2015 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Jeffrey Lurie
General manager	Chip Kelly(de facto)
Head coach	Chip Kelly (fired December 29; 6–9 record) Pat Shurmur (interim week 17; 1–0 record)
Home stadium	Lincoln Financial Field
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2ndNFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Fletcher Cox, DE Jason Peters, OT Darren Sproles, PR Malcolm Jenkins, SS
Uniform
← 2014 Eagles seasons 2016 →

The2015 season was thePhiladelphia Eagles' 83rd in theNational Football League (NFL), and their third and final year underhead coachChip Kelly. Acting as thede facto general manager, Kelly cut or traded several prominent starters, such asNick Foles,Evan Mathis,Trent Cole, and 2013 rushing championLeSean McCoy, while their leading receiverJeremy Maclin left in free agency. Kelly brought in new players likeSam Bradford,Byron Maxwell,Kiko Alonso, and 2014 rushing championDeMarco Murray, who he believed to better fit his system. The team also signed free agent quarterbackTim Tebow in what would be Tebow's last time playing in the NFL (excluding a brief preseason stint as a tight end for theJacksonville Jaguars in 2021).

In a mirror image of 2014, the Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention in a Week 16Saturday Night Football loss to the Washington Redskins. On December 29, 2015, Kelly was abruptly fired by the Eagles. Offensive coordinatorPat Shurmur would take over as interim head coach for the final week of the 2015 season.^[1]

• On March 3, the Eagles agreed to traderunning backLeSean McCoy to theBuffalo Bills forlinebackerKiko Alonso.
• On March 10, the Eagles tradedquarterbackNick Foles to theSt. Louis Rams for quarterbackSam Bradford and draft compensation.
• On September 4, the Eagles tradedquarterbackMatt Barkley to theArizona Cardinals for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.

The Eagles released veteransJames Casey,Todd Herremans,Trent Cole,Evan Mathis andCary Williams prior to the official start of the new season.

Notes

• The Eagles acquired an additional fourth-round selection (No. 113 overall) as part of a trade that sentrunning backBryce Brown to theBuffalo Bills.
• The Eagles tradedquarterbackNick Foles and their original fourth-round selection (No. 119 overall) to theSt. Louis Rams in exchange for quarterbackSam Bradford and the Rams' fifth-round selection (No. 145 overall). The trade also included a possible2016 conditional selection the Eagles could receive, based on Bradford's playing time in 2015. If Bradford took less than 50 percent of the snaps, the Eagles would receive the Rams' fourth-round selection; it would upgrade to a third-rounder if Bradford did not play at all in 2015.

Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.

The Eagles opened their season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Other than the one-handedKiko Alonso interception in the end zone, Atlanta dominated in the first half, while former Legion of Boom cornerbackByron Maxwell had trouble coveringJulio Jones.DeMarco Murray also struggled in the first half, as he had a 12-yard loss on one run. In the second half, the Eagles opened up with an interception onMatt Ryan byWalter Thurmond and scored on their next 3 possessions, and took the lead late in the 4th quarter. However,Matt Bryant kicked a field goal to give the Falcons back a 26–24 lead and the Eagles had a chance to come back. However, the Eagles were stopped on 3rd and 1, andCody Parkey missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.Malcolm Jenkins then made a critical stop on 3rd down to force a Falcons punt. The Eagles' next drive ended asSam Bradford threw a pass toJordan Matthews, but the ball bounced off him and was intercepted by the Falcons, sealing a Falcons' victory.Reigning NFL rushing champ DeMarco Murray had 8 carries for 9 yards, which included an 8-yard touchdown run. Backup Darren Sproles picked up the slack by averaging 10 yards per carry and catching 7 passes for 76 yards.

The Eagles open their season at 0–1.

The Eagles played poorly in a 20–10 loss to their divisional rival. The defense played a great game, but the offense was unable to convert it into points.Connor Barwin andCedric Thornton each scored a sack, while Byron Maxwell forced a fumble that Malcolm Jenkins recovered. Rookie linebackerJordan Hicks, who was filling in for injured starsMychal Kendricks andKiko Alonso, not only sacked Cowboys starter Tony Romo, but he also injured Romo and forced a fumble thatFletcher Cox recovered. However backup Brandon Weeden went 7/7 and scored a passing touchdown to seal the game. All Bradford could muster was a meaningless touchdown to Jordan Matthews in the fourth quarter. Ex-Cowboy DeMarco Murray was given the ball 13 times but only came up with 2 yards, bringing his total for the season at merely 11 rushing yards on 21 carries.

The Eagles dropped to 0–2, the first time since 2007 that the Eagles lost their first two regular season games.

