Chip Kelly has always been billed as a brilliant offensive mind, but after the Eagles' 34-17 win Sunday, the head coach said it was his defense and his special teams he was most thrilled with.
The Eagles' defense allowed just 64 rushing yards on 25 attempts, an average of 2.6 yards per carry. His punter Donnie Jones pinned the Jaguars deep in their own territory a number of times, including once on their own 1-yard line. And his rookie kicker Cody Parkey nailed two field goals, including his first NFL attempt from 51 yards.
Yes, for all the talk of Kelly's excitable offense, the second-year head coach was left admiring his defense and special teams after Sunday's come-from-behind victory.
"I thought our defense did a really good job," Kelly said of coordinator Bill Davis's unit. "The first thing we talk about is stop the run, make them a one-dimensional team and force them into throwing it, and I think Brandon (Graham) and Trent (Cole) and all those guys really created some pressure on the quarterback."
In part, it was because they were called on first.
Quarterback Nick Foles completed just four passes in the first quarter for 46 yards and was sacked twice, and the Eagles were quickly in a 14-0 hole after one quarter. Foles wasn't happy with the way he played in the first quarter, and neither was Kelly.
"He was frustrated, I was frustrated, we all were frustrated - I even heard a few fans who were frustrated," Kelly joked after the game. "And they had every right. I was booing myself."
He also lost a pair of offensive linemen in right tackle Allen Barbre and left guard Evan Mathis to injury in the first half. David Molk and Andrew Gardner came in to replace the two linemen, and Kelly said he liked what he saw from the backups. But this wasn't the offense he had drawn up for Sunday, at least not yet.
On Sunday, the Eagles opened the 2014 regular season by hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars ...

TE Zach Ertz and WR Riley Cooper high five!

TE Zach Ertz

RB Darren Sproles

Eagles players during the National Anthem

LB Mychal Kendricks makes the tackle

LB Trent Cole on the tackle

Our fans are the best

A look at Lincoln Financial Field pregame

Pregame

Fans tailgating before the game

Two fans before the game

Before the game

Fans are entering the stadium

Pictures of the players warming up

Fans before the game

Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie poses with fans

K Cody Parkey

Fans before the game

Fans before the game

Players line up before the game

Players warming up

Warming up before the game

DE Fletcher Cox

Players before the game

Players before kick off

Eagles break it down before the game

LS Jon Dorenbos

Before the game

Official game balls

Fans before the game

Eagles cheerleaders

Eagles cheerleaders

Eagles defense

The US flag during the National Anthem

Fans fill up Lincoln Financial Field

TE Zach Ertz catches a 3rd down pass

Players celebrate after a 3rd down completion

Eagles players

The Linc is ready for the game

The Linc

RB LeSean McCoy breaking free

QB Nick Foles

RB Darren Sproles

WR Jordan Matthews

QB Nick Foles

Eagles surround a Jacksonville player

DT Bennie Logan on the tackle

LB Brandon Graham

TE Brent Celek

Swoop!

Eagles running out to the field

S Nate Allen on the tackle

Eagles offense

Eagles are ready to play!

Eagles are ready for football!

QB Nick Foles

RB LeSean McCoy

RB LeSean McCoy

RB LeSean McCoy

QB Nick Foles

Eagles OL

Eagles offense at the snap

QB Nick Foles

C Jason Kelce

TE Zach Ertz

CB Nolan Carroll II


Eagles on a Jacksonville FG attempt

CB Nolan Carroll II


Eagles Cheerleaders

Eagles coming out to the field

National Anthem

Pregame

Eagles surround a Jacksonville Player

RB LeSean McCoy

TE Brent Celek

Head Coach Chip Kelly

WR Jordan Matthews

RB Darren Sproles

S Chris Maragos

CB Brandon Boykin

Eagles football!

Jump ball

RB LeSean McCoy

RB LeSean McCoy

Eagles competing for the ball

Congratulations!

Eagles Cheerleaders

RB LeSean McCoy

K Cody Parkey

DE Fletcher Cox

DE Vinny Curry

RB Darren Sproles

RB LeSean McCoy

TE Brent Celek

P Donnie Jones

DE Cedric Thornton

DE Vinny Curry

QB Nick Foles

Eagles on a Jacksonville FG attempt

RB LeSean McCoy

QB Nick Foles

QB Nick Foles

Eagles offense

RB Darren Sproles

RB Darren Sproles

RB Darren Sproles

RB Darren Sproles

Eagles football

Fans enjoying the game

S Nate Allen

Pressuring the Jacksonville QB

CB Brandon Boykin

TE Brent Celek

Head Coach Chip Kelly

Eagles Offense

TE Zach Ertz

Eagles Cheerleader

A team tackle!

S Earl Wolff

DE Connor Barwin

RB LeSean McCoy

K Cody Parkey

LB Mychal Kendricks waiting for the pass

The fans are loving the game!

RB Darren Sproles

RB LeSean McCoy

Form tacking at its finest

QB Nick Foles

K Cody Parkey

Tackling a Jacksonville player

WR Jeremy Maclin

DE Fletcher Cox for the TD!

Eagles defense

LB Connor Barwin

WR Jeremy Maclin

WR Jeremy Maclin

Eagles celebrate the victory
So with his offense still shaking off the early-season rust, Kelly's defense and special teams units came up big time and time again. After allowing two touchdown passes on shortened fields, Davis' defense clamped down from the second quarter on, allowing just three points and 192 yards of offense after the rocky first quarter.
Cornerback Cary Williams said he thought the defensive effort, especially locking down the Jaguars when the game could have slipped away early in the second quarter, showed a sense of leadership from the unit.
"I think all the leaders understood that we were giving them everything they got," Williams said of the first quarter touchdowns the Eagles allowed. "We knew that 17 points was a reasonable point for us to come back and win the game on. We understood that our offense is explosive so we knew if we gave them the ball as muuch as we could then we could be right back in the game."
So that's exactly what Williams and the rest of the Eagles' defense did. And then in the second half, the brightest spot was Darren Sproles, whose 49-yard touchdown run on fourth down shifted the game's momentum.
"We got to a tight spot, down 17, where we felt like we had to go for it on fourth down," Kelly explained after the game, "and you don't think you're going to get a touchdown out of that.
"You're just trying to convert, keep the chains moving and you end up getting momentum to jump back on our side."
The defense had kept the Eagles in the game until the offense shrugged the rust off, and then the script of the first half was reversed. By the time the 34-17 score read final on the Lincoln Financial Field video board, the first quarter was a distant memory for Eagles fans. Everything had worked out fine.
Of course, this wasn't the way Kelly and his coaches had drawn it up.
"I told them after the game that at some point we're going to have to rely on everybody to win games," he said.
The Eagles will look for that ultimate team effort next Monday night against the Colts.