The Top Five Key Plays in Eagles Win vs. Packers
PHILADELPHIA – Anything Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders did in Sunday night’s win over the Green Bay Packers could be considered a top-five key play in the victory.
Trouble is, there are too many to choose from, so throw those out.
Here are my top five most important plays in the win that made the Eagles the first team to 10 wins this season, the non-rushing division.
1.) JAKE ELLIOTT FIELD GOAL
The kicker made two, but it was his 54-yard kick that pushed the Eagles’ advantage to 40-30 with 2:16 to play in the game.
“That was a huge kick to go up ten, to go up two scores in that scenario is enormous,” said head coach Nick Sirianni.
“There was no hesitation (about opting for the kick rather than trying to convert a fourth-and-three at the GB 36)…Jake has great confidence, and that gives you great confidence as a coach when your kicker has that much confidence.”
2.) K’VON WALLACE TACKLE AND PBU
The third-year safety may have lost his backup job to undrafted rookie free agent Reed Blankenship, but he still made a big impact with two plays.
First, he may have prevented Packers kickoff returner Keisean Nixon from scoring a touchdown after Elliott’s kick opened up a 10-point lead with 2:16 to go. Had Wallace not made the tackle, Nixon may have scored to make it 40-37 with still over two minutes to play.
Second, his pass breakup in the end zone on third down to Randall Cobb forced the Packers to kick a field goal with 1:11 to play, meaning instead of 40-37 and the Packers needing just a field goal to tie, GB would now need a touchdown, which is much more difficult.
As it was, the Packers never got the ball back, but still…
3.) QUEZ WATKINS TOUCHDOWN
For the second week in a row, the third receiver put six points on the board.
He followed up his 22-yard score to jumpstart the Eagles’ comeback in Indianapolis with a 30-yard grab with just 13 seconds to go in the first half that gave the Eagles the lead for good at 27-20.
It was a terrific play all around with Watkins running a perfect pattern to the pylon and Hurts hitting him with a back shoulder throw to beat former Eagles CB Rasul Douglas.
Watkins had three catches for 35 yards and now, despite a reduced role this year, has 17 receptions for 259 yards and three scores.
4.) THE PICKS
Josiah Scott and Reed Blankenship each recorded the first interceptions of their still-young careers, and they got them off future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers.
Scott's pick led to the Eagles' second touchdown of the night and came off a deflection off the helmet of Darius Slay.
Blankenship's INT stopped a Green Bay drive that came after the Eagles had just taken a 20-13 lead and had reached the Philly 28 in the second quarter.
5.) THE MIDFIELD SACK
After a 52-yard kickoff return by Nixon to open the third quarter set up Green Bay at the Eagles’ 47, the defense forced a three-and-out. On third down, Haason Reddick and Brandon Graham shared it with Fletcher Cox in the vicinity as well.
Reddick now has a team-high eight and is on track to notch his third straight season with double-digit sacks and Graham has five.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
