The Drive
Posted: October 27th, 2019 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 5 Comments »Forget about Concrete Charlie looming over Frank Gifford. Forget about the Miracle in the Meadowlands (I, II, III or IV). Forget about 4th and 26. Forget about the Super Bowl.
When the zombie apocalypse finally comes and the definitive book is written on Eagles history, the focus will be on The Drive.
14 plays. 83 yards. 8:17 off the clock.
That drive turned a 24-13 Eagles lead into a 31-13 victory. Game over.
The Drive featured 8 runs for 34 yards by Jordan Howard. Carson Wentz ran twice for 24 yards. Wentz hit Zach Ertz for an 18-yard gain on third down to put the Eagles in 1st and goal. We can’t talk about The Drive without mentioning the Eagles O-line. Those guys were fantastic. Doug Pederson made sure to also mention the blocking of the TEs. A real team effort.
The Eagles were pretty much a lock to win even without that long TD drive, but that felt like a statement. The Eagles wanted to put the game away. They didn’t want a replay of the Panthers or Titans from 2018.
With the winds whipping through Buffalo all day long, the run game was the key for both teams. The Eagles ran for 218 yards. The Bills ran for 98, with QB Josh Allen getting almost half of those. Jordan Howard was 23-96-1 on the ground. Miles Sanders had a 65-yard TD run that broke the game open. Even Boston Scott got the rock. He ran for his first NFL TD.
The Eagles defense stepped up. The middle of the D featured guys like Bruce Hector, Anthony Rush, Albert Huggins, Nate Gerry and T.J. Edwards. Those guys played well enough to control the Buffalo run game and force Josh Allen to carry the offense.
Fletcher Cox set the tone early with a strip-sack of Allen. That helped the defense to get fired up and they played with good energy all day. Brandon Graham really stepped up. He led the team with 6 tackles. Graham had a sack, 2 TFLs, a FF and a FR. He was a monster.
Pederson had his most creative game of the year as a play-caller. Some worked, some didn’t. Still, it was good to see him opening things up a bit.
Carson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some really good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a really impressive play. Wentz had to throw around a defender and put the ball where Goedert was going to be. That score gave the Eagles the lead and opened the game up.
The thing Wentz did that really stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the ground, aside from kneel-downs. Two of those runs came on third downs on The Drive. One looked like a QB draw, but Wentz said after the game that was supposed to be a screen. A DE got in the way so Wentz just took off running and moved the chains.
This was the kind of performance the Eagles have been looking for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, but he stepped up in key situations. He also made the guys around him better.
This win gets the Eagles to 4-4. It doesn’t erase the bad performances of the past two weeks, but it does offer some hope moving forward. Get Nigel Bradham back on the field. And Tim Jernigan. And DeSean Jackson. And Avonte Maddox. And Cre’Von LeBlanc. The team should get better.
The Eagles only have three more road games all year and they will be in Miami, Washington and NY.
This win can really mean something, if the team builds off it.
If…
_
[…] The Drive – Iggles BlitzCarson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some really good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a really impressive play. Wentz had to throw around a defender and put the ball where Goedert was going to be. That score gave the Eagles the lead and opened the game up. The thing Wentz did that really stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the ground, aside from kneel-downs. Two of those runs came on third downs on The Drive. One looked like a QB draw, but Wentz said after the game that was supposed to be a screen. A DE got in the way so Wentz just took off running and moved the chains. This was the kind of performance the Eagles have been looking for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, but he stepped up in key situations. He also made the guys around him better. […]
[…] The Drive – Iggles BlitzCarson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some really good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a really impressive play. Wentz had to throw around a defender and put the ball where Goedert was going to be. That score gave the Eagles the lead and opened the game up. The thing Wentz did that really stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the ground, aside from kneel-downs. Two of those runs came on third downs on The Drive. One looked like a QB draw, but Wentz said after the game that was supposed to be a screen. A DE got in the way so Wentz just took off running and moved the chains. This was the kind of performance the Eagles have been looking for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, but he stepped up in key situations. He also made the guys around him better. […]
[…] The Drive – Iggles BlitzCarson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some really good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a really impressive play. Wentz had to throw around a defender and put the ball where Goedert was going to be. That score gave the Eagles the lead and opened the game up. The thing Wentz did that really stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the ground, aside from kneel-downs. Two of those runs came on third downs on The Drive. One looked like a QB draw, but Wentz said after the game that was supposed to be a screen. A DE got in the way so Wentz just took off running and moved the chains. This was the kind of performance the Eagles have been looking for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, but he stepped up in key situations. He also made the guys around him better. […]
[…] The Drive – Iggles BlitzCarson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some actually good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a extremely spectacular play. Wentz needed to throw round a defender and put the ball the place Goedert was going to be. That rating gave the Eagles the lead and opened the sport up. The factor Wentz did that basically stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the bottom, apart from kneel-downs. Two of these runs got here on third downs on The Drive. One seemed like a QB draw, however Wentz stated after the sport that was imagined to be a display screen. A DE received in the way in which so Wentz simply took off operating and moved the chains. This was the type of efficiency the Eagles have been on the lookout for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, however he stepped up in key conditions. He additionally made the fellows round him higher. […]
[…] The Drive – Iggles BlitzCarson Wentz was terrific. He was 17-24-172 as a passer, with a TD and no picks. Wentz made some really good throws. His TD to Dallas Goedert was a really impressive play. Wentz had to throw around a defender and put the ball where Goedert was going to be. That score gave the Eagles the lead and opened the game up. The thing Wentz did that really stood out was run the ball. He was 5 for 39 on the ground, aside from kneel-downs. Two of those runs came on third downs on The Drive. One looked like a QB draw, but Wentz said after the game that was supposed to be a screen. A DE got in the way so Wentz just took off running and moved the chains. This was the kind of performance the Eagles have been looking for from Wentz. He wasn’t Superman, but he stepped up in key situations. He also made the guys around him better. […]