There has been a lot of discussion about the offensive system of San Francisco 49ers new head coach Chip Kelly. Is it too simple? Is it vanilla? Does everyone have it figured out? The NFC East wasn't the most prolific division last year but the Eagles were only a game out of going to the playoffs before Kelly was sent packing after two 10-6 seasons.
During Kelly's tenure in Philadelphia, the Eagles set several single season offensive records. You can take a look at the full list here but I will outline those that I felt were the most interesting. I have included a few "non-Kelly" season stats just for perspective and these are all regular season records.
- Most points scored
- 474 (2014)
- 442 (2013)
- 439 (2010)
- 429 (2009)
For perspective, the 49ers have only broken the 400 mark twice in the last 15 years, with 409 in 2001 and 406 in 2013. You have to go back to the 90s for numbers akin to Kelly's Eagles. 49ers point scoring records are: 505 (1994), 479 (1998) 475 (1984).
- Most touchdowns scored
- 54 (2014)
- 53 (2013)
- 50 (1948 - 12 games)
The 49ers have only broken the 50 touchdown mark once in the last 15 years with 51 in 2001. The 49ers most touchdowns in a single season record, however, is 66 which happened in 1994. They scored 61 touchdowns twice in 1998 and 1993.
- Most passing attempts
- 623 (2015)
- 621 (2014)
- 620 (2005)
- 618 (2012)
The 49ers have only broken the 600 mark in pass attempts twice with 644 in 1995 and 602 in 1979.
- Most completions
- 405 (2015)
- 384 (2014)
- 367 (2012)
The 49ers recorded 432 completions in 1995, the next highest amount is 366 in 2000.
- Most yards gained passing (gross)
- 4,581 (2014)
- 4,406 (2013)
- 4,380 (2009)
The 49ers grossed 4,400 yards passing in 2000 and haven't come close to breaking 4,000 since. Again, in the 90's, it was the norm. 4,779 in 1995, 4,584 in 1989 and 4,510 in 1998.
- Most total net yards
- 6,676 (2013)
- 6,386 (2011)
- 6,348 (2014)
The 49ers haven't hit 6,000 net yards since 2000 (6,040). They did it seven times from 1989 - 2000 with the single season record of 6,800 yards made in 1998.
- Most first downs
- 356 (2014)
- 356 (2011)
- 355 (2013)
- 339 (2015)
The 49ers have broken the 300 mark twice in the last decade for first downs. 303 in 2014 and 322 inn 2012. Like most of the 49ers stats, they are much better in the late 80's and 90's with high being 381 in 1998. They only had 261 first downs in 2015.
- Most first downs by passing
- 218 (2014)
- 204 (2008)
- 203 (1997)
- 197 (2013)
The last time the 49ers had more than 200 first downs from passing was in 2000. (211)
Time of possession when Kelly is at the helm is always a topic of discussion. The Eagles ranked last in TOP in all three of his years in Philadelphia. The 49ers were second to last in TOP in 2015 but while the Eagles averaged 23.6 points a game the 49ers averaged a meager 14.9 points per game.
Obviously these stats don't equal a Lombardi Trophy but it is interesting to note that the Eagles had very comparable numbers to when the 49ers were in their prime. This is also not to say that there weren't negative stats for the Eagles were run by Kelly. Two of his years there produced the third and fourth most allowed touchdowns in a season and they were penalized for 995 yards in 2014 which ranks fourth in the franchise's history.