Under Andy Reid, Eagles Own the Bye Week

With their week off behind them, the 2010 Eagles have been preparing this week to face the Indianapolis Peyton Mannings Colts. It’s a game that the team and its fans are likely feeling more positive about than they thought they would before the season began. That’s because of a few factors, one being the extra week of rest, another being the return of a resurgent Michael Vick from injury, and still another being the fact that this game will be played on the Eagle’s home field. These are the Colts after all, a team that has proven to have an endless supply of resilience no matter what the circumstances, so the Eagles will take any edge that they can get. But apart from the aforementioned “advantages” that the Eagles will bring with them into Sunday’s contest, there is another statistic—and perhaps a more reliable one—that tips the scale in the Eagles’ favor.

Under Andy Reid, the Eagles are undefeated after their bye week. Since 1999, the franchise has posted an 11-0 record when facing a team after returning from a week off. For a little more clarity, here’s a breakdown of each game.

Over these 11 games, the Eagles are averaging 23.6 points scored and are only allowing a measly 12.2 points per contest. Hard to lose games with numbers like that. And before anyone tries to use the “easy competition” excuse, five of these opponents (New York in ’01, Buffalo in ’03, San Diego in ’05, Washington in ’06, and Atlanta in ’08) were still in the post-season mix at the time that the Eagles played them. The team also played two eventual Super Bowl champions after the bye when they faced St. Louis in ’99 and Tampa Bay in ’02 (though to be fair, the Rams probably didn’t play their starters for the whole game in ’99). That leaves only four games that could possibly be considered “easy competition”.

(NOTE: It should probably be mentioned that seven of these games were played on the Eagles home turf, which would have given them a slight advantage, but let’s not split hairs. It’s still incredibly remarkable that they haven’t lost a single game post-bye.)

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Sunday's game is going to be a cakewalk. The current season’s statistics show that Indianapolis’ high-powered offense is ranked in the top of the league in total yards gained (2^nd) and in points scored per game (3^rd), while Philly’s defense is ranked middle-of-the-pack in total yards allowed (13^th) and bottom-half in points allowed per game (23^rd). Add to that the fact that the Colts have been known to exploit much better secondaries than the Eagles’ banged up and suspect pass defense.

But it does prove one thing: Andy Reid is excellent at preparing his team during a bye week. That’s why I’m expecting the Eagles to put up a valiant fight against Indianapolis this weekend. And I wouldn’t be surprised if they pull out a win.