The Eagles Survive in Wet Buffalo against the Bills To Keep 2nd Seed Hopes Alive
The Philadelphia Eagles survive in wet and rainy Buffalo 13-12 after an incomplete pass from Josh Allen on the two-point conversion that would have won the game for Buffalo. The Eagles’ defense was phenomenal throughout the day, but Buffalo was able to stick around in this game due to the conservative playcalling in the second half.
It was one of those decisions that Nick Sirianni, at times because he sees how his defense plays and tells Patullo to call a conservative plan. Hurts struggled in the second half as he didn’t have a completion in the second half for a second time this season. With that being said, let’s get to the takeaways.
The Eagles’ Defense will be the Glue for A Deep Run
This Eagles defense contained the No.1 Rushing attack in football for most of the game and created a lot of havoc on Josh Allen all day long as they were shut out until 5:11 remaining in the game. The defense sacked Allen five times, including two from Jalyx Hunt, who is having a low-key elite season in his second year in Philly from Houston Christian. Jalen Carter’s shoulder injections also did the trick, as he was back to his normal self, creating pressure and having a crucial block on a PAT that forced the Bills to go for two at the end.
The Eagles’ Offense Has To Be More Aggressive
You’re up 13-0 in this game, and you decide to have one of the most conservative game plans in the second half I have seen this season. And you decide to limit the playbook and not be as creative as you were in the first half. This has been a theme all year, but a more competent coordinator would know to keep the aggression going until the end and not just rest on my morals.
Kevin Patullo and Nick Sirianni need to unleash this offense throughout the entire game and not get complacent, as Vic Fangio’s defense is playing well if they want to win the Super Bowl. Also, the second half performance of the offense is back to the trends we saw earlier in the year, and the offense is not getting great first and second down production, forcing third and long situations where the defense can tee off on Jalen Hurts, where he has to scramble and most likely throw the ball away. This has to be cleaned up for the postseason, especially if they end up playing the Rams again in Philly on Wild Card Weekend.
The Bills’ loss was the Patriots’ Gain
I understand why the Bills went for two at the end, because a win would keep the Bills’ hopes for the AFC East Alive. To be 100 percent honest, they had the right play call on that two-point conversion, but Allen missed the throw way off target to his left because he was fading to his left on the scramble. As soon as that ball hit the ground, you could hear a collective roar from Foxborough, Massachusetts, as Patriots fans cheered for the Eagles’ victory, knowing that they were in arm’s reach of the division title. Then the failed onside kick right to Dallas Goedert (Who caught the Eagles’ only touchdown) all but confirmed that feeling for Patriots fans.
The Bills are now locked into the wild card because of the poor play of the offense for the majority of this game, as they almost pulled out the Houdini act late. Give credit to this Eagles defense for making the key plays needed to win this game against a tough opponent. Now the Eagles have to watch SNF to see if they can still go after the two-seed in the NFC playoffs in Week 18 against the Commanders, which was a great seed for them last season. “Wink wink.”
