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Photograph: Lindsey Wasson/AP
So much of the December NFL narrative is devoted to teams scrambling to qualify for the playoffs, but the end of the regular season is also a terrific chance for the diminishing handful of Super Bowl contenders to sharpen their tools, to separate themselves from the pack.
One of those contenders, the Philadelphia Eagles, had lost their previous two games but could have scored a get-right victory Monday in Seattle against the Seahawks. All they needed to do was prevent Seattle, down by four points, from driving 92 yards in less than two minutes.
Related: Drew Lock’s late heroics rally Seahawks to 20-17 victory over reeling Eagles
Eagles’ fans, who can find flaws in just about anything, probably would not have gotten too carried away had Philadelphia squeezed out a heart-thumping victory. After all, Seattle’s quarterback was the backup Drew Lock, starting only his second game in two seasons.
Besides, the Eagles’ beleaguered defense, run Monday for the first time by assistant Matt Patricia, the Bill Belichick protegee and former head coach of the Detroit Lions, did look a lot better (well, generally) than it had in lopsided losses to San Francisco and Dallas.
Well, guess what. Lock drove Seattle those 92 yards in 10 plays, and had 28 seconds to spare. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in the rain to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who’d squirted past the veteran Eagles cornerback James Bradberry, in one-on-one coverage.
The TD put Seattle ahead for good, 20-17. Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception after taking the Eagles, who still had two timeouts, to within about 20 yards of what could have been a score-tying field-goal attempt. Hurts winced as he pulled off his helmet.
“I didn’t do my job good enough,” Hurts mumbled at a post-game news conference. But that was the nice thing to say, and Hurts was hardly alone in doing a poor job.
So the Seahawks (7-7) are still very much in playoff contention. Pete…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/spiraling-philadelphia-eagles-no-longer-083020181.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2023-12-19 08:30:20
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