Pederson On Two-Point Play Call: Knew Ravens Would 'Bring The House'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Carson Wentz capped a nine-play drive with a four-yard touchdown run to pull the Eagles to within one point of the Ravens with just four seconds left in the game, everyone was thinking the same thing: Are they going to go for two?
Yes, they are.
"What was so controversial about it?" Doug Pederson asked on Monday's 94WIP Morning Show.
Listen: Doug Pederson on the 94WIP Morning Show
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Pederson elected to go for two and the win with his team trailing 27-26, instead of playing for overtime. Unfortunately, Wentz's pass to Jordan Matthews was deflected and the Eagles lost the game.
"In my heart, in my gut, everything that told me -- and I didn't even communicate this to the staff on offense," Pederson said of his decision to go for two. "I knew I was going for two on that last drive because our guys played extremely hard and defense battled down 10 in the fourth quarter. I was going for two, for the win."
Of course, with his team sitting on 5-8 on a four-game losing streak at the time, Pederson really had nothing to lose.
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"I think then you go to overtime and you win it in overtime," Pederson said, when asked how he would have handled the situation if the Eagles were 8-5 and fighting for their playoff hopes instead of 5-8.
"There's a lot of factors I guess that would have to go into that," he continued. "I just know yesterday, everything in consideration I was definitely going for it."
The other point of controversy involved in that play, was the call itself. Ryan Mathews, who already had rushed for 128 yards on the day and converted a two-point play earlier in the game, was not on the field for the final play.
"Situationally, that was in essence the last play of the game," Pederson explained. "And we knew as a staff, we knew by film study during the week, that they were going to be gapped out. What we call zero blitz, they were gonna bring the house. Our best offensive plays are plays when we can, not necessarily crowd the box in protection, but get all five receivers out into routes and get those one-on-one matchups which we had with Jordan Matthews there in the slot.
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"Just by the way things worked out, Byron [Marshall] was in the game. It could have been Ryan, but the threat of run never crossed our mind just because of the nature of the defense."
Pederson says if the ball isn't deflected, the play would have worked.
"It's going to be either a completion or there's a chance it's a pass interference call in that situation and then now you're at the one yard line."
