Eagles-Bears Wake-Up Call: By the Numbers

Some statistics to preview Philadelphia's Monday Night Football matchup in Chicago.

Alshon Jeffery. (USA Today Sports)

Alshon Jeffery. (USA Today Sports)

Here are some notable statistics as the Eagles-Bears Monday Night Football matchup approaches:

54.3 — That’s the percentage of snaps Jay Cutler was under pressure in Week 1, which was the highest rate in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. What’s more: The pressure was almost entirely allowed by the offensive tackles, as the Bears’ starting guards gave up just one quarterback hurry in 37 pass-blocking snaps. Cutler was sacked five times for a loss of 31 yards, completing just 16 passes against the Texans.

Houston’s blitz packages were very successful against Cutler, with the quarterback’s passer rating dropping down to an abysmal 42.6 when facing the blitz. Third down was particularly rough for Chicago as Cutler dropped back to pass on 13 of the Bears’ third-down plays, completing only five passes while being sacked four times. The Texans have a pair of talented pass-rushers in J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, but those two accounted for just one of the five sacks.

After Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham each recorded a sack against Cleveland, it appears they may be able to cause some trouble for Chicago off of the edge. While the Eagles didn’t generate too much pressure in the first half against the Browns, Hue Jackson did sometimes leave seven players in to block four defenders, which Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains probably won’t do as much. Once Philadelphia had more one-on-one match-ups against Cleveland, they began to hurry Robert Griffin III at a better rate.

26.3 — That’s how many yards per catch Alshon Jeffery averaged against the Texans. The 26-year-old Pro Bowl receiver totaled 105 yards on four receptions, almost doubling any of the other Chicago receivers’ output. Jeffery’s longest catch of the day was a 54-yard gain.

After the Eagles gave up a pair of deep balls against the Browns — a 58-yarder to Corey Coleman and a 44-yarder to Terrelle Pryor — and Doug Pederson suggested Leodis McKelvin could miss multiple games with a hamstring injury, Jeffery could be a very touch matchup for the Birds. Both Ron Brooks and Jalen Mills held up well against Cleveland when Griffin III attacked the corners soon after McKelvin left the game, but Carroll did have a rough outing as he was in coverage for both of the long gains.

Although Cutler didn’t have much time in the Bears’ Week 1 loss to the Texans, when he did, he took advantage of it. He completed three of his five passes that traveled at least 20 yards, including two to Jeffery, who also drew a 20-yard defensive pass interference penalty. Cutler wasn’t good in Week 1 on third downs, but he ranked fourth in the NFL last year with a 103.2 passer rating in such situations, so the Eagles will have to keep a close eye on Jeffery, especially if they want to get off of the field.

23:41 — That’s how long the Bears held the ball for in Week 1, while the Texans (36:19) dominated the clock. Houston converted 60 percent of their third-down opportunities, but the Bears had just a 31 percent success rate.

Pederson discussed on Monday how running the ball and controlling the clock can help lead to a victory, after his team used that recipe against the Browns.

“The run game really helps in keeping your offense on the football field by keeping yourself in third-and-more-manageable, shorter situations that we had in the game,” Pederson said. “When you look away and come away and look at (39) minutes of ball control, that’s great.

WHAT YOU MISSED

All-22: A lengthy look at Carson Wentz’s impressive debut.

Three numbers that stood out from Wentz’s first game.

Jon Dorenbos’ final America’s Got Talent performance, plus where the Eagles rank amongst the other 31 teams in the NFL.

“I think the hard thing for any play caller is to stay patient with the run game. Sometimes you abandon it too soon when things aren’t going so well.” Doug Pederson says keeping the offense balanced will be important in the long run.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb are among nine first-time nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, writes CSN Philly’s Reuben Frank.

The other first-time nominees this year are Derrick Mason, Joey Porter, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, Hines Ward, Chad Johnson and Bob Sanders.

Other players who spent a significant portion of their careers or played significant roles with the Eagles among Wednesday’s 94 nominees are Eric Allen and Seth Joyner, Ricky Watters, Troy Vincent, Sean Landeta and Brian Mitchell.

Others who spent brief periods with the Eagles who were nominated include Herschel Walker, Jimmy Smith, Mark Bavaro, Levon Kirkland and Gary Anderson.

Twenty members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame have played for the Eagles, but only nine of them spent most of their career here. Of those nine, the only one to play for the Eagles since 1970 is Reggie White.

Jon Dorenbos finished third in America’s Got Talent, reports CSN Philly’s Enrico Campitelli.

“The magic is not in these hands, it’s not in these cards, it’s in every one of us. It’s in our breath, it’s in our touch, it’s in our words,” Eagles long snapper Jon Dorenbos said on Tuesday.

The magic, however, is apparently not in your votes, because Dorenbos failed to win America’s Got Talent (Season 11) on Wednesday night. Dorenbos finished in third place. Apparently less than 1% of votes separated the final three contestants.

The football-playing magician did advance past the first hurdle and made it to the final five contestants. Singer and ukelelist Grace VanderWaal was crowned the winner and took home the $1 million cash prize and a chance to headline a show in Las Vegas.

COMING UP

Doug Pederson will address the media at 10:30.

Chris Jastrzembski contributed to this post.