As the visit ofPope Francis generated excitement in the city of Philadelphia, the Eagles made the first of two visits toMetLife Stadium to square off with the Jets. The Eagles improved their all-time head-to-head record against the Jets to 10–0.^[18] DeMarco Murray was out with a hamstring injury, but Ryan Mathews carried the load, rushing 25 times for 108 yards. Darren Sproles also ran for 17 yards and one touchdown, but the highlight of his game was an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown. In the first half, all areas of the Eagles dominated the Jets 24–7. Right before the first half ended,Brandon Marshall fumbled the ball on an ill-conceived lateral attempt, which was recovered the Eagles and turned into aDarren Sproles 1-yard touchdown run. In the second half, the Eagles attempted to mostly maintain the lead and run the clock out, using a majority of run plays that the Jets were able to predict.Eric Rowe,Jordan Hicks, andWalter Thurmond all interceptedRyan Fitzpatrick in the game, who had done relatively well with turnovers until this game. The Jets would however score 10 unanswered points, but the Eagles would stop their comeback by recovering an onside kick and being able to get a first down off a last-minute Jets penalty.

The Eagles improved to 1–2 and were tied at 2nd place in the NFC East along with the Redskins and the Giants.

A day later, the Eagles announced that kickerCody Parkey would undergo season-ending groin surgery.

In a heart-pounding NFC East battle, the Redskins scored a last-minute touchdown to end the Eagles' comeback hopes. The Eagles struggled in the first half as the offensive line struggled to protectSam Bradford and the defense gave up big plays in the first half. And after DeMarco Murray's first run went for 30 yards, he only added 6 yards to it for the rest of the game. The defense would hold the Redskins from a TD on the first 2 drives.Kirk Cousins and the Redskins were able to get the ball moving in the first half. New Eagles kickerCaleb Sturgis, who replaced an injuredCody Parkey, missed a short field goal at the end of the first half and an extra point at the beginning of the second half. The Eagles were able to get the chains moving in the third quarter. Touchdowns by veteransRiley Cooper andBrent Celek gave the Eagles a tie, but Washington took the lead back. At the end of the third quarter,Brandon Graham forced a fumble onJordan Reed, which was recovered by rookieJordan Hicks. The Eagles would score on the corresponding drive with aMiles Austin touchdown. However, the Eagles made costly mistakes on 3rd down and had to settle for a punt with 5 minutes left in the game. The Redskins then drove down the field andPierre Garçon scored the game-winning touchdown. The Eagles attempted to tie or win the game with only 26 seconds left, but the Redskins defense held. The offensive line failed to protect Bradford again and gave up another 2 sacks.

With the loss, the Eagles dropped to 1–3 and last place in the NFC East. However, due to the Cowboys losing and dropping to 2–2, the Eagles were only one game out of 1st place.

Following the loss, the Eagles bounced back against the 1–3 Saints, who were also last in their division, in their first meeting since their heartbreaking last second loss in the 2013 Wild Card round. After a weak 1st quarter, the Eagles blew out the Saints and successfully got their revenge. In the 2nd quarter Sam Bradford gave second-year receiver Josh Huff his first career receiving touchdown to tie the game. Following this, veteran tight endBrent Celek gained his second receiving touchdown of the year off a 13-yarder.

Murray, Mathews, and Sproles all gained large chunks of yards, but it was Murray who finally had a respectable game, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown after getting 20 carries, which was more than his entire season total prior to the game.

The Eagles improved to 2–3, while losses from the Cowboys and Redskins put them back in contention for the NFC East crown.

The Eagles came into the game seeking a win and the lead in the NFC East (the Redskins had lost to the Jets on Sunday). Although both teams committed turnovers, the Eagles came away with the win. Penalties, such as Running into the Kicker and Roughing the Passer, against the Giants gave the Eagles new life on drives that were stopped early and led to points. Although Eli Manning and the Giants' opening drive looked promising, the Giants could not get anything going after that. Bradford threw three interceptions, but DeMarco Murray had his first 100-yard game of the season, and the defense managed to shut down the giants offense.

The Eagles advanced to 3–3 and were tied with the Giants for the lead in the NFC East (the Eagles had the tiebreaker over the Giants due to their head-to-head win)

Sam Bradford has been inconsistent for the previous weeks and this led to rumors about whether or not coach Kelly should bench him. Despite these rumors, the Eagles travel to Charlotte to take on Cam Newton's Carolina Panthers, who had a dominant start to the season. The Eagles were unable to stop the Panthers hot streak as Bradford's struggles continued all game. Jason Peters left the game with a back injury.

With the loss, the Eagles drop to 3–4.

This was the Eagles' only game outside of theEastern Time Zone during the2015 season.

