Eagles vs. Rams last-second FG block had these 4 surprise takeaways
Martin Frank breaks down Eagles’ wild walkoff win over Rams
Eagles beat reporter Martin Frank on Jordan Davis’ field goal block as time expired enabled the Eagles to hold off the Rams 33-26
PHILADELPHIA − It seemed like the Eagles took their Tush Push offense a bit too literally in the first half, averaging just a little over one yard per play.
And then, when the Eagles were at their lowest, trailing the Los Angeles Rams by 19 points early in the third quarter, they found A.J. Brown on the simplest of plays, an 8-yard out.
The fans, who were booing lustily moments before, seemed to cheer sarcastically as it was Brown’s first catch of the day. But Brown perceived it as them cheering for him.
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No matter. Brown added a 38-yard over-the-shoulder catch on that drive that set up Dallas Goedert’s 33-yard touchdown catch.
All of it fueled a furious comeback that saw the Eagles take a 1-point lead on Jalen Hurts’ 4-yard touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith with 1:48 left in the game. The comeback should have gone for naught when the Rams’ Joshua Karty lined up for a 44-yard field goal with 2 seconds left.
That’s when Jordan Davis, who’s 6-foot-6, blocked the kick, picked up the loose ball and ran 61 yards into the end zone, finally, scintillatingly, saving the Eagles in a 33-26 win.
Incredibly, it was the Eagles’ second blocked field goal. Jalen Carter got credit for the first one, midway through the fourth quarter, that kept the Eagles’ deficit at five points.
“We just hit the gap, put our hands up at the right time, and I’d seen the ball on the ground,” Davis said. “I knew at that point, it was a ‘no mas’ situation. I just took off from there … I wanted to make sure we ended the game right.
“I didn’t know I was going to go that fast. I didn’t know that I was going to make it all the way to the end zone. I just kept running, and my legs carried me from there.”
You could forgive Davis for being exhausted. NextGen stats clocked him at 18.59 mph. For a 330-pound man, well, you don’t want to get run over by that truck.
But even an hour after the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni appeared exhausted and emotionally spent. It was like that throughout the team.
“Obviously, the first half, and really the first two possessions of the second half offensively and defensively, it couldn’t have gone much worse,” Sirianni said.
The Eagles had just 34 yards of total offense in the first half, averaging 1.6 yards per play, about what they get on their tush pushes.
Jalen Hurts had thrown for 18 yards in the first half. Brown, who had 6 catches for 35 yards in the first two games, was shut out. Hurts finished 21 of 32 for 226 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“We’ve been able to come back from very, very ugly situations and it’s a dangerous thing,” Hurts said. “This group never gave up. That’s what I’m very proud of. I think a win like this is encouraging, but it also lights a fire under everybody to strive for the level of execution that we want.
“You guys care about how it gets done. I don’t.”
And no, it wasn’t pretty. Carter’s block set up the Eagles’ final drive that covered 17 plays and 91 yards. Twice, the Eagles faced a 3rd-and-10, the first one from their own 9 yard line. Hurts threw to Brown for 25 yards. Hurts and Brown converted another 3rd-and-10 got get to the Rams’ 15.
Then the Eagles faced a 4th-and-goal from the Rams’ 4. That’s when Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith in the front corner of the end zone with 1:48 left.
“It felt great, man,” Smith said. “We always talk about situations like this. Put the game on us in that (wide receiver) room, and we were ready.”
Still, the Rams had one last chance, getting into field goal range with 3 seconds left. Then Davis leaped, the fans exhaled and the Eagles were still undefeated.
Here are 4 takeaways from the game:
AJ Brown’s revival in the second half
Through 2 1/2 games, Brown had just 6 catches for 35 yards.
But he broke out in a big way in the second half. He finished with 6 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown.
His first catch was a simple 8-yard out pattern in the third quarter, just after the Rams had taken a 26-7 lead. Brown heard cheering from the crowd. He thought it was his “A.O.” chant, althought it might have been sarcastic cheers for a stagnant offense.
No matter. He had a 38-yard catch later in the drive. Then a 9-yard TD catch late in the third quarter that brought the Eagles to within 26-21. Then the two critical 3rd-and-10 receptions on the final drive.
“I heard ‘A.O.’ and man, that just lit a fire under me,” Brown said. “Shout out to the fans … I don’t mean this in a negative way, but I just got the ball. And I think it’s that simple. We just made plays and kept the momentum going.”
What’s up with Saquon Barkley?
After twice surpassing 200 yards against the Rams last season, the Eagles certainly expected Los Angeles to clamp down on Barkley. And they did. Barkley had just 7 carries for 13 yards in the first half, and finished with 46 yards on 18 carries.
The problem was the Eagles weren’t taking advantage by getting the ball to A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith until the second half. But once they did, Barkley was able to get some yards here and there.
“Obviously, we have to be better in the run game, and it starts with me,” Barkley said. “I have to go back to the drawing board and figure it out. I’m not putting the O-line in a good spot. I’ll go back and fix that.”
Lane Johnson injured and Matt Pryor replaced
Lane Johnson injured his neck, presumably on the Eagles’ tush push touchdown on the opening drive. It’s always a devastating blow when a perennial Pro Bowl player goes down. And the dropoff was noticeable as Matt Pryor gave up at least three sacks.
Pryor gave up the strip-sack by Jared Verse in the first minute of the third quarter that the Rams recovered at the Eagles’ 10. That led to a Rams’ touchdown that made it 26-7.
Pryor was replaced by Fred Johnson, and just like that, the Eagles’ offense took off.
That begs the question of why Johnson wasn’t in there to begin with? After all, the Eagles traded to get him back from the Jacksonville Jaguars to serve as a swing tackle, as he did last season.
After the game, Sirianni praised Johnson without saying why he wasn’t in there in the first place.
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Kickoff return problems
It’s clear that fielding kickoffs is going to be a point of emphasis in practice this week. That’s because both John Metchie and Tank Bigsby bobbled Rams’ kickoffs. Each time, it affected the Eagles’ field position.
The Rams never kicked into the end zone, thus enabling the Eagles to start at the 35. So when Metchie and Bigsby bobbled the hard line drive kicks, the Eagles never started beyond the 21 yard line. That was especially noticeable for Bigsby, whom the Eagles acquired from the Jaguars because of his kick return prowess.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl. Read his coverage of the Eagles’ championship season in “Flying High,” a new hardcover coffee-table book from Delaware Online/The News Journal. Details at Fly.ChampsBook.com
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