Chip Kelly not worried about poor performance against Vikings

Chip Kelly adopted the same tone he has all season the day after an 18-point loss to the three-win Vikings.
Credit: Getty Images

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly stood in front of the media in his weekly Monday press conference and adopted the same matter-of-fact persona he’s carried throughout the season.

Count him among the few in Philadelphia not worried about the Eagles following an ugly 48-30 loss to the Vikings on Sunday.

“I think [the team has] been good,” Kelly said. “We were 3-5 at one point with this team and wheeled off five straight victories. I’ll have a better gauge [Tuesday] when we see how this affects them, in terms of this loss. This is a tough game to play.

“I’m expecting a bounce back. I’ve seen them bounce back before so that’s what I’m anticipating happening.”

Kelly was repeatedly asked about the mindset of his team, briefly touching on the incident following a Nick Foles interception with 10 minutes left in the third quarter when DeSean Jackson had to be calmed down on the sideline after yelling at receivers coach Bob Bicknell.

“I think DeSean was frustrated we threw an interception and [we were] just trying to calm him down to get on to the next play,” Kelly said.
Jackson wouldn’t talk about the incident after the game.

But Kelly dismissed any of the panic surrounding a team after its five-game winning streak came to a conclusion.

“You should go into every game with the same mindset. … Worry about what you can control,” Kelly said. “So whether someone makes you a favorite doesn’t mean I act differently or someone says you’re the underdog you act differently because then you’re concerned with things you don’t control. You don’t control what other people’s opinions are [toward] what that game is going into it. If you are [worrying about other people’s opinions], you’re going to be a yo-yo up, yo-yo down guy depending on what people tell you, [and] what they think, going into the game.”

The good news for the Eagles is Green Bay came up with a shocking upset of Dallas after trailing 26-3. Green Bay’s win preserved Philadelphia’s one-game lead in the NFC East. Kelly said he wouldn’t be paying attention to whether Dallas beats the Redskins on Sunday afternoon, with the Eagles playing at night.

“We’re gonna cancel the game [if the Cowboys win], Kelly joked, in his usual deadpan delivery. “We’re gonna play; we’re not in the position where we’re gonna rest anybody.”