Philadelphia Eagles 32 'Unique' Seconds That Changed Momentum vs. Los Angeles Rams
PHILADELPHIA – Nick Sirianni didn’t tuck himself into bed until around 4 a.m., visions of 5-0 after a 23-14 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday dancing in his head. Was it a dream?
The Philadelphia Eagles head coach woke up around 9 or 10 a.m. It was real all right. It happened.
A big reason why the win happened, with the still-undefeated record coming along with it, was a 32-second drive at the end of the half that not only gave the Eagles momentum but, instead of trailing 14-10 at halftime, gave them a 17-14 edge.
“That was a big momentum swing,” said head coach Nick Sirianni on his day-after-game call. “They had all the momentum after the touchdown to No. 17 over there. They had all the momentum, and then we were able to flip that momentum.”
No. 17 is Puka Nacua and he had just given the Rams their first lead of the game on a nice hook-up with quarterback Matthew Stafford from 22 yards away, a play on which James Bradberry had good coverage, but the throw was perfect. The Rams were also getting the ball first to start the third quarter.
After Nacua's score, the Eagles got the ball at the 25-yard line to start what would be a game-defining drive. With 32 seconds left in the half.
Sirianni remembered it well despite the short rest he had after flying back across the country.
A.J. Brown had his third straight game with 100-plus receiving yards in Week 5 and his 38-yard grab in the final 32 seconds of the game changed the momentum of the game.
USA Today
It went like this:
- Jalen Hurts scrambled for nine yards on first down.
- On second down, Hurts’ pass fell incomplete to DeVonta Smith.
- Third down broke the Rams’ back, as A.J. Brown did a slant, breaking free and clear from the coverage of Derion Kendrick. Brown stuck his left mitt out to corral Hurts’ pass with one hand and turned on the jets. Kendrick caught him but needed a horse-collar tackle to get him to the ground, a no-no per NFL rules. The penalty added 15 more yards to put Philly at the L.A. 14 with seven seconds to go.
- From the 14, Brown was interfered with by Kendrick in the end zone, putting the ball at the 1-yard line with two seconds left.
“I think AJ did a nice job keeping his composure,” said Sirianni. “Sometimes when you get pulled down like that or interfered with and you want that touchdown, your emotions can take over.
"He did a good job keeping his composure, playing the next play being completely under control, and we needed both those plays A.J. made to get us to that point.”
With two seconds left, Sirianni opted not to attempt the field goal. It looked the Brotherly Shove would be on the menu.
Instead, the formation only had Kenny Gainwell in the backfield. The Rams called a timeout. When play resumed, the Eagles lined up in Brotherly Shove set and Hurts burrowed his way into the end zone.
Asked by SI Eagles Today if he was going with a different play call until the Rams called timeout, Sirianni simply shrugged and said, “Maybe we were, maybe we weren’t. I’m sorry I think I just want to keep that one for maybe later.”
In the previous three games, it was Jake Elliott who kicked field goals as time expired in the first half. This time, it was a touchdown with all zeroes on the clock. An improbably one at that.
“It’s really hard to score a touchdown there,” said Sirianni. “You’re trying to get yourself into field goal range and see what happens. … It was something else how the players executed that drive. Brian (Johnson, offensive coordinator) did a nice job of calling that.
“We try to put ourselves as coaches in those positions as frequently as we can. That was unique. That was a unique scenario we were in (Sunday) and Brian did a good job calling it, even a better job by the players executing it.
“…We were able to get momentum going into halftime and keep that momentum for the most part for the rest of the game.”
