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Don't blame Sam Bradford for the Eagles' loss

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford (7) warms up before the first half of an NFL football game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles , Monday, Sept. 14, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

The NFL is clearly a quarterback-driven league, and often times QBs are given undue credit or blame based on the outcome of a game. Conventional wisdom can be a dangerous thing, in that way, which is the case for Eagles QB Sam Bradford after his performance in Philadelphia’s loss to Carolina on Sunday night.

It’d be unfair to blame the loss on Bradford. In fact, he played well. It was the players around him who didn’t measure up.

The Eagles’ replacements at left tackle for the injure Jason Peters allowed 13 total pressures between them, meaning Bradford had opposing pass-rushers in his face all night. He also got little help from his receivers. Philly had the highest drop rate in the league for Week 7, with 20 percent of Bradford’s incompletions being drops. He had another six that were either batted down or thrown away, and his interception was more of a fluke than anything else.

In fact, Bradford ranked tied for seventh this week with an accuracy percentage of 85. And in our PFF grades, he tied for third with Derek Carr, behind only Tom Brady and Jameis Winston.

If you’re looking for a player to blame, running back DeMarco Murray fits the bill. He was one of our lowest-graded RBs this week. He didn’t break a single tackle and averaged just 3.6 yards per carry. And in the passing game, he dropped two passes.

For the season, Bradford has graded out as roughly an average quarterback, with his worst game coming against the Jets. For the most part, he’s been fine, and he actually played very well against the Panthers. He certainly deserves more credit than blame, for this week at least.

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