Eagles' aggressiveness pays off on pivotal drive in win over Rams

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Eagles' aggressiveness pays off on pivotal drive in win over Rams

The Eagles got aggressive late in the first half against the Rams and it paid off in a huge way.

By Dave Zangaro • Published October 9, 2023

 

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Thirty-two seconds left. Three timeouts. Seventy-five yards to go.

The Eagles didn’t blink.

After the Rams scored to take a four-point lead late in the first half on Sunday, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni went with an aggressive approach and the Eagles were able to march down the field to score a touchdown and swing the momentum again in their 23-14 win over the Rams at SoFi Stadium.

"Yeah, you know you always want to be aggressive, right?” Jalen Hurts said. "The moment you stop playing the game the way you want to play the game and being aggressive, you're doing yourself a disservice. And it's a matter of execution and trust and we did a great job in that.”

The Rams went on a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-10 lead with just 32 seconds remaining in the first half. And since they were getting the ball back to start the third quarter, things weren’t looking great for the Eagles.

But the Eagles were then able to get down the field 75 yards in four plays to score a touchdown, taking a 17-14 lead in the locker room. 

They never looked back.

"The momentum definitely changed,” A.J. Brown said. "We went up at halftime. And then the defense came out doing there thing. It was definitely huge and it changed the momentum of the whole entire game.”

Play 1: (32 seconds left) Jalen Hurts scrambles for nine yards.

Play 2: (24 seconds left) Hurts throws an incompletion to DeVonta Smith.

Play 3: (17 seconds left) Hurts hits A.J. Brown in the middle of the field for 38 yards. Brown gets tackled with a horse collar to set up the Eagles at the +14 yard line.

No play: (7 seconds left) Hurts takes a shot to Brown in the end zone but he’s interfered with to set up a goal line play.

Play 4: (2 second  left) The Eagles use the Brotherly Shove QB sneak and Hurts gets into the end zone.

The biggest play of the drive was that 38-yarder to Brown in the middle of the field. Brown actually caught that ball one-handed, which is something he works on during walkthroughs. 

In fact, Brown said he got in trouble during Friday’s walkthrough because he dropped three passes trying to make one-handed grabs. His intention is to never catch the ball with one hand during games, but this one was a beauty. 

"I ain’t even know I had the ball in my hand,” Brown said.

With seven seconds left from the 14-yard line, the Eagles knew they had time for one more play before they would have to settle for a field goal. Seven seconds is plenty of time but there is the potential for disaster. The potential of scoring outweighed that.

"When we got down there, it was necessary,” Brown said. "We definitely had to give us a chance to put it in the end zone instead of taking a field goal. We knew we had a little bit of time. Either throw a touchdown or throw it away.” 

Hurts threw the ball to Brown in the end zone but Brown wasn’t able to pull it in with Derion Kendrick draped all over him.

Kendrick was called for defensive pass interference.

"I don’t like that play because I want the touchdown,” Brown said. "I was mad at myself that I kind of let him pull me down. I want the ball. I never want the PI. But we got down there and Jalen scored so I’m OK.”

That DPI set up the Eagles at the 1-yard line with 2 seconds left. 

Was there ever a question about what was coming next?

The Tush Push or the Brotherly Shove — whatever you want to call it — has been a weapon for the Eagles for two seasons now. Unless the league ever outlaws it or teams begin to stop it, the Eagles are going to keep running it.

"Yeah, huge. That was exciting. That was fun,” Sirianni said. "That was fun right there. I imagine that was a great time to be a fan. They had the big completion for a touchdown then we come back down and score a touchdown with no time left. I just have confidence in the play that nobody likes that we run.”

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-aggressiveness-pays-off-on-pivotal-drive-in-win-over-rams/539946/