11/17/24
January 04, 2014
Saints Edge Eagles on Last-Second Field Goal: Shayne Graham, signed by the New Orleans Saints two weeks ago, kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play Saturday night in a 26-24 wild card win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The victory is the first road playoff win in the 46-year history of the Saints franchise.
Neither team played particularly well.
posted by DudeDykstra at 10:26 AM on January 05, 2014
This is a surprise. I thought the Saints were looking for a place to die. They've been unimpressive lately in big games.
posted by rcade at 11:37 AM on January 05, 2014
When it was all said and done, it's a sense of relief that the horrid NFC East is finished for the year.
posted by dyams at 01:40 PM on January 05, 2014
I went to bed hoping this was all a bad dream. Thanks for letting me know it wasn't.
The idea for the next season is simple: if Chip continues to run a high-octane offense (which I enjoy), he needs to have defensive guys with the endurance to be on the field for 35 minutes of plays. That means locating them in the draft and observing the veterans during training camp.
posted by jjzucal at 02:28 PM on January 05, 2014
Eagles head coach, Chip Kelly, will rely upon his duck-days fast paced offensive utilizing a running attack that features the NFL running champ, Shady McCoy, and an running offense that is first in the league, against a Saints defense that is 28th in yards allowed per carry (4.8). Look for some surprise moves by RB Bryce Brown as well.
Defensively, however, the Eagles' priority will be stopping tight end Jimmy Graham and will be assigning that task to ILB Mykal Kendricks who is just as fast as Graham but gives away 8 inches in height.
Kelly's reasoning behind the Kendricks matchup could be that Safety Patrick Chung has become a defensive liability for the Eagles due to key injuries to Safety's Earl Wolff, Cole Anderson and Kurt Coleman. The Eagles have few other options but to keep playing Chung.
Not to overlook the passing game, Eagles QB Nick Foles, who has a higher QB rating (199.2) than Peyton Manning (115.1), will be looking to avoid a Saints defense that is fourth in the league in sacks per pass play. However, the Saints will need to find a way to stop the Eagles receiving weapons if they are to have any chance at all.