Man, 2015 was a weird time to be an Eagles fan. Honestly, if you look back at the Philadelphia Eagles 2015 football schedule, it looks like a fairly standard NFL slate on paper, but the actual reality was pure, unadulterated chaos. This was the year Chip Kelly went full "Mad Scientist." He traded away fan favorites like LeSean McCoy and Nick Foles, essentially betting his entire career on a specific vision of how football should be played.
It didn't go well.
Basically, the season was a roller coaster that started with high hopes and ended with Chip getting fired before the Week 17 finale against the Giants. You had Sam Bradford trying to find his legs after years of injuries, DeMarco Murray looking completely out of place in a system that didn't let him run downhill, and a defense that spent so much time on the field they probably deserved frequent flyer miles.
The Weird Quirks of the Philadelphia Eagles 2015 Football Schedule
Before the first whistle even blew, the schedule itself was a bit of a mess. Did you know the Pope actually influenced the Eagles' home games that year? No, seriously. Pope Francis was scheduled to visit Philly in late September, which meant the city was going to be an absolute madhouse. Because of the massive crowds and security needs, the Eagles specifically requested to be away for Week 3.
The NFL obliged, sending them to New York to face the Jets. It’s one of those tiny historical footnotes that most people forget, but it’s why the Birds didn't have a true home game between September 20 and October 11.
A Rough Start in the Peach State
The season officially kicked off on Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons. It felt like a classic "Chip Kelly" game—slow start, frenetic comeback, and then a heartbreaking loss. Cody Parkey missed a late field goal, and the Eagles fell 26-24.
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The following week was worse. Much worse.
If you were at the Linc for the home opener against Dallas, I'm sorry. It was a 20-10 slog where the Eagles' offense looked like it was running through waist-deep mud. DeMarco Murray, who was supposed to be the "Cowboy Killer," finished the game with 13 carries for... 2 yards. That isn't a typo. Two yards. The frustration in the stadium was palpable.
Turning Points and False Dawns
Despite the 0-2 start, there were moments where it felt like maybe, just maybe, Chip's plan was working. They managed to beat the Jets in Week 3 (thank you, Darren Sproles punt return) and then eventually rattled off a couple of dominant wins against the Saints and the Giants.
By Week 6, the Eagles were 3-3 and sitting on top of a mediocre NFC East. The Monday Night game against the Giants was arguably the peak of the season. The defense was flying around, Nolan Carroll had a pick-six, and it looked like the "Culture" was finally beating "Strategy."
The Mid-Season Collapse
Then the wheels came off. The Philadelphia Eagles 2015 football schedule featured a brutal stretch in November that basically sealed Chip Kelly’s fate.
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- Week 10: A 20-19 loss to the Miami Dolphins where Sam Bradford got hurt.
- Week 11: A 45-17 absolute shellacking at the hands of Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers.
- Week 12: A Thanksgiving Day disaster in Detroit, losing 45-14.
Giving up 90 points in five days is impressive in all the wrong ways. It was during this stretch that the locker room started to feel fractured. Reports were swirling about players being unhappy with the lack of "human" connection from the coaching staff.
That Shocking Win in Foxborough
If you want to talk about the single most confusing game in Eagles history, it’s Week 13 against the New England Patriots.
The Eagles were 4-7. They were double-digit underdogs. Tom Brady was... well, Tom Brady. And somehow, the Eagles won 35-28. They scored touchdowns on a blocked punt, an interception return by Malcolm Jenkins, and a punt return by Sproles. It was a statistical anomaly—a win despite the offense only gaining 248 total yards.
It gave fans a glimmer of hope that they could still steal the division. But in true 2015 fashion, they followed it up by getting blown out by the Cardinals and losing a winner-take-all-ish game to Washington on a Saturday night.
The Final Tally
When the dust settled, the team finished 7-9. Here is how the regular season actually shook out:
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| Week | Opponent | Result | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Atlanta Falcons | Loss | 24-26 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | Loss | 10-20 |
| 3 | at New York Jets | Win | 24-17 |
| 4 | at Washington Redskins | Loss | 20-23 |
| 5 | New Orleans Saints | Win | 39-17 |
| 6 | New York Giants | Win | 27-7 |
| 7 | at Carolina Panthers | Loss | 16-27 |
| 9 | at Dallas Cowboys | Win (OT) | 33-27 |
| 10 | Miami Dolphins | Loss | 19-20 |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Loss | 17-45 |
| 12 | at Detroit Lions | Loss | 14-45 |
| 13 | at New England Patriots | Win | 35-28 |
| 14 | Buffalo Bills | Win | 23-20 |
| 15 | Arizona Cardinals | Loss | 17-40 |
| 16 | Washington Redskins | Loss | 24-38 |
| 17 | at New York Giants | Win | 35-30 |
Why the 2015 Schedule Still Matters Today
Looking back, 2015 was the necessary failure that led to the 2017 Super Bowl run. If the Eagles hadn't struggled so much under Chip's "GM" era, Jeffrey Lurie might not have felt the need to blow it all up and bring in Doug Pederson.
The DeMarco Murray experiment taught the league a lot about "scheme fit." You can't just take the league's leading rusher and force him to run east-to-west out of the shotgun if he's a north-to-south power back. It's a lesson in humility that many coaches still reference.
Sam Bradford actually wasn't as bad as people remember—he finished with a 65% completion rate and over 3,700 yards—but he was playing behind an aging offensive line that couldn't protect him.
What You Can Do Now
If you’re a football nerd or an Eagles historian, go back and watch the highlights of that Week 13 game against the Patriots. It remains one of the best examples of "Complementary Football" (defense and special teams winning a game) you’ll ever see.
For those wanting to understand the modern NFL offense, studying the rise and fall of Chip Kelly's tenure in Philadelphia is a masterclass in why "speed" and "tempo" aren't enough if you don't have the "culture" to back it up.
Take a look at the current roster and appreciate how far the team has come since the days of Byron Maxwell and Kiko Alonso. The 2015 season was painful, sure, but it was the bridge to the greatest moment in Philly sports history. Sometimes you have to lose 45-14 to the Lions on Thanksgiving to realize you need a change.