Windy win lifts Eagles into NFC title game
PHILADELPHIA — With the wind and against it, Nick Foles engineered several long drives and Jake Elliott converted three field goals. Then the Philadelphia defense got stingy in the tightest spot, and the Eagles moved into the NFC championship game with a 15-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday.
Foles directed marches of 74 and 80 yards in the second half — one into the whipping wind, the other with it — and Elliott converted from 53 yards at the end of the first half, and from 37 and 21 yards in the second.
Then the Eagles held when Atlanta (11-7) got to first-and-goal at the 9 with 1:19 to play, and to the 2 on fourth down. When Matt Ryan’s final pass sailed over Julio Jones’ head in the end zone, Philly could celebrate its first playoff victory since the 2008 season — despite being underdogs as the No. 1 seed.
“Man, just stay calm,” said defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, who was a force all day. “We always talk about that … not try to make a play, but let the play come to us.”
Next Sunday, the Eagles (14-3) will host either Minnesota or New Orleans for the NFC crown. The Eagles last made the Super Bowl after the 2004 season, losing to New England.
“We just kept believing in each other,” said Foles, who became the starter when Carson Wentz, a leading MVP contender, injured his knee in December. “That was it. Our team never wavered, the defense did an amazing job, special teams — that has just been the story this year is that we just all stuck together.”
Foles was efficient in going 23 of 30 for 246 yards.
The Falcons, of course, blew a 28-3 lead in the second half against the Patriots in last year’s Super Bowl. They will not get the opportunity to atone for it, though Ryan — 22 of 36 for 210 yards and a touchdown on a difficult day to throw — got them close at the end. Jones had nine receptions for 101 yards.
A 74-yard, 12-play drive — on which Foles was 5 of 6 for 70 yards — led to Elliott’s 37-yard kick into the wind that made it 12-10 late in the third quarter.
The Eagles put together an 80-yard march spanning 14 plays, yet again faltered close to the end zone. Elliott added a 21-yarder for the final margin with 6:02 to go after coach Doug Pederson briefly considered going for it on fourth-and-1 at the Atlanta 3.
Ryan found Devonta Freeman for a 6-yard TD and a 10-6 Falcons lead in the second quarter, before Elliott’s 53-yarder made it just over the crossbar as the half ended.