LUCK BE THE BIRDIE
Eagles know clash with Vikes may come to a wacky bounce of the ball
PHILADELPHIA » Like the rest of the football world, the Eagles watched replays of Stefon Diggs’ walk-off winning touchdown all night Sunday.
And again, Monday and Tuesday.
The play was a graphic example of coaches overcoaching, players not playing and the old Yogi Berra adage, it’s not over until it’s over.
“It was weird,” Eagles veteran Torrey Smith said. “I think everyone pretty much assumed the last 30 seconds or so that we would be playing the Saints. But that’s why you play the game, to play to the end. That was crazy. I was sitting there going crazy in my house as a fan of the game. It was great awareness by Diggs.”
In a blink of the eye the Eagles went from hosting the NFC title game with the fourthseeded New Orleans Saints, who ousted them in the playoffs four years ago, to entertaining the Minnesota Vikings, the second seed, and a dome team. No dome team has won a conference championship playing a road game outdoors.
Fans may forget the name of Saints rookie safety Marcus Williams, but not the play. Under orders not to commit a pass interference penalty, Williams ducked underneath the leaping Diggs, taking himself and a teammate out of the play.
Thirty-three yards later Vikings fans did the Skol, that sacred overhead clapping motion that Saints head coach Sean Payton mocked them with earlier. What comes around, goes around, right?
“I’d rather the opponent not know how we’re going to play that,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said Tuesday. “But there have been a bunch of plays that have come up. Like in 1999 I was in Tennessee when we hit the Music City Miracle, and I’m sure there were a lot of special teams coaches talking about staying back and staying in your lanes and doing all those kind of things. Playoff football, those plays are big. And they are remembered for a long time. There’s different ways to teach players. Sometimes they can learn from opponents’ tape and I think those are good teaching moments. But we’re prepared for most situations.”
The Eagles had their own teaching moment in their 15-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons last Saturday. They were trailing, 10-6, in the second with 22 seconds left. Nick Foles threw a pass over the middle that should have been intercepted by Keanu Neal, who leaped in the air. The ball ricocheted off his kneecap to Smith, who turned it into a 20yard gain that helped set up a 53-yard field goal.
“I’ve caught tipped passes but that was the weirdest,” Smith said. “The thing went 15 yards. I was trying to get in position to try to make the tackle and the ball just popped up into the air and I saw I had as good a shot as anyone. For us, that was a mistake on his part and good luck on our side that it bounced right into my hands and ended up leading to points for us.”
Without that alert play, the Eagles wouldn’t have had a goal line stand against the Falcons. No, kicker Matt Bryant, who with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, beat the Eagles with a 62-yard field goal, would have been able to go for the win with a chip shot.
“If we don’t score at the end of the half they’re driving at the end of the game to kick the game-winning field goal,” is the way Smith put it. “It’s just the little things and they all add up. Everything matters.”
Smith knows that better than most Eagles, as he contributed to a Super Bowl title with the Baltimore Ravens, and was part of the squad that came up empty in an AFC championship game. The Eagles are 60 minutes from Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis — and they must beat the Vikings in South Philadelphia to get there. Go figure.
“That’s what you worked hard for, to be in this position,” Smith said. “You know it’s there. In this game, I’ve been here twice. I know what it’s like when you win it and I know what it’s like when you lose it. So, I definitely cherish being in this position and knowing that we worked hard to be here, and that we have to go out there and do our job.
“I mean, it’s right there. It’s one thing to talk about it at the beginning of the season. It’s your goal. Now it’s right here. It’s a great opportunity. And an opportunity is only as good as you make it.”
It can’t hurt to review Diggs’ play Wednesday and Thursday, take Friday off and give it one more look before the conference championship game Sunday. The Eagles are right there. An opportunity is only as good as they make it.