They had us down early, then we came back and had them down, then they came back and had us in a submission hold with 6 minutes to go…when inexplicably, leading 27-17, Ravens offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg called a passing play to Steve Smith on a crossing route deep in Eagles territory when a simple FG would have guaranteed Baltimore the win. Suddenly after Jordan Hicks made a great read on the play and intercepted the Flacco pass (on which Flacco later said he never saw Hicks on the play), the Eagles had new life. In his post-game press conference, Ravens HC John Harbaugh said it was the worst offensive playcall he has ever seen in his 19 years in the NFL.
The Eagles damn near converted that early Christmas gift into an upset win over the Ravens.
Give the Eagles a lot of credit for never giving up and playing with heart even when things weren’t exactly going their way. I have some issues with the Eagles’ execution on offense and with a few defensive lapses, and some of coach Pederson’s key playcalls were not exactly imaginative for the most part. But there they were in the end—a chance to tie or win the game with 4 seconds left in regulation.
Doug Pederson and the Eagles opted to go for two after storming back from a late 10-point deficit but could not convert and walked away with a 27-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens — their fifth in a row.
Quarterback Carson Wentz helped rally the team from a 27-17 hole over the last six-plus minutes. His 4-yard plunge with four seconds remaining made it a one-point game. Pederson called timeout after the score before sending his offense back on the field to try to win the game in regulation. Wentz’s pass over the middle to receiver Jordan Matthews, however, was tipped by C.J. Mosley and fell incomplete.
“I wanted to win the football game,” said Pederson. “And even our chances in overtime were less than 50 percent winning this game. As an underdog going into this game, we were going to win the game in regulation.”
The Eagles (5-9) have now lost nine of 11. “I’ve learned that it’s very hard to win in this league. I’ve learned it’s even harder to win on the road,” said Wentz, who dropped to 1-7 away from Lincoln Financial Field. “But every week, we experience something we learn from.”
Linebacker Jordan Hicks sparked the comeback with a timely interception in Eagles territory. However, the defense had a few costly breakdowns that did them in. There was the 34-yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith in the final moments of the first half that allowed Baltimore to head into the locker room with a lead. Then there was a 16-yard fourth-quarter rush by running back Kenneth Dixon that built the lead to 10.
“It’s always one or two plays in there that we wish we could have back,” said defensive end Brandon Graham. “But obviously, we have to shake that off because we have a short week this week. We have to play the Giants Thursday night, and I just want to get into the win column.”
The Eagles offense actually established a nice running game against a team which was supposedly difficult to run against. They did so by stretching things out around the ends. It was nice to see Ryan Matthews going slow to the line, then picking out his blocking lane for the quick acceleration. The Eagles offensive line did a nice job overall by getting a lot of unexpected push against the Ravens defensive front.
Unfortunately, the Eagles’ passing game did not emerge to complement the run. Their receivers were blanketed for the most part by Ravens coverages, and when guys were open, Carson Wentz was unexpectedly wild on a lot of his throws. It didn’t help either that once again Nelson Agholor suffered from frying-pan hands. I really don’t know how much more patience or trust I have in Ags as a receiver at the pro level. I’m not so sure the Eagles have much confidence left in him, either.
Anyway, at least we made this game a lot closer than any of the pundits or computers said it would be. We were right there on the doorstep of an amazing come-from-behind win.
“I turned the ball over at the end and that’s the only reason it was really a game,” Flacco said. But that is only part of the truth. The Eagles had to seize that last opportunity—and they did.
Carson Wentz directed a drive that produced a field goal with 2:22 remaining.
The Eagles got the ball back at their 41 with 1:39 to go. A 24-yard completion to tight end Zach Ertz and a pass interference call against rookie Tavon Young set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Wentz that got Philadelphia within a point.
Wentz went 22 for 42 for 170 yards and an interception. He was coming off successive 300-yard games, but in this one had only 93 yards passing after the third quarter. Ryan Mathews dommed the NFL’s alleged best rush defense for 128 yards.
