PHILADELPHIA -- The tempo giveth and the tempo taketh away. For the Philadelphia Eagles, that will be worth keeping an eye on if Mark Sanchez is the starting quarterback Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was easy to see that the Eagles’ offense operated a little faster when Sanchez took over for the injured Sam Bradford last week. In the two-plus quarters Bradford played quarterback, the Eagles ran a play every 21.2 seconds. In the quarter-plus with Sanchez at quarterback, the Eagles ran a play every 16.1 seconds.

“I just feel comfortable with the system,” Sanchez said. “I have fun running it.”

Coach Chip Kelly wants the offense to operate at a high tempo. But the change from Bradford’s pace to Sanchez’s pace may account for some of the Eagles’ problems against the Dolphins. If the no-huddle, uptempo approach is designed to wear down the opponents and cause problems with their communication and alignments, logic dictates that a change in tempo could create similar issues for the Eagles.

Example: On the 13th play of Sanchez’s first full drive Sunday, wide receiver Riley Cooper was called for an illegal shift penalty. He wasn’t set for a full second before the ball was snapped. The Dolphins were flagged at the same time for having 12 men on the field.

The penalties offset, but they also negated a play. The play happened to be a 22-yard touchdown pass from Sanchez to tight end Zach Ertz. Instead of a 23-20 lead, the Eagles wound up kicking a field goal and cutting Miami’s lead to 20-19.

Sanchez also had several miscommunication issues with his teammates. He threw passes to Miles Austin and DeMarco Murray that neither player appeared to expect. And there’s no telling what factors led to Sanchez’s ill-advised pass to Austin that was intercepted in the end zone.

“We’re just trying to go as fast as we can,” Sanchez said. “We want to play smart, with great attention to detail.”

It wouldn’t be surprising if it took a little more time to achieve that attention to detail than it took to speed up the tempo. After a week of practicing with Sanchez, the offense should be better acclimated to his pace.