The New Orleans Saints struggled early in Sunday afternoon’s contest in the city of Brotherly Love and some mistakes down the stretch cost them in a 24-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, snapping their nine-game winning streak.
How It Happened:
After the New Orleans Saints went three-and-out on their opening possession, the Eagles put together a methodical opening drive and looked poised to cash in on the opportunity but a pair of penalties on third down cost them and Sanders came up well short of the first down marker on 4th and 2.
The Saints responded with a solid drive jumpstarted by an 18-yard completion to Michael Thomas, but it was stopped after the former Ohio State Buckeye came up short on a third down, forcing the Saints to kick a 45-yard field goal that went wide right.
Rookie Jalen Hurts proved his mettle on the next drive for Philadelphia, finding fellow rookie Jalen Reagor on a 39-yard pass to end the first quarter. The Eagles found themselves in another 4th-and-short predicament, but Doug Pederson’s gamble paid off with Hurts connecting with Alshon Jeffrey in the endzone to take the early lead.
The Eagles extended their lead after former LSU Tiger Duke Riley picked off Taysom Hill about halfway through the second quarter and took a 10-0 lead after a 44-yarder by Jake Elliott. After another punt by the Saints, Miles Sanders carved up the Saints defense with an 82-yard touchdown run to take a 17-0 lead. Philadelphia had a chance to make it a twenty-point lead before halftime, but Elliott hit the left goalpost.
The Saints defense came up big on the first drive of the second half with a three-and-out and turned that into seven points with a five-yard touchdown run by Alvin Kamara. Things started to turn around for the Saints with the defense stopping Hurts near midfield on 4th and one. Hill put the Saints within a field goal late in the third quarter with a deep ball to Emmanuel Sanders.
After another good defensive drive for New Orleans, the momentum for the black and gold was stopped dead in its tracks with Hill fumbling the football on 4th and 2. That gave the Eagles great field position and turned into a 21-17 lead after a one-yard trot into the endzone by Sanders, his second touchdown of the day.
The Eagles looked poised to ice the game away after another missed field goal by Lutz but Hurts coughed up the football near midfield with 1:51 left on the clock. Hill then put together an impressive two-minute drive with a pair of deep balls to Tre’Quan Smith and Jared Cook made it a three-point ballgame once again. Lutz set up for an onside kick that seemed to be done to perfection, but the Eagles wound up recovering it, sealing the win for Philadelphia.
Big Number: 55
One of the most impressive streaks in the league came to an end with running back Miles Sanders and Jalen Hurts both racking up over 100 yards on the ground. Over the last several seasons, the Saints have taken pride in being one of the best run defenses but this was an absolute clunker of a performance by the front seven.
Player of the Game: Miles Sanders
Sanders came alive in the ballgame, racking up 115 yards and two touchdowns. Without a doubt, he was a big cog in the Eagles upset of one of the top teams in the NFC.
Next Up: Sunday vs Kansas City; Kickoff at 3:25