A breakdown of the Reid Era

In the wake of the Eagles' come-from-behind upset win at FedEx Field in Washington, D.C., yesterday, a question popped into my mind: Under Andy Reid, how many upset wins do the Birds have? And on the flip side, how many games have they blown (yes, it has seemed like more than a season's worth).

So, using the invaluable resource pro-football-reference.com, I looked back at the 137 regular season games in the Reid Era and unscientifically placed each game into one of the following categories:

• Blowout Loss -- a defeat by 20 points or more
  
• Acceptable Loss -- a loss that had little chance of being a win
• They Blew It -- a game the Eagles should have won but found a way to lose
• Upset Win -- a case of snatching victory from the Jaworski of defeat
• Acceptable Win -- a game the Eagles should have won and did
• Blowout Win -- a game the Eagles won by 20 or more points

Now you see what I mean by "unscientific." Some games fit into more than one category, such as an upset win by more than 20 points. In such cases, I used my best judgment and put the game into the category I thought was most applicable.

The results

• Blowout Loss: 12 (three each in 1999 and 2005 -- two awful seasons)
• Acceptable Loss: 24 (this number seems low; I had none for 2002)
• They Blew It: 17 (I thought this tally would be high, but not this high. The only year that had zero was 2004. This year has two classic cases so far -- Green Bay and Chicago -- after three last year -- Giants I, Saints and Buccaneers. The question is, how has Andy Reid survived blowing 17 wins in less than nine seasons? That's more than a season's worth of games)
• Upset Win: 16 (I might have been a little stingy here, but I know it's not off by more than two)
• Acceptable Win: 47 (as expected, this category has the highest amount. I counted six such wins last season but only one so far this year, against the Jets)
  
• Blowout Win: 21 (this was the real surprise of the bunch -- exactly one-quarter of Reid's 84 wins in the regular season have been by 20 points or more. I doubt any other current coach is remotely close, though Bill Belichick might be getting there)

What about Reid's checkered postseason?

• Blowout Loss: none (gotta give a modicum of credit to Big Red here)
  
• Acceptable Loss: 6
• They Blew It: none (though I was tempted to place the NFC Championship Game losses to Tampa and Carolina here, the Eagles never has a clear chance to win either)
• Upset Win: 1 (2001 at Chicago; I can't track down the Vegas line on that game ... but how were the Bears 13-3 that year?)
• Acceptable Win: 6
• Blowout Win: 1 (2001 vs. Tampa)

The year-by-year breakdown

1999

They blew it: 1

Acceptable loss: 7

Blowout loss (-20): 3

Acceptable win: 1

Blowout win (+20):

Upset win: 4

2000

They blew it: 3

Acceptable loss: 2

Blowout loss (-20):

Acceptable win: 9

Blowout win (+20): 1

Upset win: 1

Playoffs: 1 Acceptable win, 1 Acceptable loss

2001

They blew it: 2

Acceptable loss: 3

Blowout loss (-20):

Acceptable win: 6

Blowout win (+20): 4

Upset win: 1

Playoffs: 1 Blowout win, 1 Upset win, 1 Acceptable loss

2002

They blew it: 3

Acceptable loss:

Blowout loss (-20): 1

Acceptable win: 7

Blowout win (+20): 5

Upset win:

Playoffs: 1 Acceptable win, 1 Acceptable loss

2003

They blew it: 1

Acceptable loss: 1

Blowout loss (-20 or shutout): 2

Acceptable win: 6

Blowout win (+20): 2

Upset win: 4

Playoffs: 1 Acceptable win, 1 Acceptable loss

2004

They blew it:

Acceptable loss: 1

Blowout loss (-20): 2

Acceptable win: 8

Blowout win (+20): 5

Upset win:

Playoffs: 2 Acceptable wins, 1 Acceptable loss

2005

They blew it: 2

Acceptable loss: 5

Blowout loss (-20): 3

Acceptable win: 3

Blowout win (+20): 1

Upset win: 2

2006

They blew it: 3

Acceptable loss: 2

Blowout loss (-20): 1

Acceptable win: 6

Blowout win (+20): 2

Upset win: 2

Playoffs: 1 Acceptable win, 1 Acceptable loss

2007

They blew it: 2

Acceptable loss: 3

Blowout loss (-20):

Acceptable win: 1

Blowout win (+20): 1

Upset win: 2