LANDOVER, Md. — Sam Bradford and DeMarco Murray are in unfamiliar territory with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The two former Oklahoma teammates were reunited by the Eagles this year. They are off to a 1-3 start. During their time together with the Sooners, they never got off to a start this bad.
Worse, the Eagles came into the season with high expectations after their offense looked so powerful in the preseason. With Bradford at quarterback and Murray running the ball, the Eagles won their first three preseason games.
“I think at this point, when you’re 1-0, those expectations are gone,” Bradford said after the Eagles’ 23-20 loss to Washington. “Obviously, I think there were a lot of expectations early. As a group, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to score every time we touch the football.”
Bradford took a number of hits, including five sacks. After getting hit by Jason Hatcher in the third quarter Bradford limped off the field. He got his right ankle taped and came back in the game.
Murray played the whole game but carried the ball just eight times for 36 yards. That included a 30-yard run in the first quarter.
This is not the start either man envisioned when he came to the Eagles in March.
“Losing a game like this in the division, going 0-2 in the division, it sucks,” Murray said.
“I think everyone’s a little frustrated right now,” Bradford said. “This is not where we wanted or expected to be after Week 4. But just knowing this group of guys for the short period of time I do, I don’t think anyone’s going to quit. I don’t think anyone has their heads down right now.”
Bradford’s 62-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper was a big moment – in this game and maybe in the Eagles’ season. Bradford had not been throwing the ball down field for the first three games. When he caught Cooper in stride for a score, momentum shifted.
“Obviously,” Bradford said, “any time you can get big plays like that, they’re kind of game changers, momentum changers. I think the one to Coop in the third quarter kind of got us going. It brought some energy to that sideline.”
It was the first step in an Eagles comeback. After trailing 13-0 at halftime, Bradford threw three touchdown passes to give the Eagles a 20-16 fourth-quarter lead.
They weren’t able to build on it, and Washington took over at its own 10-yard line with just over six minutes left. With Kirk Cousins at quarterback, Washington drove 90 yards on 15 plays for the winning touchdown.
The Eagles were 1-3 and looking for answers.
“The good news is, it’s close,” Bradford said. “A couple of these games, we had opportunities to win and just didn’t finish. It’s not like we’re light years away from getting things to where they need to be. It’s just small details here and there. Everyone’s just got to be on the same page.”