Eagles WR DeVonta Smith Reveals Super Bowl Regret
Since joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021, receiver DeVonta Smith has been nothing short of excellent.
The former first-round pick had a very good rookie season, racking up 64 receptions for 916 yards and five touchdowns. He then had an even better sophomore campaign, posting 95 receptions for 1,196 yards and seven touchdowns as the No. 2 receiver behind the newly-acquired A.J. Brown. The Eagles hadn't had the best luck with drafting receivers, but Smith turned their fortunes around.
Even with a blazing start to his career, Smith holds himself to a high standard and is always looking to improve. That process involves plenty of self-reflection and wondering what he could've done differently. One such instance occurred in the Eagles' Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
When speaking with Fox News Digital, Smith revealed the moment from the Super Bowl he wants back most is his final reception. That may sound strange, as Smith's final reception was a 45-yard gain that got the Eagles down to the opposing two-yard line. However, Smith feels that if he had scored on that play, the game may have ended very differently.
"If I went ahead and scored, we would’ve had more time when we had the ball on the last possession to go do some things that we needed to do," Smith said.
After Smith fell out of bounds on the play, quarterback Jalen Hurts scored on a two-yard rush the very next snap. If Smith had scored on that play, though, it would've saved the Eagles roughly 20 seconds on the clock.
Following Hurts' rushing touchdown, quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense orchestrated a long drive to bleed the clock down and kick a game-winning field goal. The Eagles had one final snap from their own 36 to go for the win, but Hurts' Hail Mary fell incomplete.
Smith still had a strong performance all round, catching seven passes for a game-high 100 yards. Unfortunately, this so-called mistake may be what sticks in his mind most from the big game. That said, Smith knows the best way to get over such a disappointment is to get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time.
"Every year’s different," he said. "We can’t sit up here and bank on what we did. It’s a new year, new team. No team is ever the same the following year, so we have to put together things the right way and try to get back to where we was and finish it the right way.
"We have to build on what we did, continue to do things the right way. We do things how we did last year, and do it even better, I think we’ll get to where we want to be."
You can follow Jonathan Alfano on Twitter @JonAlfano_News
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