports, 11h ago

    2. 1 outlet Eagles are terrible on first down. What’s gone wrong? ‘Bad habits’ and ‘got to be smarter’

      first by PennLive, 13h ago

  2. background

    Steen blames new scheme for first-down mistakes — Right guard Tyler Steen says the switch to a wide-zone blocking scheme and lack of in-game exposure to certain looks is causing errors, and that reacting correctly to different blitzes 'is kind of where the problems lie.'

  3. 1

    Report exposes Eagles' NFL-worst first-down production

    NJ.com and PennLive publish a report showing the Eagles rank 30th in the NFL in first-down EPA/play (-0.208) and success rate (26%) over the first two weeks, per RBSDM data.

  4. background

    Eagles beat Titans but first-down offense falters again — Philadelphia moved to 2-0 despite four runs of zero or negative yards on first-and-10 and 10-yard holding penalties on Tyler Steen and Johnny Mundt.