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PHILADELPHIA -- The defending Super Bowl champions are not finished yet. Not with the Nick Foles Magic still in their pocket.
The Philadelphia Eagles rolled with a franchise-record 471 passing yards from Foles and claimed a 32-30 victory against the Houston Texans with a 35-yard field goal from Jake Elliott as time expired at Lincoln Financial Field.
The result keeps the Eagles (8-7) in contention for the playoffs (barely), while Houston (10-5) not only was unable to claim the AFC South crown it hoped to clinch but also lost its grip on a No. 2 playoff seed and first-round bye. Coupled with New England’s victory against Buffalo, Houston dropped to the third seed for the AFC playoffs, behind the Patriots and top-seeded Chiefs, though the Steelers' loss to the Saints clinched at least a playoff spot for Bill O'Brien and Co.
The Eagles led 29-16 early in the fourth quarter and blew it – evoking memories of earlier defeats this season at Tennessee and against Carolina, when they blew double-digit, second-half leads.
Deshaun Watson, who passed for 339 yards and generated 4 TDs (2 passing, 2 rushing) rallied Houston in the fourth quarter, and claimed the lead with a 35-yard TD pass to Vyncint Smith.
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But Foles had something left for one last drive with the season on the line – even after he left the game for one snap after taking a blow to the chest from Jadeveon Clowney that drew a 15-yard, roughing-the-passer penalty, tacked on a 19-yard completion to Alshon Jeffery.
A 20-yard completion to Zach Ertz (12 catches, 110 yards, 2 TDs) and a 16-yard run by Darren Sproles set up Elliott’s winning kick – no sure thing, given the Eagles were chasing his missed extra point from earlier in the fourth quarter.
Foles, subbing for the injured Carson Wentz, finished 35-for-49, with 4 TDs and 1 INT … and with the hope that if the Eagles can somehow get into the playoffs, they can still roll with a certain spark from their backup quarterback, who just happens to be the reigning Super Bowl MVP.
Three things we learned:
Milestone catches are better with signature moments: Ertz set the NFL’s single-season record for catches by a tight end, surpassing Jason Witten’s 2012 mark (110 catches). It was fitting that Ertz had much activity, with his team-high 12 receptions for 110 yards including a 4th-down, 1-yard TD snag in the second quarter and a scintillating 23-yard, juke-and-go TD in the fourth quarter. He now has 113 receptions, with another week to pad the record.
You can still roll the dice on roughing-the-passer flags (or not): The mysterious manifestation of the NFL’s “protect the QB at all costs” rule flaired up again during a sequence in the second quarter that inspired derogatory chants directed at referee John Parry Here’s what happened: As Nick Foles threw incomplete on a two-point conversion attempt, he was pummeled by Clowney on a violent hit that replays showed clearly included the pass-rusher (intentional or not) twisting the quarterback to the turf with a textbook facemask violation. No flag. No conversion. A few minutes later, Eagles Super Bowl hero Brandon Graham decked Deshaun Watson with a hard but clean hit, shoulder to shoulder, that prompted the mass “Ooooh!” reaction from the crowd. There was no contact to Watson’s head. Graham was flagged for roughing. That advanced the Texans to the red zone. Three plays later, Watson danced into the end zone with a 6-yard run that gave Houston the lead.
The Texans injury woes are getting worse: Houston played without running back Lamar Miller (ankle) and slot receiver Keke Coutee (hamstring), then left The Linc with more attrition – at the worst time. Receiver Demaryius Thomas suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the fourth quarter that ends his season. On top of that, the Texans were hit especially hard in the secondary, losing three cornerbacks – starters Kareem Jackson (knee) and Jonathan Joseph (neck), plus just-added Kayvon Webster (thigh). The extent of the defensive backs injuries was not immediately known, but none of the injured players returned to the game.
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