Detailed Game Review – PHI 31, HOU 21

The Eagles went to Houston as the better team. The played like the better team and won the game. Things hardly went according to plan, though. Starting QB Nick Foles got hurt and is out for 6 to 8 weeks. ILB DeMeco Ryans got hurt and is done for the year. The Eagles turned the ball over several times and gave up a pick-6. They also gave up a long TD on defense. While the Eagles looked dominant at times, they didn’t totally secure the game until the middle of the 4th quarter. That’s what sloppy football will do to you.

The offense ran for 190 yards and had a couple of deep ball pass plays. That is the Chip Kelly offense at its best. It was fun to watch the offensive line take control of the game in the late 3rd and 4th quarters. They wore down the Texans front seven and controlled the line of scrimmage. Mark Sanchez was able to take over for Foles and play pretty well in part because the Eagles didn’t need him to do anything special. He threw 22 passes in 3 quarters. The key for Sanchez was executing in the Red Zone, which he did.

Sanchez got help from his supporting cast. There were only a couple of drops. Receivers added RAC yards to move the chains on several plays. The running game was outstanding. He benefited from good field position. 5 of his 9 drives started at the 30 or better. Worst position was at the 15. Sanchez was given favorable conditions and he took advantage of them.

The defense was outstanding at times. They shut down Arian Foster, who came into the game red hot (130 yds per game for last 4 outings). He was held to 15-56 and that included an 18-yard gain on a draw play. The run defense was just terrific. Players on the frontside set the edge and the backside flowed to the ball, keeping gaps filled. Foster is a deadly cutback runner, but had nowhere to cut back. The defense allowed 300 yards on the day. 39 of those yards came on Ryan Fitzpatrick scrambles on the final drive when the Eagles were trying to take away big plays. The one bad mistake for the defense was the 56-yard pass to Foster for a TD. Connor Barwin was caught looking in the backfield and got burned.

Flawed performance, but a good team win.   

COACHING

The Eagles threw the ball a lot early. I don’t know if this was by design, but it seemed to burn a lot of energy of the Texans defense. The Eagles run game was dominant in the last 18 or so minutes of the game. The Texans front seven seemed to wear down late. Was letting them attack Foles and Sanchez over and over part of the plan?

I thought the offense worked well with both Foles and Sanchez. I didn’t love every play call, but the plan was logical. My biggest beef was the use of sucker plays to try and burn JJ Watt. He was so explosive that he ruined the timing and made them ineffective.

I did love the way Chris Polk was used late in the game. He served as a perfect complement to Shady and Sproles. I hope the Eagles run Polk on a regular basis from here on out. His downhill running and added bulk are perfect for 2nd half running, especially when you have the lead.

Davis had a good plan for the defense. It was well-executed, most of the time.

OFFENSE

MISC

* 9 of 16 on 3rd downs

* 2 of 2 on 4th downs

* Eagles had 7 plays of 20 or more yards

* 3 for 3 in the Red Zone

* Eagles scored first and last points of each half. Generally a good sign that you won the game.

Players

QB

FOLES – Pretty good game. Went 9-12-124 with TD and INT. The pick was bad and can’t be overlooked. More on that in a minute. I thought Foles showed improved pocket presence. And he was dealing with JJ Watt at full bore. That was encouraging to me. Foles threw a pass on the move and looked good. He threw a terrific deep ball to Maclin for the long TD. Mac wasn’t his first read. Foles went through his progressions and then delivered a perfect strike 59 yards down the field. Very impressive. Made a horrible decision late in the 1st Qtr. Got pressure up the middle and threw the ball down the field to Cooper. He was covered and the play had little chance to succeed. Since Foles couldn’t step into the throw, it was short and picked off. The CB then ran it back 50 yards for a TD. So frustrating. Got hurt after that. Punishment by the Football Gods for such a terrible pick?

SANCHEZ – Pretty good game. 15-22-202. Had 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Neither INT was totally his fault, though. Had one pass that should have been picked but got lucky that DB dropped it. Did a good job in terms of intangibles. Kept the offense moving at a good tempo. Looked like he audibled a couple of times. Looked comfortable on the field and never got overly emotional. Some backups come in all fired up and their emotions can affect their play. Sanchez had the presence of a veteran who’s “been there, done that”. Generally made smart decisions. There were a couple of times in the 2nd half when he wasn’t so sharp, but moved past those moments and helped the team win the game.

