How many of you knew the Eagles scored the most points in the 1st Quarter in the NFL last year? I know I didn't. 122 points, to be exact, which is an impressive number considering the 1st Quarter has always traditionally been the quarter in which the fewest points are scored in the NFL. They also tied with the Saints for the league lead in scoring on opening drives. (Hat tip to JLMax09, who provided the inspiration for this piece over on bloggingtheboys.com, as well as One.Cool.Customer, who sent me some additional data - Thanks guys).
The Eagles were also very good in the 2nd Quarter last year, where they put 151 points up on the board, good for 6th in the NFL. Unfortunately, they were not nearly as lethal in the 2nd half, where they ranked 20th in scoring. Here's how they compared with the rest of league...
| Rank | Team | 1Q | 2Q | 1st Half | 3Q | 4Q | 2nd Half | Total |
| 1 | Eagles | 122 | 151 | 273 | 72 | 84 | 156 | 429 |
| 2 | Packers | 115 | 154 | 269 | 58 | 134 | 192 | 461 |
| 3 | Chargers | 103 | 120 | 223 | 107 | 124 | 231 | 454 |
| 4 | Patriots | 99 | 183 | 282 | 70 | 75 | 145 | 427 |
| 5 | Colts | 96 | 147 | 243 | 58 | 115 | 173 | 416 |
| 6 | Texans | 89 | 131 | 220 | 75 | 93 | 168 | 388 |
| 7 | Saints | 85 | 176 | 261 | 107 | 139 | 246 | 507 |
| 8 | Steelers | 81 | 126 | 207 | 61 | 97 | 158 | 365 |
| 9 | Jets | 81 | 108 | 189 | 79 | 80 | 159 | 348 |
| 10 | Lions | 80 | 63 | 143 | 51 | 68 | 119 | 262 |
| 11 | Falcons | 78 | 116 | 194 | 60 | 109 | 169 | 363 |
| 12 | Ravens | 77 | 81 | 158 | 123 | 107 | 230 | 388 |
| 13 | Titans | 77 | 103 | 180 | 67 | 104 | 171 | 351 |
| 14 | Cardinals | 76 | 132 | 208 | 82 | 85 | 167 | 375 |
| 15 | Bills | 74 | 67 | 141 | 37 | 77 | 114 | 255 |
| 16 | Cowboys | 71 | 98 | 169 | 80 | 106 | 186 | 355 |
| 17 | Vikings | 69 | 156 | 225 | 111 | 134 | 245 | 470 |
| 18 | Panthers | 68 | 109 | 177 | 43 | 95 | 138 | 315 |
| 19 | Browns | 66 | 70 | 136 | 46 | 63 | 109 | 245 |
| 20 | 49ers | 62 | 93 | 155 | 72 | 103 | 175 | 330 |
| 21 | Bengals | 61 | 118 | 179 | 49 | 74 | 123 | 302 |
| 22 | Dolphins | 57 | 106 | 163 | 81 | 116 | 197 | 360 |
| 23 | Giants | 57 | 159 | 216 | 77 | 106 | 183 | 399 |
| 24 | Broncos | 57 | 80 | 137 | 101 | 85 | 186 | 323 |
| 25 | Jaguars | 48 | 113 | 161 | 46 | 80 | 126 | 287 |
| 26 | Redskins | 41 | 74 | 115 | 84 | 67 | 151 | 266 |
| 27 | Seahawks | 37 | 118 | 155 | 46 | 79 | 125 | 280 |
| 28 | Bears | 36 | 106 | 142 | 85 | 94 | 179 | 321 |
| 29 | Raiders | 36 | 78 | 114 | 22 | 61 | 83 | 197 |
| 30 | Buccaneers | 34 | 73 | 107 | 38 | 96 | 134 | 241 |
| 31 | Chiefs | 29 | 83 | 112 | 61 | 118 | 179 | 291 |
| 32 | Rams | 16 | 74 | 90 | 25 | 60 | 85 | 175 |
| Eagles Rank | 1 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 5 |
After the jump, we'll look at video of each Eagles opening scoring drive last season, as well as some more nerd-friendly charts...
Let's first start with the Eagles' opening drives. As noted above, the Eagles tied the Saints for the most opening drive points in the NFL, with 51. They both scored on 9 of their opening drives, which is excellent. The aforementioned JLMax09 did the heavy lifting, as he manually compiled the data of the opening drives of every team in the NFL, listed here...
