How ‘dead legs’ helped DeVonta Smith make an impossible catch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The crazy thing isn’t that he made this insane one-handed catch in the back of the end zone. And it’s not that he was able to somehow drag both feet in bounds at the last possible instant.
The crazy thing is that DeVonta Smith was able to do both those impossible things at the same time.
Smith turned in one of the greatest catches you’ll ever see Sunday, a 25-yarder on a 3rd-and-22 in the fourth quarter that gave the Eagles a 28-16 lead on their way to a too-close-for-comfort 28-23 win over the Jaguars at the Linc.
Smith caught Jalen Hurts’ pass at full speed as he zipped toward the back of the end zone, covered tightly by Ronald Darby, a starter for Doug Pederson on the Eagles’ 2017 Super Bowl-champion.
He caught the ball and dragged his feet so quickly it was a blur. Only when you watch in slow motion is it clear that he got both feet down a split second before his right shin landed out of bounds.
“That’s a hell of a play he made,” Jalen Hurts said. “I’ve seen him make that play in practice. I’ve seen him in the back of the end zone, stick one hand out there and make that same very play.”
Smith and Hurts have been making plays together since 2018, when they were teammates at Alabama. Hurts left for Oklahoma the next year, but they were reunited here in 2021, and they’ve been making highlight-reel plays together since.
A play like the two made Sunday wouldn’t be possible without years of reps between them.
“I think me just having a good feel of where I’m at on the field, being aware when I’m close to the sideline, just really letting my legs just go dead and just get ready to drag,” Smith said. “It’s a trust thing. He trusted me to be there and we made it work.”
Once A.J. Brown left the game at halftime with a knee injury, Smith knew he had to come up huge. And he did.
He only had one nine-yard catch in the first half but finished with four catches for a season-high 87 yards, including a 46-yarder earlier on the same drive as his touchdown.
“DeVonta did an unbelievable job in his absence,” Nick Sirianni said. “We have two go-to guys. DeVonta got more balls his way and he made some unreal plays. That’s two weeks in a row that Jalen has put a perfect ball on him in tight coverage and that Smitty made a spectacular play.”
Last week it was a 45-yard touchdown in the win over the Bengals. Smith is quietly having a terrific season with 35 catches, 473 yards and four TDs in seven games. He already has three TD catches of at least 40 yards, and only Alec Pierce, Jayden Reed and Ja’Marr Chase have more.
He’s only 25 but already 16th in franchise history with 3,651 yards – he passed Jason Avant on Sunday. With 435 more yards this year, he’ll pass Mike Quick for the most yards in franchise history by a player in his first four years.
Brown is one of the best in the league, but Smith is really special, too.
“I think for me, it’s always tough when he goes down because he’s such a dynamic player, such a big part of this team and this offense,” Smith said. “When he does, if he goes down, I kind of get the feeling … I have to step up. And for me, I’m always ready for the challenge.
“I got the word he was down, I was telling the coaches, they’re starting to change their coverage now, they’re starting to play more 1-on-1. Just let me do what I do.”
Another miracle aspect of the Smith touchdown Sunday is that Hurts heaved the ball without actually seeing Smith down the field.
“You don’t have the greatest vision on it,” he said. “But those are the things that I have to overcome to go out there and execute, and that’s the challenge that I’m faced with. But I think, in a moment like that … that’s just great team ball. I think that’s great trust. I think that’s great continuity between DeVonta and I.
“I’m just happy. I’m happy it was a big play in the game that helped us win.”
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