How do you explain it?
You don’t explain it. You can’t explain it.
There can be no explanation for the fact that the Eagles are the first team in NFL history to be sitting at .500 after 10 games without winning a home game.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Philadelphia sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
At the Linc so far this year, the Eagles are 0-4, with four losses by an average of 23-14.
On the road so far this year, the Eagles are 5-1, with the five wins coming by an average of 35-20.
It shouldn’t be. It can’t be. But it is.
“What is the answer for us not winning at home and being 5‑1 on the road? I don't know,” head coach Chip Kelly said. “If we knew it, we'd replicate it.
News
“Do we have to take the buses and drive around for a half hour before we go to the stadium? I don't know.
“If that was the answer, we would do it. We don't have that answer.”
The Eagles have lost a franchise-record 10 straight home games going into their division showdown Sunday at the Linc against the Redskins.
A loss Sunday would give the Eagles an 11-game home losing streak, which would be tied for seventh-longest in NFL history.
The Eagles’ last home win was Sept. 30, 2012, over the Giants.
This is the first time the Eagles have opened 0-4 at home since 1983, when they lost their first six games.
The 5-1 start on the road is their best since 2004, when they were 6-1 on the road before playing the backups in a meaningless late-season loss in St. Louis after clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
The Eagles and Jaguars are the only NFL teams still winless at home. The Eagles and Seahawks are the only NFL teams with five wins on the road.
Bizarre.
“We love to have dominance at home,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “We found a way to win games on the road, which we all know is difficult, and we’ve just got to come back and play better. It ain't a great answer, we've just got to play better against our opponents that we play at home.”
Part of the answer could be simply that Nick Foles has played mainly on the road this season. But in his one start at the Linc, the 24-year-old quarterback that has set records everywhere else, was awful.
How can a team that is among the NFL’s best away from home be so pathetic at home?
“It’s hard to really answer that question,” LeSean McCoy said. “I think we have the same preparation each week, no matter if it’s home or away. We’ve just got to find a way to get over this hump, and until we do, I’ll be getting the same questions.
“So hopefully we can take care of it this week and get a win at home.”
This will be only Foles’ second home start this year, with the first being his disaster against the Cowboys.
So far at home this year, Foles is 11 for 30 for 80 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and a 45.1 passer rating.
In his career, he’s got three TDs and three interceptions in four home starts. All losses.
So far this year on the road, Foles has completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,176 yards, with 16 touchdowns and no interceptions and a 146.9 passer rating. He’s 3-1 in road starts this year and 4-3 in his career.
Foles has won two Player of the Week awards, tied an NFL record, recorded the highest passer ratings ever in two stadiums and had his cleats and jersey sent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He just hasn’t won a home game.
“That’s something we’ve got to work on,” Foles said. “We have a big game coming up at home, at the Linc, and I hope the crowd’s ready to go.
“We’re pumped, and we’ve got to get a win for everybody. I hope they’re loud and cheering us on and ready to go because we’re going to need them to keep us going.”
Kelly said he doesn’t see any differences between the way the Eagles have prepared at home and on the road.
“I watch these guys on a weekly basis prepare,” he said. “And I don't think they say, ‘Hey, we're away, let's do this. We're home, let's do this.’ They're not like this. It's a consistent group in their approach.
“But I do think we have an advantage. We love playing at home. Our fans are outstanding. They deserve it. That's what our goal is right now.
“We have a one‑game season, and it's against the Washington Redskins, it's at home, and we're excited to get back into the Linc and play in front of our fans.”