Last Sunday night in Carolina, the Eagles forced three turnovers. On one of those turnovers, the Eagles offense started at the Carolina 39-yard line. On another, it started deep inside the Panthers' end of the field, at the Carolina 18. However, the Eagles offense was only able to convert those three turnovers into six points.
That has not been the case so far this season, however, which is troubling. The unfortunate reality of this season has been that the Eagles offense is leaning heavily on the defense to generate points via turnovers. Let's view the Eagles' issues offensively in regard to turnovers from a few different angles:
Takeaways
On the season, the Eagles defense leads the league in takeaways, with 19, and yet, the team is 3-4. A look at the teams who have forced at least 12 turnovers this season:
Team
Takeaways
Wins
Losses
Eagles
19
3
4
Broncos
17
6
0
Giants
16
4
3
Cardinals
15
5
2
Jets
15
4
2
Rams
13
3
3
Panthers
12
6
0
Falcons
12
6
1
As you can see, the Eagles are the only team on the list above that has a losing record. The other teams on that list have a combined record of 34-11.
Giveaways
Meanwhile, the offense has turned the ball over 15 times, which is tied for second worst in the NFL. A look at the company they're keeping on that side of the coin:
Team
Takeaways
Wins
Losses
Lions
18
1
6
Eagles
15
3
4
Browns
15
2
5
Colts
15
3
4
Titans
13
1
5
Chargers
13
2
5
Cowboys
12
2
4
Redskins
12
3
4
The combined record of the teams above: 17-37. Now that I've made the first ever discovery that turnovers are important in football, let's take a slightly deeper look.
Points off turnovers
As we noted above the Eagles lead the NFL in takeaways, with 19. While they did not turn takeaways into points against the Panthers Sunday, the Eagles are actually second in the NFL in points off turnovers, with 59 of them. Unfortunately, they only have 160 points overall, which means that 36.9 percent of their point production this season has come off of turnovers. That is the second highest percentage in the NFL:
Team
Takeaway points
Total points
% of points off takeaways
Rams
49
108
45.4
Eagles
59
160
36.9
Broncos
47
139
33.8
Titans
37
119
31.1
Jets
45
152
29.6
Buccaneers
41
140
29.3
Cardinals
66
229
28.8
Giants
45
166
27.1
Chiefs
40
150
26.7
Panthers
42
162
25.9
Falcons
46
193
23.8
Steelers
36
158
22.8
Bears
27
120
22.5
Bills
35
176
19.9
Raiders
26
144
18.1
Dolphins
26
147
17.7
Vikings
22
124
17.7
Seahawks
27
154
17.5
Jaguars
25
147
17.0
Saints
26
161
16.1
Lions
21
139
15.1
Colts
22
147
15.0
Packers
23
164
14.0
Bengals
25
182
13.7
Ravens
22
161
13.7
Browns
20
147
13.6
49ers
12
103
11.7
Redskins
16
148
10.8
Texans
15
154
9.7
Patriots
20
213
9.4
Cowboys
7
121
5.8
Chargers
7
165
4.2
NFL AVERAGE
30.5
152.9
19.9
So what does that mean? I think a pretty easy conclusion to draw, and one that has been backed up by exactly what we've seen on the field this season, is that the Eagles have been unable to sustain long drives off of punts or kickoffs to score points. They have been far too reliant on the defense putting them in excellent positions to score.
Points allowed off turnovers
Conversely, when the offense has turned the ball over, the defense has been able to bail them out. As we noted above, the Eagles offense has turned the ball over 15 times. Somehow they are in the top 10 in points allowed off of turnovers.
Team
Giveaways
Giveaway points
Packers
4
3
Steelers
6
10
Panthers
8
12
Vikings
7
13
Patriots
3
13
Seahawks
9
15
Falcons
10
17
Dolphins
9
18
Giants
6
20
Eagles
15
21
The Eagles are only giving up 1.4 points off of turnovers, which is outstanding from a defensive perspective.
Overall 'points off turnovers differential'
Putting the data above together, the Eagles have 59 points off turnovers. They have given up just 21 points off of turnovers. That gives them a "points off turnovers differential" of +38, which is actually the best in the NFL:
Team
Takeaway points
Giveaway points
Points off turnovers differential
Eagles
59
21
+38
Panthers
42
12
+30
Cardinals
66
36
+30
Falcons
46
17
+29
Rams
49
21
+28
Steelers
36
10
+26
Giants
45
20
+25
Jets
45
23
+22
Packers
23
3
+20
Broncos
47
34
+13
The combined records of the teams other than the Eagles on that list: 44-14.
When the turnovers dry up, and they will, how exactly are the Eagles going to win games with an offense that can't score without a ton of help from the defense?
My hot take conclusions:
1) There is no way in hell the Eagles should be 3-4 when they lead the league in "points off turnovers differential."