DeMarco Murray returned to Dallas for the first time since leaving the Cowboys.

Hoping to win on his 28th birthday, Sam Bradford accomplished it by throwing the game-winning touchdown pass toJordan Matthews for 41 yards to give the Eagles the final score in an overtime thriller.

Breakout rookieJordan Hicks left the game with a torn pectoral muscle. The Eagles later announced that Hicks would miss the rest of the season. Up to this point, Hicks was the Eagles' leading tackler, with 1 sack, 3 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, and 2 interceptions, one of which was a 67-yard pick six that was caught in this game.

With the win, the Eagles tie the season series with Dallas 1–1 and they improved to 4–4.

The Eagles had a good first quarter and scored 16 unanswered points in the 1st quarter, but were unable to muster any points afterwards. In the third quarter, quarterback Sam Bradford left the game with a concussion along and an injured shoulder, while leading rusherRyan Mathews left with a concussion as well. Mark Sanchez took over as quarterback for the game's remainder and led the Eagles into field goal range. Sanchez was an improvement over Bradford in some ways, mainly mobility and avoiding sacks, but he was also a less accurate passer. He was intercepted in the end zone while attempting to give the Eagles the lead, on a pass that was wrestled away from wide receiverMiles Austin in the 4th quarter.

Playing in the place of Bradford, Sanchez had an excellent first half, throwing for 2 touchdowns to keep the Eagles in contention, although he threw his first interception shortly before halftime. After halftime, the Eagles offense broke down. The defense, which had already broken down, allowed 5 touchdowns from rookie quarterbackJameis Winston, their once elite run defense let Doug Martin rush for 235 yards, and the Eagles were blown out at home by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a score of 45–17 as they fell to 4–6. The 28-point loss was the worst output at home for the Eagles since December 5, 2005 against the Seattle Seahawks, and worst to a sub-.500 opponent.

Thanksgiving Day game

Playing in their second straight Thanksgiving game, the Eagles struggled especially on defense, where they were unable to stop the much-hyped Lions offense, led byMatthew Stafford andCalvin Johnson, all game. The worst of it all was how unproven rookieEric Rowe was tasked with covering wide receiver Calvin Johnson for the majority of the games, leading to Johnson catching 3 touchdowns. Philadelphia's offense was no help, either and frustrations, especially from the team's sideline boiled over. Stafford's five passing touchdowns, including three of them to Johnson was too much for the Eagles to overcome and for the second consecutive time this season, the Eagles gave up 45 points in a game.

With the loss, the Eagles drop to 4–7 on the season and 6–1 when playing on Thanksgiving. However, hope was revived for the team when the Giants, who could have moved to a commanding 3 game lead in the NFC East, fell to the Washington Redskins, meaning the Eagles were only down 1 game from the Giants and Redskins.

In a game that was predicted to be a blowout, with a struggling Eagles defense playing a 10–1 Patriots led by Tom Brady, who led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns. The Eagles held the Patriots to 0 points in the first quarter, but Brady threw a touchdown to James White on the first play of the 2nd quarter, followed by an 11-yard strike toDanny Amendola to make the game 14–0. New England tried an onside kick to surprise Philadelphia, but the special teams were ready and recovered it, giving the Eagles ideal field position. Bradford took advantage of this with a 5-yard touchdown toZach Ertz next drive, but could not get going following the drive. With 15 seconds left, New England looked poised to end the half with a 7-point lead, butChris Maragos blocked a punt that middle linebackerNajee Goode took back 24 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Brady drove the ball to the five-yard line, but free safetyMalcolm Jenkins had other plans, catching an interception and running it back for a 100-yard pick six. Next drive, New England was forced to punt, whichDarren Sproles took back 83 yards for a touchdown. Next drive, Brady threw an end zone pick to cornerbackByron Maxwell, who went down in the end zone for a touchback. In a drive set up by Maxwell's INT that lasted well into the fourth quarter, Bradford threw a TD to Jordan Matthews, and the Eagles were leading 35–14. Enraged fans started to leave the stadium, but soon the lead would thicken as the Patriots scored, recovered an onside kick, and scored again, turning things to make the score 35–28 with 3 minutes left. Riley Cooper batted the next onside kick out of bounds to secure the Eagles possession. After 3rd string running backKenjon Barner fumbled with slightly over a minute left, Tom Brady and the undermanned Patriots' offense attempted to rally to tie the game, but dropped passes by Martin and Amendola ultimately lead to the underdog Eagles stunning New England and its home crowd.