Came into the game in the 2nd Qtr. First play was a deep ball to Mac for a 52-yd gain. Good throw. Mac did have to slow down for the ball a bit. Next play was a quick screen to Sproles out wide. Sanchez made a good, quick throw that allowed Sproles to get upfield for RAC yds. Threw a beautiful TD to Matthews. Had him in the left slot. Matthews was well covered. Sanchez put the ball where Matthews could get to it, which he did. Touch pass as well. Great Red Zone TD. Essentially threw his guy open. Hit Huff with a short pass on 3rd/8 and let him get upfield for the 1st down. Had pass picked off on his 2nd drive. Tried to hit Huff on a deep crossing route. Ball wasn’t perfect, but was very catchable. Huff tipped it and a DB then caught it. Good pass play in the late 2nd. Rolled right on a bootleg. Hit Matthews on a cross. Another great touch throw. Got 24 yds. Ran for 1st down on 3rd/1 pass play when didn’t see anyone open. Made a quick decision. Missed TD to Ertz late in the half. Was under pressure as he threw and the ball was just a bit off target. Wisely took a sack late in the half. Watt was on him instantly. Didn’t try anything risky. Just ate the ball.

Hit Sproles on 3rd/7 in the early 3rd with short pass. Sproles then broke a tackle and got 24 yds on the play. Made a poor read and forced the ball to Cooper. It was broken up by a DB. Cooper wasn’t really open. Bad decision. Did have Shady wide open in the flat or could have just thrown the ball away. Hit Sproles with a quick screen on 3rd/10 and he was able to get 11 yds on the play. Made a terrible decision/throw in the mid-3rd. Was under heavy pressure, but had Matthews open over the middle. Threw to where Matthews was and not where he would be. Ball hit DB in the stomach. Should have been picked. Tried to hit Cooper with a throw in the late 3rd. Ball was picked off. Chip Kelly explained that Sanchez expected Cooper to be at the spot. You can see Coop got tripped up as he ran into a DB while trying to make a cut. Just a bad luck INT. Eagles ran bootleg play in the mid-4th and Sanchez couldn’t find anyone open. Ran for 3 yds. Smart, safe. Rolled to the right on play-action pass in the Red Zone. TE tripped, fell so Sanchez only had Maclin to his side. Mac was covered, but the DB had his back to the ball. Sanchez put the ball low and to the outside, where only Mac could get it. TD. Great job of throwing another guy open.

RB

SHADY – Terrific game. 24-117. Beyond the numbers, I loved the way he ran the ball. Was as N-S as you’ll ever see him. There were a lot of outside run plays, but McCoy ran them well. Got wide by design and quickly turned upfield. Showed good vision and good burst. Had a good sequence in the early 2nd. Ran wide to the right and got 8 yds. Had good blocking on the play. The next play was a run right up the middle. Followed good blocks for 4 yds. No dancing. No hesitation. Did a good job of trusting the play. Ran hard on 4th/1. Lowered his shoulder and fought for the yard. Really came alive in the late 3rd. Went for 14 and then 26 to move the ball into HOU territory. Polk finished that drive with a TD. McCoy went in on the next couple of drives and kept running hard.

SPROLES – Caught pass on early 3rd down and moved the chains. Got hit by CB on the play. CB left the game for concussion tests. That shows you just how strong/tough that Sproles is. Caught a quick screen from Sanchez and got upfield for 6 yds. Ran for 5 yds up the middle in the mid-2nd. Took the next play out wide for 7 yds. DB tried to tackle him as Sproles turned up the field. Sproles shrugged the tackler away and kept going. Defenders don’t know just how strong he is. Great job on 3rd/7 in the early 3rd. Caught short pass and turned that into a 24 yd gain. Broke a couple of tackles. Got a quick screen on 3rd/10 and turned that into an 11-yd gain. Had chance for a huge play in the early 4th. Got open over the middle vs DB. Sanchez made a good throw, but Sproles dropped it. Might have gotten 20, 30 or 40 yards on that play. Middle of the field was open. Finished 3-17 as a runner and 4-46 as a receiver. Produced at least 3 1st downs. Good game.

