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The Eagles are the NFL’s Best Clock Controlling Team, and it’s Not Particularly Close
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It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that you’re going to win football games when you keep your offense on the field and your defense on the sidelines.
Case in point – the Eagles winning 23-14 on Sunday while controlling 37:55 of clock and giving the Rams only 22:05 with the ball. It was the key ancillary victory that made up for poor red zone efficiency and helped the Birds improve to 5-0 on the season. They converted at a 72% rate on third down and moved the sticks 28 times over the course of the game.
The Birds have been so good in this area that they are now #1 or #2 in the NFL in the following categories (all data via SportRadar/PFF) –
- time of possession: 2:58:01 (#1)
- time of possession differential: 00:50:00 (#1)
- time of possession per game: 35:36 (#1)
- time of possession per 60 minutes: 34:35 (#2, removes the Washington overtime outlier)
- play differential: +51 (#2)
- average time of possession per offensive drive: 3:21 (#1)
They’ve had the ball 50 minutes longer than their opponents, which really is an incredible number through just five games. The TOP number increases slightly in the second half, so they typically do a better job of settling down and controlling the 3rd and 4th quarters, going on these long and sustained drives to chew clock.
One thing that’s important to point out is that the Eagles dominated these same exact categories when they won it all in 2017. Doug Pederson’s squad finished #1 with a 08:43:02 time of possession, a 01:26:04 differential, and controlled the ball for 32 minutes and 41 seconds on average. The opponent averaged just 2 minutes and 19 seconds per drive, which was the second-best number across the entire NFL that season. They really did a fantastic job defensively of getting off the field and giving the ball back to Carson Wentz and Nick Foles.
These are pretty straightforward, surface-level data sets, but consider how the Eagles are getting there in 2023. They’re #2 in the NFL this season with a 50.7 third down conversion percentage.
Move the chains, keep the ball.
They’re top ten with a 62.5 conversion rate on 4th down.
Move the chains, keep the ball.
Early run game success really adds to these numbers, and opponent penalties add up as well. Other teams have either jumped offside or committed infractions on 12 different occasions that resulted in a new set of downs for the Eagles, which puts the Birds in a 7th-place tie. All top 10 numbers across the board.
You keep winning in these ancillary categories and you’ll cover up blemishes elsewhere on the field. That’s the formula.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com