Flacco went 16 for 30 for 206 yards, but lost a fumble in addition to being picked off once.
INJURIES:
Eagles: RB Kenjon Barner left in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
Ravens: LB Zachary Orr left briefly with a neck injury. He returned after passing concussion protocol.
Final:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHI | 3 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 26 |
| BAL | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Matchup |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Downs | 27 | 18 |
| Passing 1st downs | 10 | 12 |
| Rushing 1st downs | 13 | 4 |
| 1st downs from penalties | 4 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 8-18 | 4-11 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-3 | 0-0 |
| Total Plays | 81 | 57 |
| Total Yards | 328 | 340 |
| Total Drives | 12 | 12 |
| Yards per Play | 4.0 | 6.0 |
| Passing | 159 | 189 |
| Comp-Att | 22-42 | 16-30 |
| Yards per pass | 3.7 | 5.7 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1-11 | 3-17 |
| Rushing | 169 | 151 |
| Rushing Attempts | 38 | 24 |
| Yards per rush | 4.4 | 6.3 |
| Red Zone (Made-Att) | 2-5 | 2-3 |
| Penalties | 3-30 | 7-62 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1 | 1 |
| Defensive / Special Teams TDs | 0 | 0 |
| Possession | 36:38 | 23:22 |
Philadelphia Passing| C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | SACKS | QBR | RTG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Wentz | 22/42 | 170 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 1-11 | 53.1 | 52.7 |
| TEAM | 22/42 | 159 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 1-11 | — | 52.7 |
Philadelphia Rushing| CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Mathews | 20 | 128 | 6.4 | 1 | 19 |
| Byron Marshall | 9 | 22 | 2.4 | 0 | 12 |
| Carson Wentz | 4 | 8 | 2.0 | 1 | 5 |
| Kenjon Barner | 3 | 6 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 |
| Bryce Treggs | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
| Nelson Agholor | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 |
| TEAM | 38 | 169 | 4.4 | 2 | 19 |
Philadelphia Receiving| REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | TGTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Ertz | 6 | 80 | 13.3 | 0 | 24 | 8 |
| Jordan Matthews | 6 | 27 | 4.5 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| Kenjon Barner | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 15 | 5 |
| Dorial Green-Beckham | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
| Nelson Agholor | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 4 |
| Byron Marshall | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
| Brent Celek | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Ryan Mathews | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Trey Burton | 2 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| TEAM | 22 | 170 | 7.7 | 0 | 24 | 42 |
Philadelphia Fumbles| FUM | LOST | REC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fletcher Cox | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Carson Wentz | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Ryan Mathews | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM | 3 | 0 | 2 |
Philadelphia Defense| TACKLES | MISC | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | ||
| Nigel Bradham | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Brandon Graham | 6 | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Rodney McLeod | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jordan Hicks | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bennie Logan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Beau Allen | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Malcolm Jenkins | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vinny Curry | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jaylen Watkins | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Trey Burton | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jalen Mills | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fletcher Cox | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Leodis McKelvin | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mychal Kendricks | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Brent Celek | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Connor Barwin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Chris Maragos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Najee Goode | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Marcus Smith II | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kamu Grugier-Hill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nolan Carroll II | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TEAM | 54 | 38 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
Philadelphia Interceptions| INT | YDS | TD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Hicks | 1 | 34 | 0 |
| TEAM | 1 | 34 | 0 |
Philadelphia Kicking| FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Sturgis | 4/4 | 100.0 | 45 | 0/0 | 12 |
| TEAM | 4/4 | 100.0 | 45 | 0/0 | 12 |
Philadelphia Punting| NO | YDS | AVG | TB | IN 20 | LONG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donnie Jones | 2 | 94 | 47.0 | 0 | 1 | 51 |
| TEAM | 2 | 94 | 47.0 | 0 | 1 | 51 |
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