Eagles Pull Off Shocker In Upsetting Patriots, 35-28
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With just over 11 minutes left they began filing out, their faces flush in shock, a trailing mist behind them from their breath huffing and puffing their way up the Gillette Stadium steps in Foxborough, Mass. For once this season, the Eagles had forced opposing fans to look for the exits early.
Where was this a month ago? Was it a December mirage? Were these the Eagles, or was this pyrite in a one-game can?
The rare combination of touchdowns from a blocked punt, interception return and punt return for only the third time in an NFL game turned Chip Kelly into a smiling rosy-faced cherub. All the Eagles coach was missing were some wings and some arrows, but Kelly didn't need that. He had something no one expected, save of maybe the Eagles, and that's the surprise of the season in shocking the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and Tom Brady with 35-28 victory on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
The Eagles now move to 5-7 and remain in the hunt for the NFC East title.
A week ago they looked dead. The Eagles, yes, those Eagles that were outscored their previous two games 90-31, made Brady, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, look rather pedestrian at times. The future hall of famer and four-time Super Bowl winner entered the game having thrown 28 touchdown passes, against just four interceptions. It's only the fifth time in Brady's career that he lost back-to-back games.
Granted, he was without the injured Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Aaron Dobson, Brady still threw two interceptions, one quite costly, which Malcolm Jenkins returned 100 yards giving the Eagles a lead that they wouldn't lose. Sam Bradford was an efficient 14 of 24 for 120 yards and two touchdowns, while Darren Sproles returned a punt 83 yards for a touchdown and led the Eagles with 66 yards rushing on 15 carries.
What's more is the defense put a pile of pressure on Brady, who looked hesitant in completing 29 of 56 for 312 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Eagles sacked Brady four times for minus-24 yards.
"I've always been proud of them and I told those guys that sometimes they don't see in them what I see in them," Kelly said. "I know we have a good football team and they showed it today. They showed it at other times in the season. The last two weeks we didn't show it. That's what was disappointing for them. We contributions defensively, we got pressure on the quarterback; that was instrumental today. When you have a blocked punt for a touchdown, an interception return for a touchdown, and a punt return for a touchdown, it takes those things to win in this stadium against that coach and that quarterback."
Kelly said the key was getting in Brady's face.
"Those guys up front did a really good job," Kelly said. "There were some times he shook us off running and made some big plays there. I thought the effort up front from our guys was really, really good and that's what we needed from those guys."
After leading 35-14, it got a little shaky in the end. Brady returned to being Brady, and the Pats converted an on-side kick recovery into one score, and Brady completing a fourth-and-12 at the Eagles' 47 for a 25-yard reception to James White, who beat Kiko Alonso down the sideline. The Pats scored on the drive and closed to within 35-28. But Kenjon Barner's fumble at the New England 28 with 1:02 left to play almost jeopardized everything.
Fortunately, it didn't.
And just when it looked like this team was dead, just when it looked like the Eagles would go largely ignored and not play a meaningful game in December, the Eagles dragged their nauseous fanbase (from the topsy-turvy rollercoaster ride this team has out them on) back in.
"It's wasted energy to talk about (the playoffs)," Kelly said. "We're just talking about playing the next game. We'll pick our head up after the Giants game to see if we've played well enough to get in or not. It's wasted energy to talk about playoff picture and what happens here and who wins here."
So it continues—and who knows where this team is headed. They probably don't know themselves.
