The USA hockey team beating Russia was a more likely prediction than what transpired on the field tonight at Gillette Stadium. After letting up 45 points to the Buccaneers and Lions in consecutive weeks, the Eagles somehow decided to play to their potential and defeated Bill Belichick and the Evil Empire. The special teams and defense set the pace for the Birds and the offense did just enough to keep them afloat, as the Eagles won 35-28.
The game started out as predicted, with the Patriots taking a 14-0 lead early on. But then things took a turn for the best, as the Eagles scored five straight touchdowns. Najee Goode scored on a blocked punt, Darren Sproles returned a punt for a touchdown, and Malcolm Jenkins was able to return an interception 99 yards for an easy six points. These were the type of big plays we haven't seen from the Eagles in a long time.
The Eagles were able to stomp the Patriots early on from all aspects of the game to take a 35-14 lead with 7 minutes to play. However, the team didn't feel comfortable in securing the win yet, and decided to let the fans really sweat it out for the rest of the game.
Tom Brady was able to find Scott "Not Gronk" Chandler in the endzone to cut it to 35-21. The Pats then tried an onside kick in the ensuing play, which they recovered after the ball bounced off of Zack Ertz's hands. The Patriots drove the length of the field and scored once again, cutting the lead to seven.
The Pats tried an onside kick once again, but Riley Cooper made a smart play and deflected the ball out of bounds rather than try to catch it. All the Eagles had to do was get a first down and run the clock out. On third down and no timeouts left for the Pats, the Eagles snapped the ball and called a pass play. At one point, a Patriots rusher looked like he had a clear shot at sacking Bradford. Jason Peters had different plans, as his block on the open rusher allowed Bradford a chance to get the throw off to Riley Cooper for the first down.
At this point, the game should be over and the Eagles should be celebrating. However, on third down and in field goal range, the Eagles ran the ball with Kenjon Barner and he ended up fumbling and giving the Patriots possession and a chance at life. Why Chip Kelly decided to run the ball with his fourth string running back when you spent $100 billion dollars on running backs this offseason, I will never know.
Anyway, it was all rendered meaningless once the Patriots turned the ball over on downs. I'm glad the Eagles won, but the last few minutes took a few years off of every fan's life. It was the single best highlight of this season, and maybe even the past few years.
The win puts the Eagles at 5-7, a half game behind the Washington Redskins. In this awful division, it's never over. That being said, the Eagles can't spend too long celebrating this victory. They need to keep it up and go on a streak over the last four games and win this division.
By: Dan Goggin
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
The Eagles were able to stomp the Patriots early on from all aspects of the game to take a 35-14 lead with 7 minutes to play. However, the team didn't feel comfortable in securing the win yet, and decided to let the fans really sweat it out for the rest of the game.
Tom Brady was able to find Scott "Not Gronk" Chandler in the endzone to cut it to 35-21. The Pats then tried an onside kick in the ensuing play, which they recovered after the ball bounced off of Zack Ertz's hands. The Patriots drove the length of the field and scored once again, cutting the lead to seven.
The Pats tried an onside kick once again, but Riley Cooper made a smart play and deflected the ball out of bounds rather than try to catch it. All the Eagles had to do was get a first down and run the clock out. On third down and no timeouts left for the Pats, the Eagles snapped the ball and called a pass play. At one point, a Patriots rusher looked like he had a clear shot at sacking Bradford. Jason Peters had different plans, as his block on the open rusher allowed Bradford a chance to get the throw off to Riley Cooper for the first down.
At this point, the game should be over and the Eagles should be celebrating. However, on third down and in field goal range, the Eagles ran the ball with Kenjon Barner and he ended up fumbling and giving the Patriots possession and a chance at life. Why Chip Kelly decided to run the ball with his fourth string running back when you spent $100 billion dollars on running backs this offseason, I will never know.
Anyway, it was all rendered meaningless once the Patriots turned the ball over on downs. I'm glad the Eagles won, but the last few minutes took a few years off of every fan's life. It was the single best highlight of this season, and maybe even the past few years.
The win puts the Eagles at 5-7, a half game behind the Washington Redskins. In this awful division, it's never over. That being said, the Eagles can't spend too long celebrating this victory. They need to keep it up and go on a streak over the last four games and win this division.
By: Dan Goggin
Follow us on twitter @BroadStBeat
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