Looking back, the philadelphia eagles football schedule 2015 felt like a fever dream. It was that weird, transitional year where Chip Kelly finally got the "full GM" powers he craved, traded away fan favorites like LeSean McCoy, and brought in a cohort of players that—honestly—just didn't fit the city's vibe. You remember the hype, right? Sam Bradford's knees were supposedly healed, DeMarco Murray was coming off a monster year in Dallas, and we were all told the "system" was bigger than the players.
It wasn't.
The 2015 season ended in a 7-9 thud, a fired head coach before Week 17, and a roster that looked like a jigsaw puzzle put together by someone who hadn't seen the picture on the box. But if you really dig into the week-by-week grind, the schedule itself tells the story of how it all fell apart. It wasn't just bad luck. It was a brutal stretch of games that exposed every single flaw in Chip’s hyper-fast, no-huddle philosophy.
The September Slump and the DeMarco Murray Problem
The season kicked off on a Monday night in Atlanta. Expectations were through the roof. We saw Sam Bradford dinking and dunking, and while the Eagles lost 26-24, there was this sense that they’d "get it right" once the home opener against Dallas arrived.
That Dallas game was a disaster.
If you want to understand the philadelphia eagles football schedule 2015, you have to look at Week 2. The Eagles lost 20-10 to the Cowboys in one of the ugliest professional football games ever televised. DeMarco Murray finished with 13 carries for... 2 yards. Think about that. Two yards. The schedule gave them a chance to strike a blow against their biggest rival early, and instead, the offense looked completely paralyzed. The defense, led by guys like Malcolm Jenkins and Fletcher Cox, was actually playing its heart out, but they were on the field for 40 minutes because the offense couldn't stay on for more than 40 seconds.
Then came the road trip to the Meadowlands. They beat the Jets 24-17, which gave everyone a false sense of security. Darren Sproles basically saved the day with a punt return touchdown. It's funny how we remember Sproles as the only guy who consistently made Chip’s system look like it worked.
October’s Rollercoaster: The 3-Game "We Might Be Good" Phase
By the time October rolled around, the philadelphia eagles football schedule 2015 offered a glimmer of hope. They absolutely demolished the Saints 39-17. This was the game where the "Oregon South" vision actually appeared real. Over 500 yards of offense. Murray finally found some room. Bradford looked comfortable.
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Then came the Giants on a Monday night.
Lincoln Financial Field was electric. The Eagles wore the all-black uniforms. They forced three turnovers and won 27-7. At 3-3, the city was ready to believe again. We thought maybe the slow start was just growing pains. But the schedule had a trap waiting in Charlotte.
The Week 7 matchup against the undefeated Carolina Panthers was a reality check. Cam Newton wasn't having it. The Eagles lost 27-16, and you started to see the cracks in the foundation again. Ryan Mathews was clearly the better runner than Murray, but for some reason, Kelly kept forcing the high-priced free agent into horizontal sweeps that went nowhere. The fans were starting to get restless, and the locker room chatter—though quiet at the time—was beginning to suggest that players were exhausted by the practice tempo.
The Thanksgiving Meltdown and the End of the Kelly Era
November is usually when teams find their identity. The 2015 Eagles found theirs, and it was "unstable."
After a gritty overtime win against Dallas (where Jordan Hicks had that massive pick-six before getting hurt), the team returned home to face the Dolphins. They lost by one point. Then came the two games that effectively ended Chip Kelly’s career in Philadelphia.
The Week 11 game against Tampa Bay was a 45-17 slaughter. Jameis Winston, then a rookie, threw five touchdowns. Five. At home. The defense had officially quit. But the NFL schedule-makers had an even crueler joke waiting: a short week and a flight to Detroit for Thanksgiving.
Watching the Eagles get dismantled by the Lions 45-14 on national television while everyone was eating turkey was a low point for the franchise. It was embarrassing. Mark Sanchez was starting because Bradford was banged up, and the defense gave up another five passing touchdowns—this time to Matthew Stafford.
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- Week 11: 45 points allowed to Tampa.
- Week 12: 45 points allowed to Detroit.
- The Vibe: Complete and utter chaos.