POLK – Hello, Mr. Polk. 8-50-1. Came into the game in the late 3rd. First run was to the right side for 22 yds. Had good blocking, but also broke 4 tackles on the play. Ran hard and wasn’t about to go down easily. Next carry was inside run for 8-yd TD. Got the ball and ran hard right up the middle. Got more carries in the 4th Qtr. Ran up the middle for 6 yds. That set up 3rd/1 play. Polk got that carry and went for 3 yds. Ran hard and pushed the pile. Ran the ball on 4th/1 inside the 5. Blocking was solid, but DB was waiting for him in the hole. Polk was able to push enough to get the yard and the 1st down. Very close and for once Polk got a good spot. Ran the ball 3 times for 10 yds on the final drive and allowed the Eagles to then run out the clock. Loved watching Polk run behind his pads and attacking defenders.

TE

CELEK – Great game as a blocker. Took on DL, LBs and DBs. Did a good job on all of them. Only 2-7 as a receiver, but his blocking was incredibly valuable. Caught short pass for 4 yds in the late 2nd. Had an excellent block on 3rd Qtr quick screen to Spoles. Sealed DB to outside, giving Sproles a cutback lane. Great block of Watt on Shady run to that side. Sealed him and let Shady get wide. Had a good block of Watt on Polk’s long run. Was going to be tough to seal him, but then Watt slanted back to inside and Celek had perfect position. Caught pass for 3 yds in the 4th Qtr. Needed 4 yds for 1st down, but defender made a good tackle.

ERTZ – Quiet game. Didn’t play much since offense was so much of a 3-WR attack. Celek stayed on the field because he blocked so well. Ertz had one grab for 4 yds. Had a chance for a TD in the 2nd half, but Sanchez didn’t make a good throw.

CASEY – Didn’t play much on offense, but had a couple of good wind-back blocks.

WR

MACLIN – Another outstanding game. 6-158-2. First grab came right at the sideline on early 3rd down. Very close to being incomplete, but it wasn’t challenged. Made 59-yard TD look easy. Ran right by the CB (a backup) and then made a smooth catch. Did fumble the ball when he went to the ground in the end zone, but had run for a few steps prior to that so the fumble didn’t affect the process of the catch. Ran right by CB and S in the early 2nd and hauled in a deep ball from Sanchez for a gain of 52. Was flagged for taunting on the play. Caught pass over the middle for 7 yds in the early 3rd. “Sat down” between 2 defenders, made the grab and then turned upfield to add an extra yd as he got hit. Caught quick screen on the right side and moved through traffic for a gain of 21. Made a terrific TD grab in the 4th. Was covered, but Sanchez threw the ball to him, low and outside. Mac went down and made the catch. Mac did a good job of blocking throughout the game.

MATTHEWS – 3-40-1. Had pass come his way in the 1st Qtr on crossing route. Got the ball and then got hit by a CB immediately. Ball came out and was incomplete. Not exactly a “drop”, but that’s a play that Matthews needs to learn to hang on to. Terrific TD catch in the early 2nd. Sanchez threw it where Matthews could reach up and get it. Was able to get the ball up high and get his feet down as well. Great body control. Caught pass on crossing route in the late 2nd and got 24 yds. Best part is that he had a chance to go out of bounds, but instead kept going upfield to get additional yds. Don’t stop yourself. Make them do it. Wasn’t inside 2 minutes so stopping the clock wasn’t crucial.

COOPER – Quiet game. 2-26. Targeted 6 times, but was either covered or had some errant throws come his way. Went up and made a good catch at the sideline in the late 1st. CB played off on next snap. Foles hit him with a quick throw and Coop had an easy catch. Then added 10 RAC yards.

HUFF – Up and down. 3-26. Caught 3rd down pass in the mid-2nd and then fought his way upfield for the 1st down. Broke 2 tackles on the play. Later on that drive made a bad mistake. Failed to secure a pass. Tipped the ball and it was picked by a DB. Wasn’t a perfect throw, but it was there where he could get his hands on it easily. Gotta make that grab. Caught quick pass to the outside in the mid-4th and fought upfield for 9 yds. Moved the chains.

MAEHL – Caught a quick screen in the late 1st and got 5 yds. Caught quick pass for 8 yds on the right side in the early 4th.

