Morning Update: In an overtime thriller, the clutch Eagles defeat the Bills.
Prior to diving into another Morning Roundup, sponsored by DraftKings, Victory Monday edition, don’t forget to take a look at:
Nick Sirianni expressed his happiness at the team’s resoluteness in winning the comeback.
Sunday marked the Eagles’ second overtime victory of the 2023 campaign, and it marks the first time the team has won multiple overtime games in a single year since 2000. In one-possession games this season, Philadelphia is now 7-1. The Eagles have won more than ten games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013โ14. Philadelphia’s record in its last 20 home games, including playoffs, is 17-3 (.850).
To defeat the Bills 37-34 in overtime, the Eagles had to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and mount a mandatory scoring drive. It was undoubtedly not an easy one.
That demonstrates the mental toughness of our men. I am content. “I’m happy,” declared Head Coach Nick Sirianni, who made NFL history by becoming only the third head coach to lead his team to a 10-1 start or better two seasons in a row. That we can draw lessons from this pleases me. That’s probably how I feel about it; I’m overjoyed that we were able to win this football game. That the changes will be made following a victory rather than a defeat makes me very happy, don’t you think?
A career-high five touchdowns is scored by Jalen Hurts.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts’s stat line at halftime looked like this: 4-of-11 for 33 yards passing, including an interception, 22 yards of rushing, a touchdown, and a fumble that was lost. The Eagles were behind 17โ7. Here’s how Hurts’ night concluded after two quarters and overtime: 200 yards passing, three touchdowns, and a 96.2 quarterback rating; 65 yards of rushing, two more touchdowns, including a 12-yard touchdown run for the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
After the Eagles overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and opened overtime with a field goal from the Bills, Hurts tied his career high with five touchdowns overall. Hurts is the second NFL quarterback since 1950 to start 10-1 or better through 11 games in consecutive years, following Peyton Manning (2005โ06), according to Elias Sports.
Hurts has won 14 straight games against teams with winning records, which is the longest winning streak by an NFL quarterback since 1950, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Since Week 15 of 2021, the Eagles have been 27-2 (.931) in their last 29 regular-season games that Hurts has started; since Week 11 of 2022, they have been 16-1. Hurts leads all NFL quarterbacks in winning percentage (.781) since 2021 (32-9).
Just astounding. “First off, it was a great team effort and a great team win,” Hurts stated. I had a brief moment of introspection during which I asked myself, ‘What do you guys (the media) want me to say?’ All we do is keep coming up with ways to win. Every day, we demonstrate our resilience by playing together. We have faced several challenges both during and after the game. You really can’t take anything for grantedโwe always manage to find a way. It’s challenging to measure.
Hurts had brought the Eagles back after trailing at the half for the fourth straight game. Head Coach Nick Sirianni stated, “I don’t think it’s anything you learn about him because you know that he’s clutch.” “For the past three years, he has been clutch for this team, clutch for this city, and clutch for us. He simply persisted, focused, and labored until the very end, making some huge plays.”
Jake the Make is back at it again.
In a press conference held after Sunday’s exciting overtime victory, Eagles Head Coach Nick Sirianni referred to his kicker Jake Elliott as “clutch”. In the locker room, a number of his teammates voiced similar thoughts. As Elliott passed the cornerback’s locker, Darius Slay jokingly remarked, “I call him Jake the GOAT, he is the second-best athlete on the team.” “He is GOATED, one of the best kickers in the league, by far.”
Regarding Elliott’s performance tonight and thus far this season, the word “clutch” is an understatement. Elliott had the opportunity to force overtime with the game in the balance on his right leg. For the seven-year veteran, the Eagles were comfortably within striking distance; however, the offense was pushed back by two false starts on center Jason Kelce.
Elliott entered the game in a windy and rainy situation to try a 59-yard field goal. “Given the conditions, that was probably the toughest one I have had to hit,” Elliott explained. “I think that was the harder end of the field to kick on at the start of the game, but as it went on, it became more of a crosswind, so I appreciated.
As Elliott hammered a line drive through the uprights, the crowd’s murmur soon turned into a roar. At first glance, it appeared as though the ball would go straight down the middle, but it quickly veered to the right and narrowly missed the right post by inches. “I definitely needed to drive it in order to get it there, so I took a little air out of it,” Elliott explained.
Elliott has demonstrated clutch performance for Philadelphia on multiple occasions this season. He tied the franchise record for the longest field goal made, set by Elliott in 2017, in Week 2 when he made a brilliant 61-yarder against the Minnesota Vikings. He then won the game in overtime against the Washington Commanders in Week 4 by kicking a 54-yard field goal. In the franchise’s history since the 1970 merger, that was the longest game-winning field goal.
“Those are situations I have always thrived in, going back to high school and through college,” Elliott explained. “I think I’ve encountered those circumstances quite a bit. I sense an increase in self-assurance.” “Nobody else we’d rather have in the world than Jake Elliott kicking a field goal,” Sirianni declared.
Olamide Zaccheaus rises to the occasion. Olamide Zaccheaus literally rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s overtime win over the Bills. Eagles cornerback James Bradberry had just intercepted Bills quarterback Josh Allen, giving the offense the ball on the Buffalo 24-yard line. After two rushes for -5 yards on the first two plays of the drive, the Eagles were stuck in a third-and-long scenario.
With the Eagles down by three and 11:18 remaining in the game, Zaccheaus and quarterback Jalen Hurts connected for a highlight-reel touchdown. “It is just about capitalizing on the little opportunities that Jalen and I do get,” Zaccheaus said. After his first read was not there, Hurts scrambled out to his left, extending the play. He motioned for Zaccheaus to go to the back left corner of the end zone, planted his feet, and lofted the ball in the air.