Although Bradford posted very few yards, he threw 2 touchdowns and continued to not turn the ball over. Outside linebackersConnor Barwin andBrandon Graham scored 2 sacks each. DeMarco Murray returned to his shape from weeks 1–4, rushing for 24 yards on 8 carries, which turns into a pitiful 7 carries for 5 yards when you take away his longest run of 19 yards.Darren Sproles stepped up, rushing for 66 yards, receiving for 34 yards, and returning punts for 115 yards and 1 touchdown.

With the win, the Eagles go to 5–7, ending a three-game skid and passing the Giants for second place in the NFC East. With a loss by the Washington Redskins, the Eagles' 5–7 record tied them with the Redskins for the best record in the NFC East, but their Week 4 loss kept them in second. Not only was this their first win against the Patriots in the Brady-Belichick era (preseason notwithstanding), buttwo years later, they would proceed to claim their first Super Bowl title in their next game against them.

The Eagles host the Buffalo Bills with the return ofLeSean McCoy, the Eagles all-time leading rusher who was traded in the offseason. McCoy's started well mentally and physically, as he kissed the Eagles logo and embraced Eagles ownerJeffrey Lurie, as well as racking up 63 yards on 12 carries. After halftime, he started to fall apart. McCoy only rushed for 8 carries and 11 yards in the 2nd half, and after the game, he was not on the field to interact with his former teammates and did not shake hands with coach Kelly, which McCoy said he wouldn't do prior to Week 14.

The game started off well for Philly, besides a first down rush by McCoy, the Buffalo offense was forced to punt after 5 plays, and on the ensuing drive, Darren Sproles rushed for 15 yards to put his team on the 1-yard line, then ran it in for a TD on the next play. The Bills answered with a Tyrod Taylor pass roSammy Watkins, a catch and run that went 47 yards for a TD. After several more drives, the Eagles strike again in the second quarter, with first rounderNelson Agholor getting his first career touchdown on a 53-yard catch and run. The Bills could only muster aDan Carpenter field goal, which was countered by aCaleb Sturgis field goal with 5 seconds left in the half. The second half started with a Caleb Sturgis field goal, but the Bills scored 10 unanswered points, then intercepted Sam Bradford on the ensuing drive. The score stayed 20–20 until the fourth quarter, where Sturgis kicked another field goal with 3 minutes left. The Bills started to gain some momentum, but a rushed pass led to an interception by backup safetyEd Reynolds clinching the game for the Eagles.

With the win, the Eagles improved to 6–7, but remained in second place in the NFC East due to a win by the Redskins.

For the second time this season, the Eagles wore their black uniforms as they hosted the Arizona Cardinals, who clinched a playoff spot after a Week 14 victory against Minnesota. The Cardinals didn't let up, as they mercilessly beat the Eagles 40–17. Rookie back David Johnson had a breakout game at an inconvenient time for the Eagles, as he scored 3 touchdowns and over 200 all-purpose yards. A win from the Redskins put the Eagles 2 games down in the East, which they could easily fix by beating the Redskins the following week.

In a do-or-die situation, the Eagles died. With a chance to take control of the NFC East, they let the Washington Redskins run away with the division. After an excellent first drive where Sam Bradford played efficiently and Ryan Mathews sliced through the Redskins defense for a rushing TD, the Eagles failed to get anything going afterward. Although a missed extra point gave the Eagles the lead for most of the first quarter, after a second Cousins-Reed touchdown, they never got the lead back. After an exchange of field goals (1 by Sturgis, 2 by Hopkins) which put the Redskins up by 13, the Eagles struck back with a 4-yard DeMarco Murray touchdown to cut the deficit to 6. However, on the next Eagles drive, turnovers struck. First Darren Sproles muffed and recovered his punt for minimal gain, followed by knocking the ball of Bradford's hands on a play action fake, which was also recovered. But on 3rd down Murray fumbled a pitch which was returned for a touchdown byDeAngelo Hall, putting the Redskins up by 13, which was made even worse with a Pierre Garçon touchdown and a 2-point conversion, putting the Eagles down by 21 with 8 minutes left. The Eagles responded with a 43-yard Jordan Matthews touchdown, then the forced a Redskins punt. The Eagles got to the Redskins 26 again, but with 1:42 left on 3rd and 5, a wide open Kenjon Barner drops a potential touchdown pass, leading to a turnover on downs. Then, Cousins took 2 kneels, and the Redskins won the NFC East. The Eagles fell to 6–9 and out of the playoff picture: The loss also eliminated the Giants from the playoffs as well. Chip Kelly was fired 3 days after the game.

In their first game without Chip Kelly, who was fired days after last week's loss against Washington, the Eagles still managed to end the season on a high note with a hard-fought 35–30 victory over the Giants, in what was likely to be Tom Coughlin's final game coaching the Giants.

The Eagles went to 7–9, and completed a 2–0 season sweep over the New York Giants.

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