OL

Disclaimer — The Eagles got away with holding JJ Watt quite a few times. If the officials threw a flag every time Watt was held, the game might have been an extra hour longer. That guy was impossible to block at times. I knew he was great, but didn’t fully understand just how great until studying the game. Watt is the best defensive player in the league. No one is in 2nd place. Maybe even 3rd. He is playing at a phenomenal level. I was blown away by how great he truly is. Like watching Reggie White or Bruce Smith in their prime. We see very good players and even HOF guys, but Watt is special.

PETERS – Not his best game. There was some confusion on the initial 3rd down and Peters didn’t try to block an OLB who pressured Foles into an incompletion. Not sure if he expected the RB to make that block or didn’t think the OLB would rush. OLB got by him for sack in the late 1st. Pressure up the middle played a part in the sack. His OLB got a sack on the final play of the 1st Qtr. Wasn’t totally on JP. Foles held the ball due to good coverage. Also had pressure from the other side that made Foles move back toward the OLB. Moved DE off the ball and gave Shady room to run on play inside the 10. Was involved in another sack. Blocked OLB, then let him go. Not sure if the play was some kind of screen or what. Watt and the LB shared the sack. Beaten by Watt for 1/2 sack to open the 3rd Qtr. Terrific block of Watt on 3rd/7 play in the 3rd. Gave Sanchez a clean pocket and he was able to move the chains. Had a good block of DE on Polk’s TD run. Real good down block of Crick opened room for Shady to get 5 yds. Great down block of Crick on Polk run in the 4th Qtr. Washed him inside and put him completely out of the play. Had another strong down block of Crick on 3rd/1. Polk got 3 and ran through that gap.

TOBIN – LG. Encouraging to see him get better each week. Pulled to the right and had a good block of ILB on outside run play. Let Shady get upfield for good gain. Pulled to the left on outside run and had a good block of Mercilus. That let Sproles get wide for a 1st down. Had key block on 4th/1 run. Controlled his defender and gave Shady a gap to attack. Pulled left and had good block of DB on Shady run to outside for 14 yds. Excellent block of DT on Shady run to the left for 26. Controlled his guy and that gave Shady room to run. Had key block on Polk’s TD run. Got up to the 2nd level and moved ILB out of the middle. Opened up big room for Polk.

KELCE – Showed some rust. Shotgun snaps were erratic. Did look as athletic as ever. Had one excellent sequence in the mid-2nd. Doubled NT and got him moved. Then peeled off and got ILB. Sproles ran to that area for 5 yds. Pulled left and had good cut block of ILB on Shady run for 14. Really impressive block of ILB on Shady’s 26-yd run. Got up to 2nd level quickly and engaged the defender. As the LB turned to chase, Kelce shoved him to the ground. Had key block on Polk’s long run. Pulled right and got just enough of ILB to keep him from being able to make a good tackle attempt on Polk. Key block on Polk’s TD run. NT was right on him. Kelce engaged him and was able to move the guy to the right, which gave Polk good room. Got downfield and blocked DB on Maclin’s 21-yd screen and run.

HERREMANS – Started, but did not finish. Sprained his ankle and left the game in the 3rd Qtr. Tried to block Watt on the first play and couldn’t even slow him down. Watt beat him to the outside in the late 1st and that helped create a sack for the OLB. Made a very good block of Watt on Sanchez’s deep ball to Maclin. Beaten by Crick on hard inside move in the early 3rd for 1/2 sack. Badly beaten by Watt in pass pro in the mid-3rd. Left game after that series.

GARDNER – Took over on the 4-run series for TD. Had good reach block on first play. Had short pull and good block of DB on Polk’s long run. Had false start penalty in the late 3rd. Had his JJ Watt moment in the late 3rd. Watt lined up on his outside and then fired to the inside at the snap. Gardner had no chance to block him and Watt got instant pressure on Sanchez. Did a good job of pulling to the right and blocking on some 4th Qtr runs. Solid showing in place of Todd.

JOHNSON – Got beaten by Watt on the pick-6 play. Watt got free to the inside and was right in Foles face when he threw the ball. On the next pass play, Watt went hard inside again and Lane got away with holding him. Got beat by very effective stunt at the end of the 1st Qtr. OLB went into RG and Lane had to block DE. Basically tackled the guy. Had an excellent sequence in the late 2nd. Downblocked the DE and caved him in. Then got the ILB and Shady ran through that area for 9 yds. False start in the early 4th. Was getting ready to block Watt. False start penalty on 1st/GL from the 3 moved the ball back to the 8. Didn’t end up costing the Eagles, but a frustrating mistake. Not his best game.

