Thoughts on late TD pass?

[GroundAttack]

The Eagles had the ball after Washington just called their 2nd timeout with 1:43 left in the game. The Eagles had a 2nd and 4 and decided to go for the home run play and Hurts hit AJ for the TD. Should they have kept playing it conservatively and run the ball, get a first down, make Washington use their last time out, and run the clock down then kick the game winning FG? It's easy to say now, but I like the aggressiveness going for the long TD pass. The penalty on AJ didn't help which on the kickoff return set Washington up in good field position. Giving up that td pass with 2 seconds left was just unacceptable. The play calling in our only OT drive was sketchy and confusing. Back to my point though..... I like the aggressive play calling and going for the big home run play. The defense just needed to do their job which they struggled with all game. I would of ran the ball and end the game in regulation.

[20dawk4life]

Defense needs to step up

[wrestlevessel]

I thought it was foolish. My brother went down the Jersey Shore to chill and I was texting with him. I told him Eagles were idiots and scored a touchdown when they could have run out the clock and kicked a game winning field goal. I actually told him I bet the Skins get a TD and was wondering if River Boat would win it going for 2. Of course my prediction was right and Skins scored on the final play of the game. Thank goodness he only went for 1 and our kicker saved us in overtime. 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

I suspect the odds of winning would have been better had they tried to run the ball and eat clock. I was happy to take the lead of course, but I was uneasy about it.

[NOTW]

I don't mind because:

1. It was 2nd & 4, if it failed they had more downs to convert.

2. If their strategy was to catch the defense off guard expecting a shorter yardage play to secure a TD that worked.

3. Part of that strategy is trusting the defense against Sam Howell to close it out. The defense needs to end that game after the lead.

I see both sides of the argument, but I don't mind the call there.

Plenty of other bad play calls.

[EazyEaglez]

I don’t mind the score. I mind the stupid penalty by Brown that almost cost us the game. Still the defense couldn’t make one stop there? At least they did in OT.

[gameshowfan91]

It was stupid and dumb. Hurts should have thrown it to Swift to get first down, run out clock, and kick FG. I wasn't happy with AJ Brown TD when I saw it live.

[Vee]

I'd rather have declined that penalty when the Eagles stopped the Redskins on one of their drives giving them 4th & 1, instead, they take the penalty, convert, and later score a TD!  That drive should have ended with a punt. 

[Bwestbrook36]

You score when the opportunity is there no matter what period.   Jake Elliott is great but, there is still no guarantee he makes the field goal. Defense just needs to make a stop

[opa-opa]

I dont mind the aggressive call. It should have sealed the game if not for AJs dumb penalty.

[judunno]

17 minutes ago, opa-opa said:

I dont mind the aggressive call. It should have sealed the game if not for AJs dumb penalty.

Agreed... I liked the aggressiveness there...and also in OT. Brown and Hurts just need to get on the same page. Defense needs to figure some stuff out.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

The TD was fine, the defense after it was the worst I've seen for a good while, we made Sam Howell look like Peyton Manning, why can't we appoint a DC who realises that occasionally you have to jam receivers at the line? Instead we've had 3 guys in a row that set up corners with a 14 yard cushion on 3rd and 8, we've let Washington hang in games by not defending the sticks 2 straight years now.

[rrfierce]

Under the circumstances it was the wrong decision. Howell was carving us up all day and you just knew they were going to march down the field and score.

The smart thing to do would have been to run it clock down and click the FG. Easy win and no OT

Bit of a brainfart from siri and AJ with the taunting (which wasn't even taunting)

[EazyEaglez]

6 minutes ago, rrfierce said:

Under the circumstances it was the wrong decision. Howell was carving us up all day and you just knew they were going to march down the field and score.

The smart thing to do would have been to run it clock down and click the FG. Easy win and no OT

Bit of a brainfart from siri and AJ with the taunting (which wasn't even taunting)

The refs were pretty horrible in this game. Some of those calls that were made weren’t even penalties. I know it feels like Eliott feels close to automatic, but if he would have missed there and they lost the fans would’ve killed the Eagles for not being aggressive. Also once you get into field goal range tends do tend to try and take a shot. Anything is possible in a game including an untimely fumble like the one Gainwell had when the Eagles weren’t aggressive earlier in the game. 

[EagleJoe8]

I see both sides of this, and at the time, I was hoping to run the clock, kick the FG and be done with it. But I also know there are no certainties. More plays means more chances for a turnover, or penalties to push you back out of FG range. Jake is awesome, but he also does miss on occasion. Generally speaking, I don’t like turning down a chance to score a TD if it’s there. There are exceptions obviously. The Chiefs not scoring at the end of the Super Bowl for instance, but they were in chip shot range too. 
 

As much as I love AJ, he simply can’t do what he did. I believe they started that drive from the 36 after the KO. I know field position can dictate play calling, but if things played out the same, Washington is running the final two plays from the 21 instead of the 10. 

[EazyEaglez]

4 minutes ago, EagleJoe8 said:

I see both sides of this, and at the time, I was hoping to run the clock, kick the FG and be done with it. But I also know there are no certainties. More plays means more chances for a turnover, or penalties to push you back out of FG range. Jake is awesome, but he also does miss on occasion. Generally speaking, I don’t like turning down a chance to score a TD if it’s there. There are exceptions obviously. The Chiefs not scoring at the end of the Super Bowl for instance, but they were in chip shot range too. 
 

