So much of the NFL storyline in December is devoted to teams trying to make the playoffs, but the end of the regular season is also a great opportunity for a dwindling handful of Super Bowl contenders to sharpen their tools and shine. One of those rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, lost their previous two games but could get a real win against the Seahawks in Seattle on Monday.
All they had to do was stop Seattle, trailing by four points, from driving 92 yards in less than two minutes. Related: Drew Lock Seahawks’ late heroics rally to 20-17 victory over reeling Eagles Eagles fans, who can find fault with just about anything, probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to see Philadelphia pull off a heartbreaking win.
After all, Seattle’s quarterback was Drew Lock, starting just his second game in two seasons.
Plus, the Eagles’ struggling defense, led Monday by first-time assistant Matt Patricia, a Bill Belichick protégé and former Detroit Lions head coach, looked (overall) much better than it did in the miserable loss to San. Francisco and Dallas. Well, guess what. Lock drove Seattle 92 yards in 10 plays with 28 seconds left.
He threw a 29-yard hip pass in the rain to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba that highlighted veteran Eagles cornerback James Bradberry. The TD gave Seattle the lead for good at 20-17.
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts threw an interception after receiving the Eagles, who had two overtimes remaining, about 20 yards on what could have been a field goal attempt. Pains shuddered as he took off his helmet. “I didn’t do my job well enough,” Hurts mused in the postgame press conference.
But it was nice to say, and Hurts was hardly alone in his bad work. So the Seahawks (7-7) are still in the playoffs. Their 72-year-old coach, Pete Carroll, can still tell people that he never lost to the Eagles as the Seahawks coach. The city of Philadelphia would be in a rotten mood anyway.
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