MOLK – DNP

KELLY – DNP

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DEFENSE

MISC

* Texans were 5 of 13 on 3rd downs.

* Only 1 of 3 in the Red Zone

* Gave up 2 plays of more than 40 yards (pass to Foster, pass to Hopkins)

* Had 4 sacks…should have had more but Fitzpatrick was very elusive in the pocket

* Pass defense was mixture of good coverage, good pressure, and some awful throws by Fitz

* Arguably the most frustrating play of the whole game was when Foster ran for 18 yds on 3rd/18. No one player was to blame for that. They ran at a blitz and got Kendricks/Carroll both blocked. Then the DBs were slow in getting to the ball. Great execution by Houston. Helped the the Eagles were slanting the DL the other direction. Ugh.

* Didn’t give up the first completion to Andre Johnson until the mid-2nd Qtr. He finished with 2 catches for 12 yds.

PLAYERS

DL

COX – Solid game, but had a few plays where he really stood out. Drove the LG backward and into Fitzy’s face on 2nd Qtr pass play. Very impressive strength. Just collapsed the pocket on 4th Qtr pass play. Forced Fitz to get ride of the ball, which Ryans picked off. Showed his athletic ability late in the game. Was mirroring Fitz when he took off running. Cox chased him and forced him out of bounds. Gave up 7 yds, but showed terrific speed in getting out that far and not giving up more yards. On the very next play Fitz scrambled up the middle. Cox chased and tripped him up after a gain of 16. Great speed, effort on those plays.

LOGAN – Good game. Was in on 5 tackles and handled the C for most of the game. Nice job on 1xt Qtr run. Got by a couple of blockers and stuffed Foster. Disrupted 3rd Qtr run with penetration. Hustled to get in on tackle in the 3rd Qtr, but got the receiver by the facemask and drew a flag. Got TFL in the late 3rd when he got by a blocker and got to Foster in the backfield. Got TFL to end the 3rd when Fitz dumped the ball to a RB and Logan was there to stuff the guy.

THORNTON – Got by the RT in the mid-2nd, but couldn’t get Foster down. Still led to a TFL. Blew up a 3rd Qtr run by driving pulling RG into backfield. Had a chance for a TFL in the 3rd when he shed the RT and got the RB. Just couldn’t get firm hold of him. Disruptive showing, but not much by his name on the stat sheet.

CURRY – Walked the RG right back into Fitzy’s face on 3rd/8 and forced him to dump the ball off, short of the sticks. No sack, but got the offense off the field. Forced a quick throw in the late 3rd with penetration. Pass was incomplete and forced Houston to try FG, which they missed.

BAIR – Got 1/2 sack in the mid-1st. Coverage sack that he shared with Beau Allen.

B. ALLEN – Got 1/2 sack in the mid-1st. Coverage sack that he shared with Bair.

OLB

COLE – Not as productive as I expected. Called for holding in the 2nd Qtr when he grabbed slot receiver by the waist. Flew off the outside and got 1/2 a TFL when he chased down Foster from behind and got him for a loss of 5. Got into the backfield on 3rd down at the end of the 3rd and somehow missed sack. Had Fitz dead to rights, but just couldn’t hold on. Shed TE and stuffed RB on run play that came his way in the 4th Qtr.

BARWIN – Mostly a good game, but had one big mistake. Helped create a sack for Allen/Bair in the mid-1st. Fitzy looked to Barwin’s side and Connor jumped in the air and made himself as big as possible. Fitzy pulled the ball down and that’s when he got sacked. Beaten for long TD in the late 2nd. Had Foster in the flat and got caught looking in the backfield. Foster just got a step on Barwin, but that was enough. Caught the pass going down the sideline and no one caught him. Got a hustle sack in the 3rd. Blitzed up the middle, then worked his way out wide. Fitzy started to run and Barwin was able to slam him to the ground. Beat the RT on a pass play with a hard inside move and got a good hit on Fitzy. Rushed hard off the right side and hit Fitz just after the ball was out. Finished with a sack, 2 tackles and 2 PDs.

