Sloppy Eagles take No. 1 seed in NFC
PHILADELPHIA — The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Philadelphia.
Jake Elliott kicked a 48yard field goal with 22 seconds left, and the Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs with a sloppy 19-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.
The Eagles (13-2) went to the Super Bowl and lost 2421 to New England the last time they had home-field advantage after the 2004 season.
They’ll need the edge after a second consecutive poor performance. The defense struggled in a 34-29 victory at the Giants last week. The offense was awful against the Raiders.
“We played great team ball,” cornerback Patrick Robinson said. “The offense didn’t play as well as they have been, the defense had to step up.”
Ronald Darby intercepted Derek Carr’s pass and ran it back 52 yards with 54 seconds left but was ruled down by contact at the spot of the pick. Nick Foles then completed four consecutive passes for 21 yards. After an incomplete pass, Elliott nailed his kick right down
the middle.
“We have to pick up for each other,” Darby said.
Derek Barnett returned a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown after picking up a lateral on Oakland’s final play from scrimmage.
Coming off a 12-4 season, the Raiders (6-9) were a popular pick to challenge the Patriots for the AFC title. But they were eliminated from the playoff chase Sunday.
Still, playing for pride, Oakland nearly spoiled Philadelphia’s Christmas.
“Defensive battle, hardfought game, certainly had our chances,” Raiders Coach Jack Del Rio said. “We ran it well, struggled throwing it. Defense played extremely well.”
Making his second start since MVP candidate Carson Wentz tore his left ACL, Foles had a tough time on a windy night. He was 19 of 38 for 163 yards with 1 TD and 1 interception. He had four TD passes and no picks against New York.
“I didn’t play good enough,” Foles said. “I have to play cleaner, [need] pinpoint accuracy and good decisions on third downs.”
Carr was even worse. He was 15 of 29 for 140 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions.
“Anytime you give the ball to the other team, it hurts,” Carr said. “We got to help [the defense] out.”
Carr threw a 63-yard TD pass to Amari Cooper to tie
it at 7-7 early in the second quarter. Cooper was wide open after cornerback Jalen Mills tried to jump the route.
Giorgio Tavecchio kicked a 25-yard field goal on the opening drive of the third quarter to give the Raiders a 10-7 lead.
The teams traded turnovers on three consecutive possessions, starting with Robinson intercepting Carr and returning it to Oakland’s 44.
Eagles left guard Chance Warmack then caused Jay Ajayi to fumble when he tried to push the pile and hit his teammate. The Raiders recovered at their 30, but gave it back on the next play when Marshawn Lynch fumbled at the same spot.
Philadelphia couldn’t do much with excellent field position and settled for Elliott’s tying 35-yard field goal.
After Tavecchio missed a 48-yard field goal with 7:58 remaining, Foles threw a pass that bounced off Pro Bowl tight end Zach Ertz’s hands and was intercepted by Reggie Nelson at the Eagles 37.
But Philadelphia quickly got the ball back when Malcolm Jenkins stripped Jalen Richard and recovered it at the Eagles 16. The offense went three and out.
Oakland’s first drive ended with Carr throwing the ball away on fourth and 2 from Philadelphia’s 42.
The Eagles scored on the ensuing possession when Foles tossed a 17-yard TD pass to Ajayi for a 7-0 lead.