Foles’ Magic Runs Out; Eagles Lose To The Saints

Foles’ Magic Runs Out; Eagles Lose To The Saints

What a ride this season was, but the last stop was New Orleans. After leaping out to an early 14-0 lead thanks to an early interception by Cre’Von LeBlanc and two touchdowns from Nick Foles, it looked like the Eagles were set to do it again. On their next possession, Nick Foles under threw Zach Ertz and was picked off by Saints CB Marshon Lattimore. They didn’t score for the rest of the game.

Injuries had taken their toll on the Eagles the entire season, and it finally caught up to them when four defensive starters were lost on one drive. Star guard Brandon Brooks also popped his Achilles, and likely won’t see game action until October at the earliest. It got to a point where Josh Hawkins, the Eagles TENTH corner to see playing time this season, was matched up against Michael Thomas, who racked up 171 yards and a score on 12 receptions. After the Eagles started off the second half with a three-and-out, the Saints responded with their longest drive of the season, spanning 18 plays and nearly 12 minutes.

Later in the game, the Eagles received a gift from God himself in the form of Will Lutz missing a 52-yard field goal late in the game. It set up Philly with solid field position and only a one-score deficit. The Eagles started to march down the field, and just when it looked like Nick Foles had resurrected his magic, the sure-handed Alshon Jeffery allowed a pass to deflect off of his gloves into the waiting hands of Marshon Lattimore, who collected his second interception of the game. It was a comforting sight to see Doug Pederson, along with the rest of the team, come and pick up Jeffery and console him following maybe the lowest point of his career.

For a team that had less than a 1% chance of making the postseason just a few weeks ago, giving the #1 seed a serious run for their money in the second round is nowhere close to a bad ending. It’s basically impossible to repeat as a Super Bowl champion in this era, and based on the way many recent Super Bowl champs have performed the next season, the Eagles fared pretty well. The injuries just became too much to overcome. It takes an amazing team and coaching staff to shrug off a 41-point loss, will their way to the playoffs, knock off the league’s top defense on the road, and then nearly emerge victorious at the Superdome.

At the end of the day, the better team won the game, and New Orleans will advance to the conference championship where the Aaron Donald and Co. await a rematch.

Go Rams.

By: Micah Jimoh