| NFC East | NFC North | |||||||
| Week | PHI | DAL | NYG | WAS | CHI | DET | GB | MIN |
| 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | X | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | X | 3 | X | 7 |
| 6 | 0 | X | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | X |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 15 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Total | 51 | 27 | 34 | 28 | 17 | 26 | 37 | 38 |
| Rank | 1 (tied) | 19 (tied) | 11 (tied) | 18 | 26 (tied) | 22 (tied) | 7 (tied) | 5 (tied) |
| NFC South | NFC West | |||||||
| Week | ATL | CAR | NO | TB | ARZ | SEA | SF | STL |
| 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | X | X | 3 | 7 | X | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | X | 7 |
| 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | X | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 9 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | X |
| 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 37 | 44 | 51 | 27 | 35 | 10 | 15 | 16 |
| Rank | 7 (tied) | 3 | 1 (tied) | 19 (tied) | 10 | 31 (tied) | 29 | 28 |
| AFC East | AFC North | |||||||
| Week | BUF | MIA | NE | NYJ | BAL | CIN | CLE | PIT |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 3 | X | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | X | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | 0 | X | 0 | X |
| 9 | X | 3 | 0 | X | 0 | 7 | X | 0 |
| 10 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 17 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 23 | 33 | 34 | 38 | 27 | 34 | 29 | 37 |
| Rank | 25 | 15 | 11 (tied) | 5 (tied) | 19 (tied) | 11 (tied) | 17 | 7 (tied) |
| AFC South | AFC West | |||||||
| Week | HOU | IND | JAX | TEN | DEN | KC | OAK | SD |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X |
| 6 | 0 | X | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | 0 | 7 | X | X | X | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 0 | 7 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | X | 0 |
| 10 | X | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 |
| Total | 24 | 42 | 31 | 26 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 34 |
| Rank | 24 | 4 | 16 | 22 (tied) | 30 | 26 (tied) | 31 (tied) | 11 (tied) |
| Rank | Team | Times Scored | Points |
| 1 | Eagles | 9 | 51 |
| 1 | Saints | 9 | 51 |
| 3 | Panthers | 8 | 44 |
| 4 | Colts | 6 | 42 |
| 5 | Vikings | 6 | 38 |
| 5 | Jets | 6 | 38 |
| 7 | Packers | 7 | 37 |
| 7 | Falcons | 7 | 37 |
| 7 | Steelers | 7 | 37 |
| 10 | Cardinals | 5 | 35 |
| 11 | Patriots | 6 | 34 |
| 11 | Bengals | 6 | 34 |
| 11 | Chargers | 6 | 34 |
| 11 | Giants | 6 | 34 |
| 15 | Dolphins | 6 | 33 |
| 16 | Jaguars | 8 | 31 |
| 17 | Browns | 7 | 29 |
| 18 | Redskins | 4 | 28 |
| 19 | Ravens | 5 | 27 |
| 19 | Cowboys | 5 | 27 |
| 19 | Buccaneers | 5 | 27 |
| 22 | Titans | 6 | 26 |
| 22 | Lions | 6 | 26 |
| 24 | Texans | 4 | 24 |
| 25 | Bills | 5 | 23 |
| 26 | Chiefs | 3 | 17 |
| 26 | Bears | 3 | 17 |
| 28 | Rams | 4 | 16 |
| 29 | 49ers | 5 | 15 |
| 30 | Broncos | 3 | 13 |
| 31 | Raiders | 2 | 10 |
| 31 | Seahawks | 2 | 10 |
*Playoff teams
So what did those scoring drives look like? For the most part, they were big plays. A look at each opening scoring drive...
Vs. the Saints, Bucs, and Redskins...
All 3 of those scores were 50+ yard plays.
OK, going out of order chronologically here, but since the Eagles scored TD's against the Giants in both games last year, I figured I'd give it its own video...
Vs. the Giants x2...
A couple golf claps (FG's) vs. the Bears and Redskins...
Note - The 3 the Eagles got against the Redskins really should have been 7, had the referees not flagged Brent Celek for offensive pass interference for doing nothing more than getting jammed at the line by a Redskin defender.
A golf clap (FG) against the Falcons, and another DeSean Jackson TD against the 49ers...
So how important was it for the Eagles to get an early lead? In a word... very. Here's a look at the Eagles' box scores last year which shows whether or not they had a lead at the end of the 1st Quarter, and if they won. As you can see, the Eagles won all 10 games in which they had a lead at the end of the 1st quarter, and only won 1 out of 6 in which they didn't. Strangely, they were never tied after the 1st Quarter...
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | TOP | 1st Q lead? | Result | |
| Philadelphia | 3 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 38 | 31:37:00 | N | W |
| Carolina | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 28:23:00 | ||
| New Orleans | 10 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 48 | 30:26:00 | N | L |
| Philadelphia | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 29:34:00 | ||
| Kansas City | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 29:25:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 14 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 30:35:00 | Y | W |
| Tampa Bay | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 34:33:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 7 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 33 | 25:27:00 | Y | W |
| Philadelphia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 26:58:00 | N | L |
| Oakland | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 33:02:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 14 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 28:18:00 | Y | W |
| Washington | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 31:42:00 | ||
| NY Giants | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 35:33:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 13 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 40 | 24:27:00 | Y | W |
| Dallas | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 31:44:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 0 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 28:16:00 | N | L |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 29:37:00 | N | L |
| San Diego | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 | 30:23:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 30:57:00 | Y | W |
| Chicago | 0 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 20 | 29:03:00 | ||
| Washington | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 29:42:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 10 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 30:18:00 | Y | W |
| Philadelphia | 10 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 34 | 29:11:00 | Y | W |
| Atlanta | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 30:49:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 14 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 45 | 25:14:00 | Y | W |
| NY Giants | 3 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 38 | 34:46:00 | ||
| San Francisco | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 28:57:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 | 31:03:00 | Y | W |
| Denver | 0 | 7 | 17 | 3 | 27 | 29:17:00 | ||
| Philadelphia | 10 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 30 | 30:43:00 | Y | W |
| Philadelphia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19:37:00 | N | L |
| Dallas | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 40:23:00 |
So what's to make of all this? Why was the Eagles offense so good in the first half, but not so great in the 2nd? Was their success on opening drives a result of Andy Reid's "15 scripted plays," or just kind of a flukey thing? Is there anything to the fact that the Eagles won all 10 games they led after the 1st Quarter, and lost all but one of the 6 they didn't? Did anyone happen to notice the play calling run/pass balance in the videos of the scoring drives - Is there anything to that?
Cop-out alert - I have some not-completely fully-formed thoughts on these and other questions, but rather than pollute your minds with my interpretation, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts after digesting all of this.