INDIANAPOLIS — Over the last 29 years, only four NFL coaches have gone for it on fourth down as often as Doug Pederson did in his first two seasons as Eagles coach.
While the number of fourth-down attempts doesn’t always reflect aggressiveness – many are necessary for trailing teams – 32 games is a large enough sample. Pederson went for it 53 times – eight times more than the next team over that same span and 23 times more than the league average.
Numbers tell only part of the story. Anyone who watched the Eagles over the last two years saw that Pederson liked to fly outside the envelope and not just on fourth down.