by So much of the NFL Christmas narrative is focused on teams scrambling to qualify for the playoffs, but the end of the regular season is also a great opportunity for the shrinking number of Super Bowl contenders to sharpen their tools, to separate themselves from the pack.
One of those rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, had lost the previous two games, but could have a proper win on Monday against the Seahawks. All they had to do was prevent Seattle, down four points, from driving 92 yards in less than two minutes.
Related: Seahawks with a 20-17 win against the Eagles that was late by Drew Lock
Eagles fans, who can find fault with almost anything, probably wouldn’t have been upset if Philadelphia had pulled off a heartbreaking win. After all, Seattle’s quarterback was backup Drew Lock, starting just his second game in two seasons.
Also, the Eagles’ beleaguered defense, run for the first time Monday by assistant Matt Patricia, protegee Bill Belichick and former Detroit Lions head coach, looked a lot better (well, in general). , than in a weak loss to San. Francisco and Dallas.
Well, guess what. Seattle’s Lock drove that 92 yards in 10 plays, with 28 seconds to spare. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass in the rain to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who went over former Eagles quarterback James Bradberry in one-on-one coverage.
The TD put Seattle ahead, 20-17. Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception after the Eagles, who still had two timeouts, got within about 20 yards of a potential game-tying field goal attempt. Hurt winced as he pulled off his helmet.
“I didn’t do my job well enough,” Hurt said at a post-match news conference. But that was the nice thing to say, and Hurts was hardly alone in doing a poor job.
So the Seahawks (7-7) are still very much in playoff contention. Pete Carroll, their 72-year-old coach, can tell people that he never lost to the Eagles as the coach of the Seahawks. The city of Philadelphia would be in a rotten mood, anyway.
Highlights happen in the playoffs, but December serves as the time when the elite emerge, finding another gear. Philadelphia lost two of their three regular season games last year, and a fat win over the 49ers in the NFC championship game was marred, at least as far as San Francisco fans were concerned, by a quarterback injury Brock Purdy.
This was a big loss for the Eagles, however, which brought a battle reminiscent of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in the last Super Bowl – and they had big plans to get back. The Eagles (10-4) still should have won their last three games, but nothing is certain now.
Brian Johnson, the Eagles’ popular first-year offensive coordinator, will be put on the sports talk shows for another questionable game plan, including an option play where Hurts put the ball on his sideline. tight end, Dallas Goedert, who gained one yard.
But it was the Eagles’ defense that stood out when Philadelphia needed the big plays, although head coach Nick Sirianni tried to address the problems with his defense by replacing Sean Desai, his first-year defensive coordinator, with Patricia on the sidelines on Monday. .
“Listen, it was a tough decision to be able to do this,” Sirianni said after the game regarding the change in coaching responsibilities, “but, again, like I said, I did what was best for our team football. We’re always making adjustments, and that’s what I did.”
Much of the pregame chatter in Philadelphia this week focused on how the Eagles, still coming off bleak losses to the 49ers (11-3) and Cowboys (10-4), could win the NFC East, and maybe bye to the first round. , sweeping their last four games.
Then the Cowboys were defeated Sunday in Buffalo by the gasping Bills (8-6), who were considered a Super Bowl contender at the start of the season. San Francisco must play Baltimore (11-3), winners of eight of nine and the leaders of the AFC, in a huge game on Christmas night.
So Monday night was a great opportunity for the Eagles. They were not hammered as Dallas on Sunday, but the long campaign Seattle has the backup QB that caused a last minute loss excruciating and deflating. Declare it now: the 49ers stand tall above the NFC pack.
Since the Eagles won 10 of their first 11 games, somehow losing to the terrible Jets, it was popular in Philadelphia – for fans and players alike – to point out that the team did not excellent performance together. The 49ers and Cowboys exposed their flaws.
The defense was a big issue. Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat told a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter after the 33-13 loss to Dallas “I’m not used to our group not taking care of each other when I’m under pressure.” Cornerback Darius Slay underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Saturday, forcing the Eagles to start two rookies in the secondary.
Through the quarter, dangerous Seattle wide receiver DK Metcalf had one reception, for a respectable eight yards. The Eagles had trouble tackling Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III, but the Seahawks could only punch in one touchdown in their first eight drives.
Then came the ninth. Metcalf caught three passes for 58 yards, including a spectacular six-yard reception in which he appeared to tip Lock’s pass with just his left hand before hitting the turf. He also split Bradberry and Sydney Brown to haul in a critical 34-yard reception.
The Eagles’ season will continue. Games against the New York Giants (5-9) set up a game against the Arizona Cardinals (3-11), so Philadelphia can still win the NFC East with a sweep. Even if the Eagles don’t earn a first-round home playoff game, they could face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7), the NFL’s worst division leader.
But a radical protectionist arrangement now looks like a panic move. Hurts, who played Monday despite being physically ill, now has 12 interceptions in 14 games this year, compared to 19 interceptions in the first 45 games of his career.
Ten months after reaching the Super Bowl and wanting more, the Eagles are no longer elite. The San Francisco tower above them.
