The Philadelphia Eagles’ defence held firm late in the game as they booked their place in the NFC Championship game after beating last season’s Super Bowl finalists the Atlanta Falcons 15-10. “We fought back in the second half, kind of climbed back in it… we got ourselves in a hole in the first half, but in the end, we came up short”.
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The Patriots are trying to reach the Super Bowl for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. Foles, whose struggles over the final two weeks of the regular season were a big reason the Eagles were home underdogs, finished 23 of 30 for 246 yards with completions to eight different players.
“I felt leading up to the Falcon game and the things that [Offensive coordinator] Frank [Reich] and I had discussed and put together with the game plan was conducive to some of Nick’s strengths”, Pederson said.
While Sarkisian definitely deserves to be criticized for his inexplicable play-calling on the final drive, if we take a step back here I think we can acknowledge that Sarkisian is getting perhaps too much of the blame for Atlanta’s failures.
“Defense came up huge at the end”. So with the Falcons two yards from the end zone on a fourth down in a five-point game, it was the do-or-die moment they desired. “It was a good team win today – and we’re going to need another one next week”.
He begins by noting that Eagles quarterback Nick Foles deserves credit for his efficient performance, but the driving force behind the offensive was the offensive line. The absence of their injured leader Wentz – the man who had guided the Eagles to an 11-2 start stood by on the sidelines, watching with one crutch under his right arm – would not dampen the feisty spirit of the Philadelphia fans, who withstood subfreezing temperatures to witness the team’s first divisional round run since the 2008 season. The previous week, when Wentz was hurt in Los Angeles, Foles was 6-for-10 for 42 yards.
The Falcons took advantage of an early fumble by running back Jay Ajayi and turned it into a 3-0 lead when Matt Bryant kicked a 33-yard field goal with 9:08 remaining in the first quarter. He threw for 70 of the Eagles’ 74-yard field-goal drive to give them their first lead of the game in the waning seconds of the third quarter, connecting on a number of run-pass option plays that the Falcons had trouble stopping. If it weren’t for that long field goal, the Falcons should have been playing for a field goal to win the game.
A 61-yard touchdown catch to steal the game and seal an NFC Championship game next week with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles will host the victor of the Saints-Vikings game next Sunday.
The Eagles will advance to play the victor of Sunday’s game between the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings.
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Receiver Alshon Jeffery said of Foles: “We never doubted him”. “To be a part of this team, that’s what it has always been about”. The guys are going to motivate themselves just based on what they’ve done and heard for the last month of football. It really doesn’t matter what you guys talk about because [our] locker room is united. However, once he settled down, he showed why many Eagles fans believe he can lead them to the promise land. They’re built a lot like us.
