Another How-Did-He-Catch-That Moment for DeVonta Smith
PHILADELPHIA – He’s a rookie with a lot of nicknames - the Slim Reaper, Smitty, and 6, which is his uniform number.
Maybe Twinkle Toes should be another one.
Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith made another one of those catches that have one asking, how did he make that catch during Sunday’s 34-10 win over the New York Giants. This reception came on the heels of a 28-yard toe-tapper he had a week earlier against Washington which had been ruled incomplete but overturned on head coach Nick Sirianni’s challenge.
This one came in the third quarter on a third-and-goal throw from the 4-yard-line. Somehow, Smith, moving at full speed was able to control his body while catching the ball and keeping his feet in bounds near the sideline.
It wasn’t so much his feet that were in bounds, it was his toes. He was literally appeared to be standing on all 10 of them before his heels went out of bounds.
“I kind of felt like Michael Jackson,” said Smith of the play, which he added was better than the one he made a week earlier.
“DeVonta has been really good on the backline and on the sideline all year,” said head coach Nick Sirianni, “and that's something you got to learn, right? Because you only have to have one in, in college, right? So, he's just been really good and clean with his footwork on the sideline for his first year.”
Even the officials seemed to not believe what they had seen. Two of them looked at each other before one emphatically raised his arms to signal TD.
Like every scoring replay, the touchdown was reviewed, and some confusion set in. Referee Land Clark initially said that after further review the play was overturned, that it was an incomplete pass.
DeVonta Smith' said he felt like Michael Jackson with this 4-yard TD catch vs. the Giants.
ESPN
Because it was third down, the Eagles began sending their field goal unit onto the field.
Then Clark announced that the play was under review.
Huh?
Smith said he was confident it was a catch.
“When I got to the sideline, I had a second look,” he said.
Sirianni wasn’t so certain what was going on with the review, but his field goal team returned to the sideline while the wait continued as to what the call would be.
“I thought it was a touchdown they were reviewing and basically something happened,” said the coach. “Might have went to a TV commercial. I don't know what happened."
Walt Anderson, the NFL's senior vice president of officiating, was asked by a pool reporter afterward about the review.
“It was really just a communication lapse on our part," said Anderson. "We originally were seeing a heel down. So, the original communication between the replay booth and the referee was that it looked like it was going to be an expedited review. And I know the referees are trying to make those announcements quickly. By the time we could say there are additional angles, he had already made that announcement.
"And then we said, no, we’re going to stop play and look at this because we had multiple angles relative to was it a continuous step. By rule, if the toe comes down first and then the heel comes down in one continuous step, then it’s out of bounds. But if there’s any kind of a drag with the toe, then that toe drag gets credit for the second step, in this case.”
Indeed, Michael Jackson himself couldn't have moonwalked any better than Smith on the play.
So, instead of having to attempt a field goal to go up 16-3, the touchdown made it 20-3 with 4:02 to play in the third quarter and the rout was on.
“That’s a big-time play and a big-time moment in the game,” said Hurts. “That’s two weeks in a row he’s made big-time, toe-tapping plays dragging that foot. It’s something we practice all the time, we preach all the time."
WATCH: Jalen Hurts talk about DeVonta Smith
Smith also flashed his deep threat ability with a career-long 46-yard reception earlier in the game that helped set up Jake Elliott’s 22-yard field goal with 1:57 to play in the first half that made the score 3-3.
Smith added five catches for 80 yards to his season stat pack and now has 58 receptions for 821 yards (14.2 yards per catch) and a team-leading five receiving touchdowns.
The franchise’s rookie record for receiving yards in a season is now within his sights.
DeSean Jackson set the record in 2008 when he had 62 receptions for 912 yards (14.7 ypc), but just two touchdowns.
Since then, Jordan Matthews is the only one who has come closest to breaking it. Matthews had 67 catches for 872 yards (13.0 ypc) in 2014, with eight touchdowns.
Of course, Smith will have an extra game to break the record, but he is close enough now that perhaps he rewrites the record book against Washington on Sunday.
“He's a technician,” said Sirianni. “The guy loves football and wants to be better at football and we know that a guy can go from here to here because of the technique he plays with, and so DeVonta works endless hours to do that."
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
