“I don’t have an explanation for it”, he said, “but I know we weren’t ready to play on defense”. Just like last week, Johnson found out in the minutes before the game which side he was playing. I love Brian Westbrook, Brian Dawkins, Donovan McNabb, Jevon Kearse and all the guys that played with the Eagles in the early 2000s. Scouts have lauded Winston’s ability to scan the field and go through his progressions, but his underrated ability to gaze at defenders and turn their hands to stone somehow has gone undetected.
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Winston’s four-game streak without a turnover was snapped with a pair of interceptions against the Cowboys, but he completed 22 of 39 passes for 264 yards. He also has two sacks and two interceptions this season. They watched, and that’s the accurate verb, Doug Martin rush for 235 yards, including carries of 84 and 58 yards. He finished the game 19-of-29 for 246 yards. Sanders had 237 for the Lions against Tampa in 1994.
The rookie No. 1 overall pick leads the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) against the Eagles (4-5) today in a game with important playoff ramifications for both teams.
Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis Jr. called Sunday’s 45-17 throttling by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the worst loss of his coaching career and on Monday head coach Chip Kelly came to his lieutenant’s defense. “We talked about being relevant, we are”.
Now, with the Eagles reeling after yet another disappointing late-game loss, Philadelphia looks to contain Winston and try to regain a few of its offensive footing this Sunday. “I’ve always wanted to play here since I was a little boy”.
Winston, on the march leading to his fifth TD pass and a 35-14 lead, was in the grasp of Cox when he performed the switcheroo. Tampa Bay had a first down on its own 15 when Martin ran through a gaping hole in the middle and broke down the sideline for an 84-yard run, holding off cornerback Nolan Carroll for the last 25 yards. Mike Evans has been carrying the weight while Winston has been trying to be the hero more times than not. He capped a 56-yard drive with the winning 1-yard touchdown plunge with 54 seconds to play.
But Winston led the Bucs on a 13-play, 80-yard drive to make it 28-14 at the intermission. He wound up throwing two interceptions and two touchdowns on the day, and was badly outplayed by Marcus Mariota, the player selected immediately after him atop the 2015 draft. DeMarco Murray could see an increase in touches today.
But where so many times this season, the offense couldn’t get out of its own way and pull out a win gift wrapped by the defense, this time it was the defense that never bothered to give the Philadelphia Eagles a chance. And the discussion Monday might be less about his five-TD game and more about his role in an incident on campus that raised the biggest red flags about him.
Starting in place of Marshawn Lynch, out with an abdominal injury, Rawls posted his third 100-yard rushing game of his rookie season and the second time topping 160 yards. Martin had 251 vs. Oakland in his rookie season.
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The Eagles’ hadn’t allowed a run from scrimmage of 50 yards since 2011.
