In the worst way, Eagles start to show some life
PHILADELPHIA >> Through a persistent drizzle Monday, in the shadows of the stadium lights, it was possible to see them dangling from a Linc overhang.
Numbering 14, they were the Eagles’ tidy collection of championship flags. A handful, four in all, celebrated world championships, including a crisp, relatively new addition to the far right. The rest honored teams of more modest achievement, including several set aside for winners of the NFC East.
Once, that was considered banner-worthy. But what was occurring six stories below, on the soggy playing surface, was making that tough for one night to believe.
There were the Eagles, four games remaining in their season and another NFC East championship theirs to let slip away, in their second consecutive game against an opponent with two wins, this time the New York Giants. And for the second consecutive week, they were making it tough to see that they were the better team.
Eventually, they would win, 23-17, for that’s what they typically do against the Giants. But it was not before they’d spend much of the night playing about as poorly as they had a week earlier against the similarly challenged Miami Dolphins, extending a losing streak to three.
It was days later that Doug Pederson, a noted players’ coach, reacted to that by ordering a full-equipment practice, something of an oddity for December. Not necessarily punitive, but at least with a hint of that, it was Pederson’s way of reminding the Eagles that it was time to dress for success.
“The main message is, we’re in a must-win situation,” Pederson had said. “We know that. It really started last week and really coming out of the bye if you want to think about it going back a few weeks.
“For me, I have to stay the course. I have to stay transparent and have to stay as honest as I can with the team. The integrity, talk about the character of the team and all that with them and say, ‘Listen, guys, we’re in that must-win situation right now.’”
So prodded, this is how the Eagles would begin their response Monday night: Their first drive would be halted by a sack; their second would end when Carson Wentz lost a fumble on a fourth-and-one dive; the third effort was a three-and-out cameo and a spray of boos; the fourth ended in a field goal, but not until a would-be touchdown pass to Greg Ward was overturned when Brandon Brooks was flagged for holding. Drive No. 6 ended in a punt. So did Drive No. 7, which the Giants parlayed into a 55-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Darius Slayton, good for a 17-3 lead.
Drive No. 8, the Eagles’ last of the first half? And Drives No. 9 and 10 to begin the second half? Go ahead, take a stab.
Pennant fever. Whether the Eagles practiced in football armor or in Hawaiian shirts was unlikely to matter much in a football sense. It was one practice in a string of practices that began in August. But Pederson was curious to monitor his players’ response, first during the week, and ultimately in the Monday night TV showcase.
If the Eagles were what they believed, and they continue to believe they are still of that 2017 world-championship vintage, they would show that right away.
“That’s the thing,” Pederson had said. “You get to see their reaction. I stand up here and go, ‘Hey, guys, we’re going to be in pads today,’ and they’re like ‘Uhhh,’ or they are like, ‘Ahhh’ type of thing. Guys responded extremely well. I was really pleased, really happy with the way we practiced on Thursday.
“The energy level was high.”
The Eagles showed some of that bounce in the second half, mixing Boston Scott and Joshua Perkins into the attack. It was Scott’s two-yard touchdown dive that would draw the Eagles within a touchdown with 1:28 left in the third quarter. Then they dominated the final 15 minutes, as might have been expected, given the first 30 times Manning had faced them, 20 of which were losses. They forced a tie at 1717 with a two-yard pass from Wentz to Zach Ertz with 1:53 left, followed by Jake Elliott’s point-after.
Then, they won in overtime to improve to 6-7, matching the Cowboys’ record and gaining a piece of first place in the NFC East.
The Eagles have had injury difficulties. Jordan Howard rarely plays. Alshon Jeffery left the game early. So did Lane Johnson. They haven’t been themselves since DeSean Jackson went in for surgery. There are explanations for their dusty 6-7 record.
But even with those troubles, the Eagles faced what seemed like a gift of a lateseason schedule. There was the game in Miami. There would be one next week against the Redskins, who already have been eliminated. And not only would there be a pair against the Giants, who would lug an eight-game losing streak into the Linc, but that No. 10 would be trotting onto the wet track.
Yet the Eagles had no reliable weapons beyond Zach Ertz and Scott, and, worse, had too few answers for Manning, who was playing only because Daniel Jones had an ankle injury.
The NFC East is likely to produce a champion without a winning record. That can happen from time to time in the NFL, which splinters itself into four-team mini-divisions, assuring that at least half of its member teams finish every regular season in second place or higher. And it is from that designed generosity that with three weeks to play, the Eagles remain in reasonable position to win the division and a home playoff game. That likely will be decided in a Dec. 22 game against the visiting Cowboys.
If so, the Eagles would also win the authority to unfurl another flag from their upper deck. It would read, “2019 NFC East Division Champions.”
If some day it becomes lost in the conditions and the lights, it would be appropriate.