As much as I love AJ, he simply can’t do what he did. I believe they started that drive from the 36 after the KO. I know field position can dictate play calling, but if things played out the same, Washington is running the final two plays from the 21 instead of the 10. 

Bigger issue to me is definitively the penalty than the score. Brown tried to be sneaky about that taunting move. It was subtle, but it was there. Just can’t do that at that moment. Unfortunately this is the downside of the diva receivers. They can say and do things that can cause issues. Probably part of the reason why the Titans decided not to extend him and trade him away. 

[EagleJoe8]

7 minutes ago, EazyEaglez said:

Bigger issue to me is definitively the penalty than the score. Brown tried to be sneaky about that taunting move. It was subtle, but it was there. Just can’t do that at that moment. Unfortunately this is the downside of the diva receivers. They can say and do things that can cause issues. Probably part of the reason why the Titans decided not to extend him and trade him away. 

He did something similar against the Steelers last year and got called for it. Difference was, that game was a blowout so it didn’t matter. Yesterday it could have. I’m a firm believer that football is much more about situational awareness than statistics. 

[Cochis_Calhoun]

The thing with taunting penalties is, and Yesterday is a perfect example of it, the DB can be up wagging a finger and laughing in the Receivers face all damn game on pass break ups, but the instant the receiver gives some back after torching the guy for a TD it's a foul.  It's one of the worst rules in the NFL, it's not stopping a dangerous play or cheating, it's just a po faced nothing rule for pompous asses to pretend it's somehow a gentlemans game.

[EazyEaglez]

2 minutes ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

The thing with taunting penalties is, and Yesterday is a perfect example of it, the DB can be up wagging a finger and laughing in the Receivers face all damn game on pass break ups, but the instant the receiver gives some back after torching the guy for a TD it's a foul.  It's one of the worst rules in the NFL, it's not stopping a dangerous play or cheating, it's just a po faced nothing rule for pompous asses to pretend it's somehow a gentlemans game.

That’s because the NFL has made so many ridiculously bad rules that hurt the defense. Nearly every defensive penalty is an automatic first down. Yeah I’m not a fan of the taunting rules, but they are there and Brown knows this. That can’t happen in close games. 

[EaglesAddict]

10 hours ago, NOTW said:

I don't mind because:

1. It was 2nd & 4, if it failed they had more downs to convert.

2. If their strategy was to catch the defense off guard expecting a shorter yardage play to secure a TD that worked.

3. Part of that strategy is trusting the defense against Sam Howell to close it out. The defense needs to end that game after the lead.

I see both sides of the argument, but I don't mind the call there.

Plenty of other bad play calls.

I agree with this sentiment in general.  But, the one difference is that we saw all game how the defense was having a lot of trouble against Howell.  At the time of the play for the TD to Brown, my immediate sense was we scored too soon.  The way Howell and their offense could move the ball against our defense, there was a lot of time left for them to tie.  If they had gone for 2 at the end, it coulda been a disaster.

It's hard to knock a team scoring a go-ahead TD inside 2 min, but the decision to go for the score at the time they did was not the prudent decision and it really could have cost us. You want to have confidence in the defense in that situation, but sometimes you just have to make decisions based on how a game is going.

Based on how the game was going, I would have preferred to kill the clock and kick the FG.

[sameaglesfan]

Really questionable decision.  If the game had gone the other way, there would be no end to questioning this call.  Good thing Riverboat Ron decided to go for the tie instead of the W.

Today would seem a whole lot different.

[JamesK]

I thought it was questionable.  It was 2nd and 4.  We could have run a lot more clock out.  But the TD wasm't the only problem.  The taunting penalty was another issue.  As soon as that happened, I told my wife that might come back to haunt us.  Sure enough it did, but the real bonehead call was that defensive formation they used on the game tying TD.   As soon as I saw only 4 men rushing and everyone else in the end zone, I knew they were scoring.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I turned to my Mrs at the time and said there is no bad time to score but we may have scored too quickly. That turned out to be the case.

 That said I can’t kill them for it. The D should have closed that game out and ultimately you have to trust the D to make plays. 

We could have run down the clock and had the FG blocked. Unlikely but could have happened. Or we could have fumbled. Or what if we don’t convert on 2nd and 4 and then fail on 3rd and 4? That is then either a long FG or a risk going for it on 4th down. Plus we still would have given them some time to respond in some scenarios.

 End of the day you take the points there and you trust your D to make a stop. The D had a chance with Washington being 3rd and 17 and they let them get back to 4th and manageable. They then had other chances to make plays to see it out.

[eagle45]

I think the bigger issue is a bad QB and bad offense marching up the field effortlessly for a game tying TD.  There is no guarantee they run out the clock perfectly for a time expiring FG.  And if the Commanders get the football again only needing a FG for overtime, then they are probably getting that.

I think you take the points any way you can get them.  Sure, we can dissect if it was the right thing...and maybe it wasn't.  But the defense is a bigger issue than the decision.

[toolg]

I like the aggressiveness. I think they saw something in the defense they could exploit, and so they did it. Take the points if they're giving them to you.  I don't like giving the ball back with time left on the clock. Worst case scenario is they give up a TD going the other way, which they did. And they still won in Overtime. So it's not the worst decision.... The taunting penalty is inexcusable. The defense has to come up with a stop. There were worse things that happened in the game.