LANDOVER, Md. – If the Eagles end up clinching a playoff spot Sunday night, it’ll be because of “straight grit,” as quarterback Jalen Hurts put it.
And really, did you expect it to come any other way after the Eagles’ 20-16 win over the Washington Football Team on Sunday?
There was Boston Scott barreling his way up the middle for his first of two touchdowns on fourth-and-goal. There was a defense stiffening in the second half with two crucial sacks of WFT quarterback Taylor Heinicke on third down, in addition to Avonte Maddox’s pass breakup on fourth down midway through the fourth quarter.
But the win wasn’t secured until 24 seconds remained when safety Rodney McLeod dove in the end zone to intercept Heinicke’s pass, just as it appeared like Washington was going to steal everything away from the Eagles.
Finally, the Eagles could exhale – and then wait.
The Eagles got their first requirement for clinching when San Francisco beat Houston later Sunday. That happened as the Eagles were busing home. The final requirement came late Sunday night after the Vikings lost to Green Bay.
“I guess we’ll all be clenching our teeth, seeing what’s about to happen,” right tackle Lane Johnson said about the bus ride home. “Not really a whole lot we can control, but we can hope. So that’s what we’re doing.”
The Eagles (9-7) put themselves in this position much as they did Sunday – overcoming the adversity of a 2-5 start to the season, and a slow start for the third straight game.
Facing Washington for the second time in 12 days, the Eagles once again fell behind by 10 points in the first half. And for the second time in 12 days, they came back to win. They also fell behind the Giants last week before winning 34-10.
“Maybe somebody needs to go throw some cold water in our face on the first drive, I guess,” Johnson said.
At least Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was encouraged by what he saw as a “calmness” around the team, even when they fell behind early.
They never panicked, even with the dominant running game somewhat slowed with the absence of Miles Sanders, who has a broken hand, and with Jordan Howard limited by a neck injury.
So Hurts, playing despite a sprained ankle, told Sirianni, according to Sirianni: “Whatever you gotta call, call, and I’ll make it work.”
When asked if that was true, Hurts replied only by saying: “Yeah.”
In all, the Eagles rushed for 118 yards, well short of their average of 204 yards per game over the previous eight games.
Hurts rushed for 44 yards on seven carries. It wasn’t anything flashy, but enough to get the job done. He was also 17 of 26 passing for 214 yards.
But the toughest yards came on Scott’s fourth-and-goal carries from the 2 and the 1, respectively.
The first came with the Eagles down 10-0 early in the second quarter when Scott bullied his way up the middle. The second came with the Eagles trailing 16-7 in the third quarter. On this play, Hurts said he was stepped on as he pitched the ball to Scott while falling. Scott ran around the right side and into the corner.
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Sure, the Eagles could have kicked field goals in each situation. But Sirianni wasn’t willing to take the chance after seeing Heinicke light up the defense in the first half. That’s when Washington had 230 yards, just seven short of its total in the entire previous game, a 27-17 Eagles win on Dec. 21.
“Did you see some of the throws that Heinicke was making early in that game?” Sirianni said. “The guy was playing good, so I felt like in those (fourth-down) scenarios, we had to be aggressive.”
For the players, those decisions showed something else.
“Turned out to play a pivotal role in the football game, and I think there’s trust in us,” Hurts said. “Push comes to shove, if it goes left, or if goes south, and if it doesn’t look too good, we know we put our best foot forward in preparing for it.
“We all trusted each other to execute.”
That was true for the defense as well. WFT had just 82 yards in the second half and didn’t score.
Twice, facing third-and-long situations, Josh Sweat and Genard Avery sacked Heinicke, forcing Washington to punt.
Then after the Eagles took a 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter, Avonte Maddox broke up Heinicke’s fourth-down pass at midfield with 7:31 left.
“Those plays were huge for us,” McLeod said.
Almost as huge as McLeod’s play at the end, after Washington took over at its 25 with 2:21 left, then drove down the field, getting to the Eagles’ 20-yard line with 30 seconds left.
That’s when Heinicke looked for tight end John Bates near the goal line. His throw sailed and McLeod dove and caught it.
“I knew I caught it once I secured it, really,” McLeod said. “I just wanted to make sure I closed this game out the right way.”
All that remained was for the Eagles to “clench their teeth” on the bus ride home, hoping that the reward for their “straight grit” would come late Sunday night.
WFT not only thing that collapsed
WFT lost its fourth straight game, all to division opponents, and officially was eliminated from the playoffs Sunday.
It was a fitting metaphor for the railing at FedEx Field that collapsed as Hurts was headed to the tunnel after the game ended, while Eagles fans leaned in to congratulate him.
Hurts avoided the falling fans, much like he avoided Washington’s pass rush. He even helped some of them get back on their feet.
It didn’t appear as if anyone was injured.
“I’m just happy that everybody’s safe,” Hurts said. “It’s crazy stuff right there. That’s a real dangerous situation. … Passion of the Eagles fans, I love it.”
Did Jalen Hurts say ‘Delaware’?
On the TV broadcast, Hurts could be heard yelling “Delaware! Delaware!” as he called signals on second down on the last play of the first quarter.
On the play, Hurts completed a 14-yard pass to Dallas Goedert. It’s hard to know what the First State had to do with the play, but the Eagles did travel through Delaware on their way to Washington.
That play put the Eagles into Washington territory. They capped the drive with Scott’s 2-yard TD run on fourth down to cut the deficit to 10.
DE’s Smallwood plays for WFT
Delaware native Wendell Smallwood, elevated to the 53-man roster as a COVID-19 replacement, finished with 12 yards on four carries and 10 yards on two receptions.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