GRAHAM – Got a sack in the early 2nd Qtr when he beat the LT with a wide rush and hit Fitzy from behind. Used a hard inside move in the 3rd Qtr and had a chance for a sack, but missed Fitzy. Used hard inside move to beat TE and get penetration on pass play. Got hand on Fitz, but wasn’t able to bring him down. Missed a sack in the 4th Qtr when he got by the LG and hit Fitz, but couldn’t make the tackle. Came close to having a great game, but just couldn’t finish on those plays.

ILB

KENDRICKS – Very good game. All over the place. Was in on 12 tackles (5 solo). Had a sack and FF. Blitzed up the middle in the mid-1st, got by Foster and flushed Fitzy. Got a sack in the 1st when he looped wide and then easily got by Foster. Helped create a sack for Graham. Blitzed up the middle and beat Foster, which forced Fitzy to move. That’s when Graham hit him from behind. Got 1/2 a TFL in the 2nd when Thornton blew up a run and MK and Cole were there to finish off Foster for a loss of 5. Just missed sack on final play of the 3rd. Beat Foster badly and hit Fitz, but Fitz was able to dump the ball off. Made his tackles in the run and pass game. Flew around the middle of the field. Didn’t look rusty at all.

RYANS – Good game. Beautiful stuff of 2nd Qtr run. Got to the outside of a blocker and was in the hole waiting for Foster. Put him down cleanly. Drew a holding penalty in the 3rd on a run play. Made a huge play in the early 4th when he picked off a pass. that happened in the Red Zone. Unfortunately, Ryans blew out his Achilles as he went to run and he fumbled the ball away. Finished with 5 solo stops, TFL and INT.

MATTHEWS – Didn’t play much.

ACHO – Didn’t play much.

S

N. ALLEN – DNP

JENKINS – Quiet game. Had 2 solo tackles and a PD. Came into the box on the first play and helped to string out Foster’s run, which only gained a yard. Had a chance for a sack in the early 4th, but Fitz put a good move on him and took off running. Broke up 3rd down pass on final drive of the game.

WOLFF – Played deep a lot so wasn’t heavily involved in the action. Got burned for a TD in the 4th. Boykin blitzed and Wolff then had the slot receiver. The guy went to the sideline and Wolff was a step late. Tough assignment, but he never closed ground. Easy TD. Would have helped if the blitz got home or got any pressure. Houston blocked it well. Credited with 4 solo tackles.

CB

FLETCHER – Up and down game. Had 3 solo tackles, TFL and PD. Played the run well on a couple of early downs. Forced Foster out of bounds for a minimal gain and a short loss. Looked like he had a chance to get to Foster on the long TD, but was late getting over and didn’t touch him until they were at the goal line. Broke up a 3rd Qtr pass to Johnson. Had tight coverage and got a hand on the ball as Johnson tried to secure it. Helped to break up low pass to Johnson in the late 3rd. Got burned on crossing play. Had Hopkins and lost him on crossing route. Hopkins got the ball and turned upfield for huge gain. Fletcher got separated in traffic and never got close to him. Did some good things, but still was sloppier in coverage than you like on a few plays.

WILLIAMS – Good game. Covered well and had little action come his way. Beaten by Hopkins for gain of 22 in the mid-1st, but had great coverage. Was all over him and just missed the ball, but great throw/catch got the best of him. Looked like he could have done a better job on the draw play that went for 18 yds.

BOYKIN – Made a terrific play in the 2nd Qtr when he tackled Damaris Johnson in the open field on 3rd down and forced HOU to punt. Played the run well throughout the game. Was in on 3 tackles.

CARROLL – Played a lot of Dime LB. Knocked Foster out of bounds on 3rd down play and kept him just short of the sticks.

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ST’s

JONES – Averaged only 35.7 per punt, but 2 were downed inside the 20. Didn’t always have lots of room to work with.

PARKEY – 1 for 1 on FGs. 3 of 5 KOs were touchbacks.

KOR – Huff returned the opening KO for 25 yds. Made a quick decision and ran hard. Took another one for just 16 yds.

PR – Sproles was back and returning punts became a good thing again. Long return went for 28 yds.

GAMEBOOK

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