Despite receiving 21 points from his defense and special teams, Chip Kelly's Philadelphia Eagles ultimately fell short of defeating the San Francisco 49ers 26-21. Highlighting the defeat was All-Pro running back LeSean McCoy's pedestrian 1.34 yards per carry, a statistic that Kelly credits to the shortcomings of his offensive line.
Chip Kelly says Eagles ‘got whooped’ by 49ers defensive line
Philadelphia’s injury-riddled offensive line continues to struggle.
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”We got whooped up front,” Kelly said. “We’re not very good up front right now. We’ve got a lot of guys banged up. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the reality.”
The Eagles' offensive line, one of the team's strengths a year ago, is fighting through a myriad of injuries. Left guard Evan Mathis and center Jason Kelce are sidelined for the first half of the season on short-term injured reserve while right tackle Allen Barbre is out for all of 2014. Philadelphia has also played without 2013 first-round pick Lane Johnson, who has missed the first four weeks of the year to a PED suspension.
Because of their offensive line woes, the once mighty Eagles offense has stumbled through parts of their first three games before recovering late to seal three wins. That wasn’t the case against the 49ers, as Philadelphia failed to score on offensive for the first time in the Chip Kelly era.
While the Eagles' offense may not go scoreless again in 2014, it still must find ways to free up McCoy. Following his performance in San Francisco, the tailback sits at 2.7 yards per carry, almost a full two yards below his career average. Without McCoy or quarterback Nick Foles able to get in sync, the Eagles' inconsistent play will continue.
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