Another huge defensive stand propels Eagles to a key win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Commanders had three plays to go less than a yard.
And the Eagles stuffed them.
After the Eagles took a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Jayden Daniels and the Commanders were driving at the Linc with a chance to go ahead. After a 9-yard gain on first down, the Commanders were facing a 2nd-and-inches from the Eagles’ 25-yard line and these three plays helped the Eagles pull off a huge 26-18 win.
2nd-and-1 from the 25: Brian Robinson stopped for no gain by Jalen Carter and Nakobe Dean
3rd-and-1 from the 25: Robinson dropped in the backfield for a loss of one by Zack Baun and Brandon Graham
4th-and-2 from the 26: Jayden Daniels bobbles the snap and it takes a group effort to push him out of bounds for no gain
Another big stop on fourth down for this Eagles defense.
“That was huge. That’s huge,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “That’s a turnover in our eyes. It looked look they had something with the snap. I didn’t see exactly what happened. Not only did they have something with the snap, but we got pushed back. I don’t know who that was. We got pushed back on the center and on the guard I think. Then, again, we were flying to the football. I think we’ve shown great athletic ability on defense. Again, it takes relentless effort. Shoot, you need good athletes out there doing it.”
After Daniels bobbled the snap, Carter was in the backfield immediately to flush him out. Reed Blankenship took an incredible angle in pursuit. And then Baun was able to wipe Daniels off the field for a huge turnover on downs.
“I think our D-line did a really good job and got push up front,” Baun said. “I think he bobbled the snap a little bit. You know he’s an elusive quarterback and he puts things into his own hands. He went outside and I chased him down.”
Baun wasn’t surprised to see the rookie quarterback keep it on that play after the bobbled snap.
“He has confidence,” Baun said. “He definitely has confidence to make throws, to make plays. Their team gives him complete control to do what he wants pretty much.”
It was a huge fourth-down stop by this Eagles defense but that’s not anything new. They’ve been coming through in these clutch situations.
The Eagles’ defense has now faced eight 4th-and-2 or shorter situations this season when the offense goes for it and has given up just three conversions. That conversion rate of 37.5% is the lowest in the NFL:
1. Eagles: 3/8 (37.5%)
2. Patriots: 2/5 (40%)
t-3. Vikings: 3/7 (42.9%)
t-3. Lions: 3/7 (42.9%)
5. Bills: 6/13 (46.2%)
After the Eagles’ stop on fourth down, the offense got the ball back and eventually scored on the first Saquon Barkley touchdown. After a Jayden Daniels interception from Reed Blankenship, Barkley punched in another long touchdown run and the game was basically over.
It went from the Eagles’ clinging to a two-point lead to ballgame in a few minutes. And it really all started with that huge fourth-down stop.
“Our defense is great with awareness right now,” C.J. Gardner-Johnson said. “We’re hitting on all cylinders. We’re hitting on all the little things after the practice. You guys have been at practice, you see how hard Nick coaches on us on certain situations and stuff. It’s fun when every week a new guy makes a play to help the team win a game.
“That 4th-down stop was a testament to the whole defense. Heard a lot of noise all week. The most physical team and the most disciplined team came out and won the game and that 4th-down stop was all about discipline more than just physical will. It’s just wanting a stop and there’s a lot of ball left. Just put the game on our shoulders and go win the game.”
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