Eagles offense leads NFL, but Kelly, McCoy want more

The Eagles lead the NFL in scoring, yards per game and rank ninth in rushing yards per game.

And they're also 2-0 after rallying from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Indianapolis Colts 30-27 on Monday night when Cody Parkey hit a 36-yard field goal as time expired.

Yet you would never know it after quarterback Nick Foles, running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin all said they aren't playing as well as they should be.

"I need to get my thing together," McCoy said. "I feel like I'm not playing to my level where I should be playing. [Monday] it was an average, above average game where [Darren Sproles] carried us again."

That helps explain why the Eagles are undefeated so far. Sproles caught seven passes for 152 yards and ran for 26 more. McCoy, meanwhile, had 79 yards on 20 carries. Through two games, he has 153 yards on 41 carries and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry. Last season, when McCoy led the NFL in rushing with 1,607 yards, he averaged 5.2 yards per carry. He also had more yards in the season opener last year (184) than he does through two games so far.

"I think they're very honest in their assessments and they understand that they can improve," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said Tuesday. "No one should be patting themselves on the back anywhere. We're fortunate to be 2-0. We've done a great job coming back in both games, but there's a lot of work in every aspect that we need to work on. That's the great thing about this group. They understand that."

It's the same way with Foles. Through two games, he has completed 58.5 percent of his passes with three touchdown passes and two interceptions, which is as many INTs as he threw all last season. Foles' quarterback rating is 86.1 after having the third highest in NFL history last season at 119.2.

On Monday, he went 21 of 37 for 331 yards with a touchdown and interception, but he missed some open receivers and had at least six passes dropped.

Maclin, meanwhile, was targeted 11 times Monday and had just four receptions. Riley Cooper had one catch for eight yards and has just five receptions for 37 yards in two games.

"It's not alarming to me," Kelly said. "I think we lead the league in yards and we lead the league in points. I want everybody to play better. I want our outside receivers to play better. I want our inside receivers to play better. I want the running backs, offensive line, everybody. But I still think we're getting production. The thing about this group is we're built in a manner where we have more than just two weapons.

"We don't care where the production comes from. You end up getting 460 yards of offense, scoring 30 points. It's enough for us to win so we're happy with it."

Besides, that production is coming from Sproles and tight end Zach Ertz, who is averaging 23.3 yards per reception this season.

And that's just fine with Kelly, who was asked about how he can get McCoy going.

"Rating his production against last year is meaningless in my opinion because we're not trying to win rushing titles, we're trying to win football games," Kelly said. "Sometimes things are geared to take him away. If they're geared to take him away, then other guys have to make plays. We have enough weapons around LeSean where you have to pick your poison, so to speak. People are honed in him and rightly so. Now, it opens the field up for the other guys."

In other news:

X-Kelly said inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who left the game in the fourth quarter with a calf injury, went for an MRI on Monday and he didn't have the results. Kendricks told reporters after the game that it was just a "spasm" and he didn't seem worried about it.

X-Kelly said he was pleased with how Dennis Kelly played at left guard in place of Evan Mathis, who's out at least seven more weeks with a sprained MCL. He was asked if veteran Wade Smith, who was signed last week, has a chance to start Sunday against Washington.

Kelly said he was impressed with how Smith has picked things up quickly, before adding: "I thought Dennis did really well, so I'm not anticipating anything different right now."

X-The Colts expected a defensive holding call against Brandon Boykin, who made contact with receiver T.Y. Hilton on Andrew Luck's pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Jenkins with 5:08 left in the fourth quarter. The Colts were at the Eagles' 22, with a good chance to put the ball away.

"There was contact," Kelly said. "And when you watch it, any penalty when you look at it in super slow motion, it seemed like to me … it was a bang-bang play. If they threw a flag on it, you couldn't argue a flag because there was contact."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.