Eagles find a way:
Defending Super Bowl champs shake off disaster with inspiring rally to get back to playoffs.
LANDOVER, Md. – A football season is the sum of its parts, which for the Philadelphia Eagles equated to a playoff berth.
It all came down to what happened on a gripping final day of the regular season in places here and beyond.
But, truly, the Eagles’ unexpected resurgence and opportunity to play into 2019 didn’t revolve solely on what happened in those few decisive hours on Dec. 30 but in the weeks leading up to it as well.
The Eagles stepped onto FedExField focused on their opponent, the Washington Redskins, but with many eyes also riveted on what was happening in Minneapolis, where the Vikings had to lose for Philadelphia to clinch a playoff spot.
The Eagles did their part, romping 24-0 against the hapless Redskins. Then they waited for the Chicago Bears to finish off the Vikings and celebrated the happy news.
What a turnaround for the Eagles, who hardly seemed destined for such glee two months ago. Now they’ll visit the Bears in first round of the playoffs.
“I feel like we’re peaking at the right time,” tight end Zach Ertz said.
The Eagles started the season as defending Super Bowl champs and weren’t very good, as evidenced by September losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans and a crushing October defeat against Carolina. The Panthers scored 21 unanswered fourthperiod points in a 21-17 win at Lincoln Financial Field that left the Eagles 3-4.
They fell to 4-5 after another home loss to the Dallas Cowboys and were blown out 48-7 at the New Orleans Saints to drop to 4-6.
But the Eagles (9-7) closed the season as a desperate team. They were much more cut out for that role.
“This team really hung together,” coach Doug Pederson said. “I credit the leadership of the team and the coaches just keeping the guys focused on one game at a time. And this last half, things began to click for us and the guys just got better as each week came, and to do what we’ve done here this last month, month and a half, is a credit to the guys.”
The Eagles won five of their final six. That included victories against the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams and Houston Texans that, in October, would have seemed impossible.
The late-season return of Darren Sproles cannot be underestimated. But the primary architect of the team’s resurgence was quarterback Nick Foles, who played knowing that the Eagles’ next loss will likely be his last game with the franchise.
In his third start since stepping back in for injured Carson Wentz, Foles was typically stellar in delivering the football to his intended targets. His 25 consecutive completions tied an NFL record. He completed 28 of 33 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
Foles left the field in the fourth quarter with a chest injury. Nate Sudfeld later threw his first career TD pass.
Soon after, Eagles fans who filled what seemed like about half the seats at FedExField began chanting, “Let’s Go Bears! Let’s Go Bears!”
The Bears soon obliged with the touchdown that put them ahead 21-10 with 7:46 left. They later added to that.
As the Eagles left the field, fans let out a thunderous “E-A-G-L-E-S” chant.
It was the anthem of a playoff team. Imagine that.