Things are starting to look up for the Philadelphia Eagles, who played one of their most impressive games of the season. Effective play on both sides of the ball helped the Eagles defeat the New Orleans Saints by the final score of 39-17.
The story of the season so far has been the disappointing play of the Eagles offense. Today, quarterback Sam Bradford and the offense came out with a renewed sense of energy versus the Saints defense.
Bradford and the offense got off to a fair start with solid ball movement. Finishing the drives seemed to be the problem for the first three of the game. On the first drive, the Eagles failed to convert on 4th and 7, showing their hesitation to put struggling kicker Caleb Sturgis on the field for long field goals.
The following drives ended in two redzone picks by Bradford, both in the endzone. The first went to Brandon Browner as Bradford threw well behind wide receiver Riley Cooper. Drew Brees and the Saints would take advantage as confusion between Jordan Hicks and Nolan Carroll led to a six-yard touchdwon strike from Brees to Benjamin Watson.
The second Bradford pick came from a poor attempt to hit wide receiver Miles Austin. The same drive also saw a huge Jordan Matthews drop in the endzone.
Bradford and the Eagles would eventually patch things up as Bradford hit wide receiver Josh Huff for a 41-yard touchdown.
The Eagles defense mostly kept up their dominant play, holding the Saints to 130 yards of offense in the first half. A late first half sack and strip by Fletcher Cox helped the Eagles take the lead with a 39-yard Sturgis field goal.
Despite just having one touchdown in the first half, the Eagles offense racked up 300 total yards of offense in the opening half.
The second half may have been one of the most complete halves of football the Eagles played all season. Bradford and the Eagles continued their effective ball movement, leading to a two-yard touchdown run by running back Ryan Mathews.
The defense made sure the game remained out of reach with a strong turnover game. Cox recorded his second sack and strip of the game. The Eagles took advantage with a wide-open 13-yard touchdown pass from Bradford to tight end Brent Celek.
The turnover dominance continued as Demeco Ryans forced a fumble, which eventually led to a 41-yard Sturgis field goal. Sturgis would also connect from 29 and 26 in the second half.
The party was not quite over yet. Defensive back Walk Thurmond joined in, intercepting Brees to give the Eagles the ball in the redzone. Running back Demarco Murray took advantage of the field position as he ran four yards for a touchdown.
Today’s game was filled with season highs for the Eagles. These highs included 503 yards of total offense in the game.
Demarco Murray also resurfaced after a dismal start with 83 rushing yards off 20 carries, and a touchdown.
Next week, the Eagles will host
the division-rival New York Giants on Monday Night Football as they look to carry their momentum and get to .500.
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