Somehow, they went into New England the following week and beat Tom Brady. Seriously. The Eagles won 35-28 thanks to a blocked punt, an interception return, and a punt return for a score. It was the weirdest win in the history of the philadelphia eagles football schedule 2015. It gave Chip a stay of execution, but only for a few weeks.
The Final Stretch: 2015 Game-by-Game Results
To really see the volatility of this season, you have to look at the raw numbers. It was a season of extremes.
Week 1: @ Atlanta Falcons – L, 24-26
Week 2: vs Dallas Cowboys – L, 10-20
Week 3: @ New York Jets – W, 24-17
Week 4: @ Washington Redskins – L, 20-23
Week 5: vs New Orleans Saints – W, 39-17
Week 6: vs New York Giants – W, 27-7
Week 7: @ Carolina Panthers – L, 16-27
Week 8: BYE
Week 9: @ Dallas Cowboys – W, 33-27 (OT)
Week 10: vs Miami Dolphins – L, 19-20
Week 11: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers – L, 17-45
Week 12: @ Detroit Lions – L, 14-45
Week 13: @ New England Patriots – W, 35-28
Week 14: vs Buffalo Bills – W, 23-20
Week 15: vs Arizona Cardinals – L, 17-40
Week 16: vs Washington Redskins – L, 24-38
Week 17: @ New York Giants – W, 35-30
That Week 16 loss to Washington was the final nail. Kirk Cousins threw for over 300 yards, the Eagles looked disinterested, and Jeffrey Lurie had seen enough. Chip Kelly was fired before the team even played the season finale against the Giants. Pat Shurmur took over as the interim for that last game, which—hilariously—the Eagles won, because that’s just how that year went.
Why 2015 Still Matters to Eagles Fans
It’s easy to dismiss this season as a failure, but it changed the trajectory of the franchise forever. If 2015 hadn't been such a disaster, the Eagles might not have been in a position to move up and draft Carson Wentz in 2016. They wouldn't have hired Doug Pederson. They wouldn't have won the Super Bowl two years later.
The philadelphia eagles football schedule 2015 served as a cautionary tale about "smartest guy in the room" syndrome. It taught the front office that culture beats strategy, but you actually need the right players to fit that culture. Moving on from guys like DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and LeSean McCoy in such a short window created a void that no amount of sports science or "smoothies" could fill.
Sam Bradford finished the year with 3,725 yards and 19 touchdowns. On paper, it wasn't the worst season a quarterback has ever had in Philly. But he was sacked 28 times and never really looked like he wanted to be there. The run game, which was supposed to be the engine of the offense, finished 14th in the league—a far cry from the dominant unit it was just a year prior.
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Actionable Takeaways from the 2015 Season
If you're a die-hard looking back at the stats or a sports historian trying to figure out what went wrong, here’s how to view the 2015 season through a modern lens.
Check the Defensive Snap Counts
One of the biggest issues with the 2015 schedule was how many plays the Eagles' defense had to endure. Because Chip Kelly’s offense scored fast or went three-and-out fast, the defense led the league in snaps played. If you’re analyzing player longevity, look at how 2015 burned out certain veterans.
The "Contract Year" Myth
DeMarco Murray is the perfect example of why you don't overpay for a running back coming off a 400-touch season. His failure in 2015 is still cited today by GMs who are wary of giving big second contracts to aging backs.
Draft Capital Importance
The 2015 season led to the 13th overall pick in the 2016 draft. The Eagles eventually traded that (and other pieces) to Cleveland to get to number two. Without the 7-9 finish in 2015, the math for that trade doesn't work.
Coaching Transitions
The jump from Chip Kelly’s rigid system to Doug Pederson’s "player-friendly" approach was a direct reaction to the locker room fatigue of 2015. When you look at the 2015 schedule, pay attention to the post-game quotes from players like Lane Johnson. They were dropping hints all year that the system was broken.
The 2015 season was a messy, loud, and often frustrating chapter in Eagles history. It was the year of the "DeMarco Slide," the year of the Thanksgiving blowout, and the year the Chip Kelly experiment officially went up in flames. But without that specific 16-game grind, the 2017 championship run probably never happens. It was the necessary rock bottom.