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By Anthony Fabrikant
Just when you count the Philadelphia Eagles out, they march into Foxborough and overcome a 14-0 deficit to defeat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The Eagles did something Sunday evening that they haven’t done in all of 2015 - capitalize on the other team’s mistakes. Darren Sproles brought a punt return 83 yards to the house and Malcolm Jenkins returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown. Byron Maxwell also added an interception as the Eagles were able to hold onto a 35-28 victory.
Sam Bradford didn’t make any big-time throws, but he didn’t make any mistakes and threw touchdown passes to Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews. Bradford ran the offense efficiently and they looked good throughout the game. They probably would have scored points earlier in the contest, but the Eagles handicapped themselves early on with penalties that left them with ridiculous down and distances.
At the 7:47 mark in the second quarter, Danny Amendola had just caught an 11-yard touchdown reception from Brady, giving the Patriots a 14-0 lead. The Patriots seemed to be on the cusp of putting the Eagles away when a botched surprise onside kick resulted in a short field for the Eagles' offense. Bradford went 4-for-4 on the drive and hit Ertz for a five-yard touchdown pass. It seemed that the Eagles would go into the half only down a score as they forced the Patriots to punt with only seconds left. But, special teams savant Chris Maragos broke through the Patriots' punt protection to block the punt and linebacker Najee Goode returned the ball 24 yards to the house, granting the Eagles a new lease on life by tying the game at halftime, 14-14.
The Patriots came out in the second half and drove down the field. It seemed they would surely reclaim the lead until Brady threw a red-zone interception that Jenkins brought back to the house, swinging the momentum right back in Philadelphia’s favor. With 11:09 left in the fourth quarter, the Eagles built their insurmountable lead of 35-14.
The Eagles played well defensively amid a beautiful offensive gameplan by Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Brady threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns, but was also sacked four times and under constant pressure, forcing him to toss two interceptions. LeGarrette Blount never got going, which made the Patriots attack one-dimensional.
Sproles and running back Kenjon Barner combined to rush for 105 yards on 25 carries. Barner and Sproles offered rare balance to the Eagles' offensive attack as DeMarco Murray struggled again to only rush for 24 yards on eight carries. Bradford kept the offense going as he completed 14 of his 24 pass attempts for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Bradford was protected well yesterday and was sacked only once.
The Eagles put forth their best performance of 2015 yesterday in all phases of the game. Eric Rowe made some big plays in his first start in the NFL and Connor Barwin gave the Patriots' offensive line fits. With the Giants losing to the Jets on Sunday, the Eagles find themselves in a great spot to make a run for the division title. If the Redskins lose Monday night, the Eagles will be tied for the divisional lead, but even if the Redskins win, the Eagles will only be a game out with four games remaining, including a match-up against the Redskins. With the season nearing its end, the Eagles are in complete control of their playoff destiny.
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