Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Punting for tie doesn’t sit well withMills
Jalen Mills was around the Eagles when Doug Pederson helpedwin a Super Bowlwith aggressive play- calls and a disregard for failure.
Hewas around Sunday, too, for a 23- 23 tie with theCincinnati Bengals that kept the Eagles winless … and a little deflated.
Mills was careful not to openly question the coaching staff for a decision to punt with 19 seconds left in overtime rather than to allow Jake Elliott to attempt a 64- yard, breeze- aided field goal. But early in his press availability, and without provocation, he let one theme slip. Ties are unacceptable. “There was some good and there was some bad,” Mills said. “But at the end of the day, that’s not our standard. The Philadelphia Eagles have one standard: That’s playing for a win, and not playing for a tie or a loss.”
Chances are, Mills was only channeling the spirit of a longago Eagles defensive back of high achievement, Herm Edwards, who famously has ranted that you play to win the game. That goal is universal. But the fifth- year defensive back hardly was dragged into mixing in that part about not playing for a tie. So when he dripped that into his commentary, he was pressed about Pederson’s decision to settle for being 0- 2- 1 rather than trying to go 1- 2.
“I mean, unfortunately, we were in field- goal range,” he said. “Coach always preaches, ‘ Don’t have any self- inflicted penalties.’ And we had a couple of those. Of course, we would have loved to have kicked that field goal. But it was just a little out of Jake’s range. So at that point, you really don’t have a choice.”
The Eagles did reach the Cincinnati 41 and were lining up for the potential game- winner when Matt Pryor flinched along the offensive line, a fiveyard penalty. That drove the Eagles back to the 46. They
were already in punt formation by the time they were flagged again for delaying the game.
Once they kicked the ball away, they were doomed to a tie. The new normal? “Say we do try a field goal and we miss,” Mills said. “The other team has in position to still have time on the clock and
maybe they get into a position to kick a field goal. There are a lot of ways the scenario could have gone. But at the end of the day, it’s a tie and we have to live with that.”
The Eagles allowed an average of 32 points over their first two games. they allowed 23 in 70minutes Sunday, none in the last 13: 08.
Consolation?
“Imeanme, as a true competitor, I want to win each and every game,” said Mills, after being in on five tackles and 1.5 sacks. “I want it to be on the defense’s back, regardless of whatever happens. So us gettingmaybe onemore play, getting a strip sack, getting an interception, whatever itmay be, a fumble, would have helped.
“I feel that we could have gotten one more play in. It could have made the difference.”
The Eagles have made no interceptions and have recovered one fumble in three games, leaving them at an NFL- worst minus- 7 in turnover differential. Evenwith the dynamics of the sport likely to drive that number closer to the norm, that is unacceptable to Mills.
That doesn’t mean, however, that he believes there needs to be massive defensive changes.
“It’s the same,” he said. “We will go out and compete Monday through Friday at practice, then come out on Sunday and play for the win.”
That’swhat he has expected the Eagles to do, ever since leading the 2017 Super Bowl champions with 22 passes defensed before successfully snuffing a late, would- be game- winning pass fromMatt Ryan to Julio Jones in the end zone in a postsesaon victory over Atlanta.
“In my five years being here, that’s all this team has ever done,” Mills said. “It has fought through adversity. It has fought through injury. It has fought through ups and downs throughout the season.
“At the end of the day, we have one goal: Make it to the postseason. And once you make it to the postseason, you know, you want to be in the dance. So I don’t think at this point that anybody is down on themselves.
“Of course, like I said, this is upsetting. The dudes may feel some type of way because we did tie. But at the end of the day we’ve been here before. We’ve got the coaches and we’ve got the players to fight through this.”