NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
DeVonta Smith bounces back in most complete win of Eagles season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
DeVonta Smith had one thought go through his mind after his first catch on Sunday went for -2 yards.
“Nah, we ain’t doing this today.”
And he was right. A week after Smith’s stat line against the Giants was one catch for -2 yards, that wasn’t where it was going to finish on Sunday against the Bengals.
By the end of the Eagles’ dominant 37-17 win in Cincinnati, Smith had 6 catches for 85 yards, including a game-changing 45-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
“He made clutch catches. Not a surprise,” head coach Nick Sirianni said, citing previous examples of Smith bouncing back from lower-than-usual stat lines.
The last time Smith was held without a receiving yard was in Week 1 of the 2022 season against the Lions. He had 0 catches on 4 targets that day. But the next week he had 7 for 80 and the week after he had 8 for 169 and a touchdown.
So keep an eye on Smith against the Jaguars too.
“That’s the way the game goes,” Sirianni said. “That’s why you can’t overreact when things happen. I’m real proud of him and the things he stands for, the way he puts his head down and works and tunes out everything else.”
Against the Bengals on Sunday, the Eagles’ offense was absolutely humming after a little early hiccup. Jalen Hurts was masterful, Saquon Barkley ran extremely hard and both top receivers turned in big days. In addition to Smith’s 6/85/1 performance, A.J. Brown turned in a quiet (by his standard) 5-for-84.
Brown was happy to see his teammate turn in a strong game after last week but he knew a weird one-game stat line wasn’t anything to harp on.
“Smitty’s not worried about none of that,” Brown said. “He’s going to come to work, he’s going to make plays when his number’s called. Of course, he wanted more than negative (two yards) last week. When he got an opportunity, he made the most of it.”
The Eagles and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/devonta-smith-bounces-back-most-110000022.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-10-29 11:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
