Monday, 24 December 2018

Keeps the Eagles’ Playoff Hopes Alive

Jake Elliott needed redemption. His missed extra-point opened the door for a shocking Houston comeback, and Philadelphia found itself trailing by a point with three seconds left to play. The second-year place-kicker lined up for a 35-yard field goal and calmly knocked it through the uprights to finish off a thrilling 32-30 victory that kept the Eagles’ playoff hopes alive. “When it ends a game, you get to enjoy it a little bit longer,” an Elliott told reporters of his celebration following the game. That Elliott had the chance to make up for his mistake, which had come early in the fourth quarter, was fairly poetic, but the credit for Philadelphia being in the game at all was owed to the backup quarterback Nick Foles. All hope had seemed lost for the Eagles two weeks ago when the team dropped to 6-7 and Carson Wentz, its preferred starter at quarterback, fractured a vertebra in his back. But now, after Foles passed for a career-high 471 yards on Sunday, securing his second straight win, the Eagles somehow still have a shot at an N.F.C. wild-card berth with one game left to play. “Foles was so confident and everyone was so calm,” said Zach Ertz, Philadelphia’s star tight end. “No one flinched. Guys stuck together.” Houston, meanwhile, will lick its wounds after the loss but still remains in prime position to make the playoffs and potentially secure a first-round bye. Even if Sunday’s effort does not lead to a playoff berth for the Eagles, the performances by Foles and Houston’s Deshaun Watson were memorable. And on a day with plenty of big throws from both quarterbacks, none was bigger than Foles’s connection with Nelson Agholor in the third quarter that broke what had been a 16-16 tie.


Tyrann Mathieu hit the turf after failing to defend the pass, which left Agholor all by himself with 30 yards left to run. The wide receiver jogged the rest of the way for an 83-yard touchdown, taking the time to turn around and execute a picture-perfect trust fall into the end zone.
The Eagles stretched their lead to 13 points by taking advantage of a strip-sack fumble of Watson and marching down the short field before Foles found Zach Ertz for a 23-yard touchdown pass, only to have Elliott miss wide-right on his extra point attempt.

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