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How ‘dead legs’ helped DeVonta Smith make an impossible catch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The crazy thing isn’t that he made this insane one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. And it’s not that he was able to somehow drag both feet in bounds at the last possible instant.
The crazy thing is that DeVonta Smith was able to do both those impossible things at the same time.
Smith turned in one of the greatest catches you’ll ever see Sunday, a 25-yarder on a 3rd-and-22 in the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles a 28-16 lead on their way to a too-close-for-comfort 28-23 win over the Jaguars at the Linc.
Smith caught Jalen Hurts’ pass at full speed as he zipped toward the back of the end zone, covered tightly by Ronald Darby, a starter for Doug Pederson on the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl-champion.
He caught the ball and dragged his feet so quickly it was a blur. Only when you watch in slow motion is it clear that he got both feet down a split second before his right shin landed out of bounds.
“That’s a hell of a play he made,” Jalen Hurts said. “I’ve seen him make that play in practice. I’ve seen him in the back of the end zone, stick one hand out there and make that same very play.”
Smith and Hurts have been making plays together since 2018, when they were teammates at Alabama. Hurts left for Oklahoma the next year, but they were reunited here in 2021, and they’ve been making highlight-reel plays together since.
A play like the two made Sunday wouldn’t be possible without years of reps between them.
“I think me just having a good feel of where I’m at on the field, being aware when I’m close to the sideline, just really letting my legs just go dead and just get ready to drag,” Smith said. “It’s a trust thing. He trusted me to be there and we made it work.”
Once A.J. Brown left the game at halftime with a knee injury, Smith knew he had to come up huge. And he did.
He only had one nine-yard catch in the first half but finished…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dead-legs-helped-devonta-smith-144058848.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-11-05 14:40:58
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