The Philadelphia Eagle’s 2017-2018 season served as a milestone for its city’s sports history. With a record of 13-3-0 and the title of Superbowl winners against the New England Patriots just ten months ago, fans believed the “underdogs” were destined for success for the following years ahead. Yet with a record of 6-7-0 prior to last Sunday, fans were left puzzled as to where their team had gone wrong.
Some elude the cause due to the increasing rate of injuries the team has faced per week nine of which key players Lane Johnson and Carson Wentz fell under for week 15. As Wentz is currently suffering a stress fracture in his back that has the potential to leave him out for weeks, the pressure to keep a spot for the playoffs was ever increasing for the team last Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Division Leader of the NFC West and ranked fourth in the league, the Rams held a record of 11-2 preceding Sunday night’s game, a record that seemed daunting to the 6-7 the Eagles held. Yet with backup Quarterback Nick Foles, the “underdogs” came back on top with a score of 30-23.
“Their chances of making the playoffs jumped to 29 percent, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index Projections. A loss would have drops those odds to 5 percent,” ESPN explained. “The Eagles are at their best when being counted out. Their mentality was evident pre games when injured safety Rodney McLeod came out of the tunnel holding a ski mask, signaling the team’s intention to steal the game.”
As Foles and Alshon Jeffery re established their connection through the game, Jeffery set personal records. Catching all eight of his targets, he reached his highest yardage with the Eagle’s and his third highest in his career running a total of 160 yards. A source after the game claimed this success was brought to light due to the way Foles looks down the field for Jeffrey, as distance often proves to be his strong suit on the receiving side. Fans speculate that franchise quarterback Carson Wentz often holds his focus to Zach Ertz on the field, while Foles favors Jeffery, an idea that was raised from the stats Ertz seizes from the game. Although the two players held a three pass difference, they showed a difference in 122 yards as Ertz ran 38 yards while Jeffery ran 160 yards.
Foles overall completed 24 of his 31 passes throwing a total of 270 passing yards aside from his one interception.
“The Eagles are only 7-7 but for a few hours, it felt like they were back on top of the NFL world,” NBC Sports said.
With two more games until the playoffs, the Eagles have yet to face the Houston Texans, Division Leader of the AFC South, and Washington, ranked just under them in the NFC East.