For what felt like an eternity, time paused at Lincoln Financial Field as the ball traveled to the end zone. It was Zaccheaus who rose the highest, over two defenders, to high-point the football and maintain possession when he hit the ground. “It was a scramble drill,” Zaccheaus said. “I just went to the open space. Jalen trusted me and I made the play.” “I have to watch the film, but I saw what I saw,” Hurts said. “We made it happen. He made a great catch.”
Zaccheaus, who played his high school football up the road at Saint Joseph’s Prep, gave the Eagles the lead with his second touchdown of the season, and first in front of the home crowd. The first-year Eagle made the most of his only target of the night. “I always say, the play does not care who makes it,” Zaccheaus said. “This time, it was me; I had to step up. It was a huge moment for the team to take the lead in the fourth quarter.”
Brandon Graham sets the franchise record for most regular-season games played.
Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman’s first-ever draft pick was Brandon Graham, the team’s first-round selection out of Michigan in 2010. On Sunday, Graham broke David Akers’ record for most regular-season games played by an Eagles all time, appearing in his 189th contest. And, wow, talk about one for the ages.
Graham delivered the defense’s only sack against elusive quarterback Josh Allen, the 73rd of BG’s illustrious career, ranking fourth on the franchise’s all-time list. Head Coach Nick Sirianni delivered Graham a game ball after the win. “I’m very thankful to still be here,” Graham said. “That win was exhausting, but, man, it was worth it. To still be here and set a record like that, first, I just want to thank the organization for sticking with me. I’m very thankful just for the opportunities that I get still and so I try to make the best of them.”
Defensive tackles use the ‘next man up’ mentality.
“It is the next man up mentality.” That is how Jordan Davis classified the performance of the team’s young corps of defensive tackles. Coming into the game, the group was already without Milton Williams, who has been an integral part in the success of the Eagles’ run defense playing the second-most snaps at defensive tackle entering Sunday’s game.
“Milton is really a big part of our defense,” said Eagles cornerback Darius Slay. “Milton is dawging. He is one of our best defensive tackles in the run game.” To make matters worse, veteran tackle Fletcher Cox went down with a groin injury in the second quarter. He tried testing it out to start the third quarter but could not continue.
The defensive tackle group was left with second-year starter Davis, third-year pro Marlon Tuipulotu, and two rookies Jalen Carter and Moro Ojomo. “It is not just Jalen and I; it is everybody down the line. It is Marlon and Moro,” Davis said. “It all comes together, that is what we practice and what we preach.”
Everyone contributed to the overtime victory, but it was the two first-rounders, Carter and Davis, who made the biggest plays. With 1:27 left in the first half, Bills kicker Tyler Bass was on for a 34-yard field goal attempt that would have given his team a six-point lead.
However, Carter’s left hand had other ideas. The ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft used all of his 6-foot-3 frame to leap the highest and get a few fingers on the ball. “I felt it hit my hand, but I did not know where the ball went,” Carter said. “I turned around and saw it went to the left.”
Then, in overtime, the game-saving play was made by the 13th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. With the Bills just outside the red zone and looking for a touchdown, Davis ran down Bills quarterback Josh Allen, tackling him out of bounds as he scrambled for a minimum of 4 yards.
“It was the situation, we had to figure out a way to win,” Davis told ESPN. “When I saw him run, I thought to myself, ‘It’s now or never.'” We simply had to get him down by any means necessary.” On the next play, Allen’s pass to wide receiver Gabe Davis fell incomplete, forcing the Bills to settle for three points on the first drive of overtime. The Eagles never gave the ball back as quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed for the game-winning touchdown.
Jack Driscoll fills in admirably for Lane Johnson
All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson woke up on Sunday morning feeling pain in his groin and, after a series of tests and treatment from the team’s athletic training staff, an MRI, and a workout, the veteran spent a rainy afternoon on the bench watching his team battle the Buffalo Bills at Lincoln Financial Field.
Jack Driscoll replaced Johnson, who missed his first game of the season. “Our job is to be ready at any time,” said Driscoll, who had to replace Johnson against the New York Jets due to injury. “It’s no different whether it’s the first play of the game or before the game or whatnot. My mindset is to always be ready. I don’t want to be the reason why we go in there and can’t execute.”
Driscoll added, “We got a game to win. No one is going to feel sorry for me. Just go in there, play my hardest. It’s not going to be perfect.” The end result is that the MRI Johnson took prior to the game showed inflammation and, after going through a pre-game test on the field, he felt sore and so the Eagles took the conservative approach and made Johnson inactive.
It didn’t help that steady precipitation made the field slick, so the Eagles felt it was in the best interest of Johnson to rest him and make sure he’s ready for San Francisco on Sunday. “Obviously, Lane is one of the best players in the NFL,” Head Coach Nick Sirianni said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Lane Johnson is one of the best players in the world.
“We have a ton of confidence in Jack Driscoll. Jack Driscoll, I haven’t seen the tape, but I have a feeling he played an outstanding game just because of the way the game was going, the rush, all those different things. But when you lose Lane Johnson, he’s special, right? He’s different.”
“It was another gutsy win for us. Jack stepped in and played a hell of a game,” quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “He played a (hell) of a game after being put on the spot and this isn’t the first time this happened. This happened in 2021 against the Chiefs and he came in and played a great game as well. It’s being ready and having an opportunity. I know as a competitor, Jack was ready for the opportunity after how the Jets game went. He was ready this time around.”
Johnson suffered a groin injury on December 24 last season at Dallas and was inactive for the final two games of the regular season before returning for the postseason run to Super Bowl LVII. Johnson then had surgery in the offseason to repair the injury. โ Written by Dave Spadaro