PHILADELPHIA -- Sunday certainly wasn't how Chip Kelly and the Eagles drew up quarterback Sam Bradford's Lincoln Financial Field debut.
Bradford accounted for three turnovers, including a hideous interception thrown to Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee in the end zone and a fumbled shotgun snap that called into question whether or not he has the ability to lead this team through it's current cavern of adversity.
By the time the final gun mercifully sounded, Bradford had completed 23 of his 37 passes for 224 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions and one fumble lost.
After a debut like that in front of a home crowd that became more agitated as the afternoon went on before flocking to the exits with ten minutes remaining, it would be easy and completely understandable if Bradford's confidence had taken a significant hit.
"I think it's still there," Bradford said of his confidence following Sunday's loss to the Cowboys. "Everything's still ahead of us. We believe in ourselves. We believe in our offense. We know that when we get things going that we can be a really good offense.
EAGLES VS. DALLAS: Good, Bad and Ugly from disastrous loss to Cowboys
"I think that we just have to get out of our own way. We're shooting ourselves in the foot and can't get things going. Like I said, we're going to get back to work, look at the tape and give it everything we have against the Jets."
On paper, the Eagles have an arsenal of weapons that should make it one of the most dominant offenses in the NFL, but that talent simply hasn't translated into results through the first two games of the regular season.
What that talent did translate to was an output of just 21 yards of total offense through the first 30 minutes of play against the Cowboys.
In two games, Bradford has played one quarter where he came close to resembling the elite performances turned in throughout a dazzling training camp and moment in time at Lambeau Field that saw the former Hesiman Trophy winning quarterback fire three touchdowns in a 10-for-10 passing performance.
"I feel a little bit of all three of those tonight," Bradford said when asked if he felt rusty, like he was pressing at times or if he felt out of rhythm. "Tonight was tough. I think the biggest thing for us as an offense is we have to establish a rhthm. If you get a 3 and out 3, and out, 3 and out, and you're not converting on third down. You're not giving yourself a chance to convert on third down because you're in third and long ... It's just tough."
Despite his struggles, Kelly basically absolved his quarterback due to how poorly a job the offensive line did at protecting him.
"I don't think he had a lot of time on some of those," Kelly said. "I think there was a combination of things. We had some drops on key third downs that could have extended drives. Until we take a look at the tape, I can't give you a full evaluation."
If we have learned anything about this quarterback and this offense through the first two regular season games it is that preseason results are about as meaningful as preseason predictions and that both the quarterback and the offense at large have a long way to go if this team hopes to reach the lofty expectations bestowed upon them before the season began.
Following Sunday's shellacking by the Cowboys, Bradford doesn't think that he is that far off from returning to form, even if the numbers and the eye test suggest otherwise.
"It's one of those things where I'm going to have to get back to work on Tuesday, look at the tape and See what I need to get corrected," Bradford said. "I think it is fixable. I don't think it's anything major. It's probably just sharpening up a couple of the minor details."
To be fair, Bradford was only part of the problem Sunday afternoon as he was only one of the issues in the season opening loss to the Falcons on Monday night.
The running game accounted for just seven yards rushing and didn't post a positive number until late in the fourth quarter. For perspective, Bradford led the team in rushing with nine yards.
Bradford's assessment of the running game might as well serve as his assessment of the offense as a unit.
"If we knew we wouldn't be having these problems," Bradford said of his thoughts on what is ailing the running game. "it's one of those things. We're all really frustrated right now. But we're not going to give up. We're not going to quit. We're going to get in there Tuesday and figure it out. We're going to move on because that's all we can do."
Moving on might be all the Eagles can do, but if this team hopes to make the playoffs Bradford and company better figure it out. And in a hurry.
Since the franchise was established in 1933 the Eagles have only made the playoffs three times after starting 0-2 and only 12 percent of teams that lose their first two games ever go on to make the postseason.
For both Bradford and the Eagles, the cold reality is that while it is still early it is getting late.
THE NO-HUDDLE SHOW, Ep. 8: Yes, the Eagles are embarrassing right now, but things will be OK
The Eagles' 20-10 loss to Dallas was the most pathetic game of the Chip Kelly era. We discuss how and why it happened, and where the Birds go from here. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Philadelphia Sports on Facebook