TIPPING POINT
A win today would keep Eagles’ playoff hopes alive
PHILADELPHIA — Now that they’ve re-established some momentum by finally winning a game they were supposed to lose, the Philadelphia Eagles can stay alive in the playoff race and possibly even regain control of their destiny.
That second part can’t happen unless they take care of the visiting Houston Texans today (1 p.m., CBS) at home.
The assignment looks as daunting as what they were facing the previous week, when they handed the Los Angeles Rams a 30-23 defeat. So the Eagles (7-7) know they have it within themselves to hand the Texans (10-4) their fifth loss. The question is whether they can play so well two weeks in a row, a pattern that has eluded them all season for various reasons — injuries at the top of the list.
Yet they continue to play hard for coach Doug Pederson because of the leader he’s proved himself to be, always having the pulse of his team and acting accordingly.
For instance, he’s given them extra time off over the last couple of weeks to make sure their energy level peaks for games at this time of year.
And they appreciate it.
“I was very grateful,” tackle Lane Johnson said. “I think he does a good job of knowing when players are tired and I think he wants what’s best for the team.
“I think he just gets a read at practice, as far as how we show up, he does a good job of reading body language of players, and I think he knows how to motivate guys. … Having played the game a long time, he’s very good at reading all that stuff.”
Defensive end Michael Bennett agrees.
“I think it’s futuristic,” he said. “I think Doug is a young coach who understands — he’s been a player before — so he understands what it’s like for a player to play hard games and have to bounce back, and I think he does a good job of communicating with the veteran leadership on the team, trying to find ways to, ‘how can we still get the work done but lessen the load.’ ”
Rest assured, they will have to do more than think their way through today’s game against a Texans squad that won nine
straight games before falling at home to Indianapolis on Dec. 9.
Pederson has the added benefit, of course, of having a great personal relationship with Colts coach Frank Reich, who was Pederson’s offensive coordinator the previous two seasons.
Friday, Pederson admitted to recently picking Reich’s brain on how to attack the Texans.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve talked to
Frank,” he said. “We’ve reached out, talked to him and vice versa. He’s reached out to me on some opponents that we’ve played. Yeah, I have done that.”
The Texans have a number of ways to hurt opponents.
On offense, they feature a dual-threat quarterback in Deshaun Watson who has tossed 24 TD passes and run for two more. He has a pair of elite receivers in DeAndre Hopkins (94 catches, 1,321 yards, 11 TDs) and Demaryius Thomas and a top running back in Lamar Miller who’s averaging 4.8 yards
per carry.
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz compared Hopkins to former 76er Charles Barkley.
“Charles Barkley would lead the NBA in rebounds when he’s 6-3,” Schwartz marveled. “Those guys that just have a knack for high point and a knack for knowing. But I think that sort of stands out the most.
“That play he made to win the game or to give them the lead — not to win the game but to give them the lead [over the Jets last week], I mean, you can’t cover a
guy much better than that. And not only does he high-point the ball and he’s strong enough to squeeze it, he’s also strong enough to come down with that ball in his hand. He’s a threat to run after the catch. He’s one of the best receivers in the NFL.”
However, their offensive line is vulnerable and Watson is prone to holding the ball too long in an effort to extend plays. As a result, he’s been sacked a league-high 52 times.
This is an area the Eagles must exploit, especially because they have not fared well against
running quarterbacks this season.
What really fuels the Texans, though, is a strong run defense and a pass rush that has produced 39 sacks, including 14.5 for defensive end J.J. Watt and 8.0 for rush linebacker Jadeveon Clowney.
“Obviously two of the best edge rushers in the game,” Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said, “but not only that, they are complete players. You have to account for them all the time and know where they are and have a really good plan at
pass protection like I know we will. I know our guys will be up for the challenge.”
If the Eagles can give Foles time, he should be able to do damage.
Foles seemed intent on not taking any sacks last week against a similarly strong Rams pass rush, though he said that was not a conscious thought.
Either way, he didn’t, and it paid.