Eagles rout Saints as offense clicks

This was the way Sam Bradford expected the Eagles to look, and the mystery is why it took five games to reveal itself.

The Eagles' performance in a 39-17 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday seemed about one month belated, because a blowout had been elusive for the underachieving Eagles this season.

By the time the fireworks went off over Lincoln Financial Field to celebrate a home victory for the first time since Nov. 23, the Eagles amassed 519 total yards, forced four turnovers, and perhaps even salvaged the season by improving to 2-3 and avoiding a 1-4 start.

"After what we were able to do in the preseason, I think everyone had kind of been waiting for this," Bradford said. "Obviously, it's not going to be like this every week. But to know when we're clicking, we're rolling, we can go out and do that, I think that's going to give us confidence to go out there and do it more often."

Bradford held a pregame meeting with the offense to share his confidence about Sunday being the day to escape its doldrums. At halftime, with the Eagles only holding a 10-7 lead because Bradford threw two interceptions, the quarterback realized he was the reason the margin was not greater. By the end of the game, Bradford could finally exhale after spending the first quarter of the season chasing an outing like Sunday.

It was not perfect, but it was the best the Eagles have looked this season. Bradford completed 32 of 45 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with the two head-scratching interceptions. DeMarco Murray rushed 20 times for 83 yards and a touchdown and was complemented by Ryan Mathews' 73 rushing yards. The offense ran 79 plays — nearly 19 more than its season average. And nine different players touched the ball, with Josh Huff leading receivers with four catches for 78 yards.

On defense, Fletcher Cox recorded three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Walter Thurmond recorded his third interception, and DeMeco Ryans also forced a fumble. The Eagles limited New Orleans to just one touchdown for more than 59 minutes — the Saints' second score came on the game's final play, when the result had already been decided. Saints quarterback Drew Brees was sacked five times.

"They've got playmakers, they've got a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, and more-than-capable running backs that can really do it," Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins said about the Saints. "Everybody contributed to this win, because they can beat you in a bunch of different ways.  ...  And we continued to have an answer."

The Eagles accumulated 300 yards in the first half and had just 10 points to show for it. That was because of Bradford's fifth and sixth interceptions of the season — both of which came in the end zone, thwarting scoring opportunities. Those errors were the team's biggest concern from Sunday's game, and coach Chip Kelly said he hopes they are aberrations.

"I thought Sam played a good game," Kelly said, "but like all of us, you make mistakes."

Bradford said his first interception was a poor throw — he threw the ball behind Riley Cooper when he should have led him to the pylon. On the second interception, when Bradford tried sneaking a pass down the middle of the end zone to Miles Austin from 14 yards away, he credited Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux for making "a good play" on the ball.

The interceptions sandwiched a Saints touchdown that came on an Eagles miscue. A miscommunication left Saints tight end Benjamin Watson uncovered, and Brees found him on a quick pass to take a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles tied the game in the second quarter, when Bradford found Huff for a 41-yard touchdown. It was Huff's first offensive touchdown with the Eagles, and he celebrated it by somersaulting into the end zone.

The score could have remained 7-7 going into halftime, but Cox sacked Brees and forced the fumble to set up a Caleb Sturgis 39-yard field goal, giving the Eagles a 10-7 lead.

"I don't think they had stopped us once," Bradford said. "I was stopping us, throwing interceptions in the red zone. We knew it was still out there. We knew we were going to be able to move the football on them."

That's exactly what happened in the second half, when the onslaught began. After Mathews' 2-yard score gave the Eagles a 17-10 lead, Cox sacked Brees for the third time and recovered his own forced fumble.

Bradford connected with Brent Celek for a 13-yard touchdown on the next play. Sturgis missed the extra point, but he came back and hit a 29-yard field goal at the end of the quarter to give the Eagles a 26-10 lead.

The defense forced two more turnovers in the final quarter — a Byron Maxwell fumble recovery and a Walter Thurmond interception. Sturgis added two field goals, and Murray rushed for a touchdown. It concluded a 29-point second half for the Eagles.

Kelly credited his offensive line for establishing the running game. The Eagles ran even when the Saints expected it.

"When we run the ball better and we're balanced, then we have an opportunity to stay on the field," Kelly said. " ...  We did the same things we've done in the other three games we've lost. It's just we executed."

Those "execution" problems that Kelly lamented during the first four weeks were not a concern Sunday. Instead, his locker room could finally see what a complete win looks like. The Eagles need another complete effort if they want to even their record against the New York Giants next Monday.

"By no means are we where we want to be as a team, but I think today was a step in the right direction," Bradford said. "I think if we can continue to build on this — three, four, five, six weeks — we'll be in a better situation than we are now."

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm