5 stats that prove Brian Johnson is excelling as the Eagles offensive coordinator
Brian Johnson is in his third season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
After the Birds’ Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, then-offensive coordinator Shane Steichen was hired by the Indianapolis Colts to be their new head coach.
For Johnson, who was the quarterbacks coach, that meant a promotion to offensive coordinator following the 2022 campaign, and the expectation was that the rising coach prospect would only be here a short time before moving on to coach his team.
Through the first seven games, Johnson has received his fair share of criticism.
Still, as Rueben Frank and others have pointed out, Johnson is doing a great job and has the Eagles heading toward a repeat appearance in the Super Bowl.
With the Week 8 matchup against the Commanders looming, we’re providing five stats that prove Johnson has more than excelled as the new offensive coordinator.
EPA
Expected Points Added (EPA), the Ben Baldwin and Sebastian Carl stats, calculate how a team’s expected points were adjusted on a particular sequence. The advanced metric is calculated by the expected points scored based on the down, distance, and field position at the start of a play —
The Eagles are 6th in the NFL with a .06 EPA and 5th in the NFL with a 47.4% success rate on all offensive plays.
Overall stats
The Eagles are good and sometimes expectations can be overhyped, but Brian Johnson’s offense is among the best in the NFL despite not having played a complete game.
According to Rueben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the Birds are a top five team in a handful of the NFL’s most important offensive statistics.
1st in the league with 24 first downs per game
2nd on third down at 49 percent
2nd with seven plays of 40 yards or more
3rd with 389 yards per game
4th with 25.6 points per game.
Eagles are on par with 2022 stats
Shane Steichen was a fantastic offensive coordinator, and he played a massive role in the Birds advancing to the Super Bowl last year. Steichen also had frustrating moments during his first season as the team’s primary playcaller.
Per Reuben Frank, the Philadelphia offense averaged 27.0 points and 395 yards per game while netting 46 percent of 3rd down attempts while maintaining the football for a 32:48 time of possession.
Through seven games this year, Johnson has the Eagles averaging 25.6 points, 389 yards per game, and 49 percent on 3rd down while maintaining the football for a 35:04 time of possession.
There’s been no dropoff outside of some early red zone struggles that most teams have in 2023.
Eagles camp out in the red zone
How can you suggest a change at offensive coordinator, when the Eagles are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the most red-zone possessions in the NFL.
When you have an explosive offense, your field goal/touchdown ratio is likely to be off when the offensive team isn’t converting opportunities into six points.
Team Stats
According to the team’s official website, Philadelphia has the No. 3-ranked total offense (389.3 ypg) in the NFL through 7 games, trailing only Miami (462.3 ypg) and Kansas City (396.7 ypg).
The Eagles rank 4th in rushing offense (142.7 ypg) and 9th in passing offense (246.6 ypg). The Eagles and Dolphins are the only teams who rank among the top 9 in the league in total offense, passing offense, and rushing offense this season.
Philadelphia is 4th in the NFL in points per game (26.6), behind Miami (34.3), San Francisco (28.7) and Buffalo (28.3). The Eagles and 49ers are the only teams that have recorded 25+ points in at least five games this season.
The Eagles lead the NFL with a 47.9% scoring efficiency, earning points on 35 of its 73 drives this season.
That’s the highest efficiency rate for an Eagles offense through 7 games since 2000.
Philadelphia ranks 1st in the league in first downs (169) and time of possession (34:34) and also owns the 2nd-best three-and-out percentage (24.7%), behind Kansas City (23.3%).
The Eagles’ 24.1 first downs per game are its most through 7 contests since 2011 (25.6).
