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Eagles' Sam Bradford has to be more than half-good

The quarterback played well at the beginning of the second half, but didn’t do enough to win.

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford eludes the sack by Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.
Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford eludes the sack by Washington linebacker Ryan Kerrigan.Read more(Clem Murray/Staff Photographer)

LANDOVER, Md. - The hows and whys concerning the struggles of Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford no longer matter.

The point is they cost the Philadelphia Eagles another football game.

If you want to argue that Bradford left the field with the lead in Sunday's 22-20 loss at Washington, you can.

I will counter that Bradford left the field two more times with that lead after he connected with Miles Austin on that 39-yard touchdown pass just 20 seconds into the fourth quarter and did nothing to enhance it.

Those two drives, which totaled just nine plays, consumed just 4 minutes, 23 seconds of clock and resulted in two punts, were a significant factor in why the Eagles are 1-3 and in last place in the NFC East.

Bradford's overall statistics of 15-for-28 for 270 yards and three touchdowns were fine.

Still when you put it in the context that most of Bradford's success came during a 15-minute-plus stretch that begin at the start of the third quarter and culminated with the touchdown to Austin, there was a good part of the game that Bradford was again infective.

In that time frame, Bradford was 7-for-13 for 160 yards with touchdown passes of 62 yards to Riley Cooper, 10 to Brent Celek and 39 to Austin.

Still a NFL game is 60 minutes and because Bradford has yet to have a game where he has been competent for the entire time, the Eagles are in dire straits a quarter of the way through the schedule.

Bradford playing well for one quarter or one half at a time is no longer acceptable - not when that is contributing to losses.

The Eagles had two opportunities to put the game against Washington (2-2) away in the final 11 1/2 minutes.

Both times they got into Washington territory but stalled before reaching field-goal range.

Not that Caleb Sturgis, who missed a 33-yard field-goal attempt and an extra point, could have been relied on to provide any assurance, but Bradford's charge at that point was to get the Eagles into scoring position.

The quarterback's job in that situation, however, is to create the opportunity for points or at least burn some clock by getting a first down or two.

Bradford managed neither.

Both of those possessions featured missed throws that would have extended the drives.

"Very disappointing," Bradford said. "Obviously we felt like we could go down and score and put the game away. We just didn't."

The Eagles' offense gave a worn-down defense that had already been on the field for more than 30 little breathing time to regroup.

Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins drove his team 90 yards in 15 plays for the winning score.

Of course the problems with the Eagles' offense are not all because of Bradford. Mainly it is an offensive line that again looked like a giant slab of midnight green Swiss cheese.

Still the focal point, good or bad, is always the quarterback.

"At times I thought he looked good," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said of the guy he traded Pro Bowl quarterback Nick Foles and second-and fourth-round picks to acquire.

That's been the cut-and-paste response about Bradford all season.

The bottom line is that Bradford, who is 88 of 145 for 948 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions, has been good for just about three quarters spread over four games.

"I wish I knew how to explain it because then we would get it fixed," Bradford said. "It seems to be the story of these first couple games.

"I think there has been some good. I think there has been some bad. Obviously, I think I'm starting to get more comfortable out there, but still too many mistakes that need to be cleaned up."

Bradford is not a rookie on a rebuilding team. He was brought in because Kelly said he could carry the Eagles to the next level.

The excuses don't play anymore. Only the results matter now and he is not getting them.

You wanted to give Bradford the benefit of the doubt, believe that a change of scenery from the St. Louis Rams would be the thing that would re-ignite the skill sets that made him a Heisman Trophy winning quarterback at Oklahoma and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft.

For whatever reasons that hasn't yet happened and it is no longer too soon to start to wonder if it will.

The list of Heisman Trophy quarterbacks, and quarterbacks drafted first overall, who failed to live up to projections in the NFL is extensive.

Bradford, if he can't get this together, would not be an anomaly.

You can break down film of Bradford, analyze his throwing mechanics, question his confidence, ask his mommy.

No reason makes a difference anymore.

Sam Bradford either can win football games for the Philadelphia Eagles or he can't. Kelly has this week's game against New Orleans to make that determination.

"I think we just have to take a big breath, relax and just go have fun," Bradford said.

It is too late for that stance.

This season is on the verge of collapsing. Bradford either figures it all out right now or you move on and try something else.