Eagles Week 5 Recap: Rams Rally Falls Short as Eagles Make It Harder than it Had To Be

Oct 5, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly and St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher meet on the field after game at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles defeated the Rams, 34-28. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Most athletes will concur that the hardest team-based feat in sports is to win an NFL game. With that in mind, Sunday’s 34-28 win should be well-received by Eagles fans in the sense that it brought the team’s record to 4-1 on the season. Unfortunately, much more than any game this season, the Eagles wasted an opportunity to coast to a win against a team that had no business being in late contention.

For the second-straight game, the Eagles benefited from a special teams and defensive touchdown and the result of the game was in question until the final ticks of the clock. The Birds were able to come out on the winning side of the contest this week, but it was a nerve-racking final few minutes as they held off a furious Rams rally. Were it not for a handful of earlier self-inflicted wounds the Rams delivered to their effort, the Eagles may not have been so lucky when the clocks hit zero.

The special teams got the Birds on the board first, again. After the defense forced a three-and-out, James Casey burst through the middle of the St. Louis blockers and got a clean block of the Rams punt. Chris Maragos scooped up the live ball and carried it in from a few yards and, just like that, the Eagles jumped in front seven. The Eagles offense looked poised to make it 14-0 on their opening drive, but a Zach Ertz drop in the red zone prevented the probe from reaching paydirt and they had to settle for a Cody Parkey field goal to go up 10-0.

Another trip to the red zone led to another field goal as the offense was once again unable to find the endzone. Parkey’s try, this time from 27 yards, gave the Eagles a 13-0 lead after the first quarter. The first drive of the 2nd quarter ended in as discouraging fashion as one could draw up. LeSean McCoy, who was a little better Sunday than he had been in weeks past, found himself fighting for yards well behind the line of scrimmage. He would end up fumbling the ball and giving the Rams prime field position at the edge of the red zone.

The defense would come up with their first major play of the game at this point. Vinny Curry came in on Austin Davis unblocked and forced a fumble from the St. Louis quarterback. Fletcher Cox would recover and, for the time being, the Eagles were bailed out by their defense from McCoy’s turnover. The offense would turn it right back over, however. Nick Foles fired a deep ball to the right side in the direction of Jeremy Maclin. The throw was too far to the inside and allowed E.J. Gaines to make a play on it and haul in the interception.

The Rams would drive methodically down the field from there, going 10 plays deep into Eagle territory. On play number 11, Davis hit Brian Quick for the Rams first score and it was suddenly a 13-7 game.

The Eagles, with just over three minutes on the clock, had a chance to put up points before the half and receive the opening kickoff in the 3rd quarter. Foles bounced back from his interception in impressive fashion and marched the offense down into St. Louis territory. A key 10-yard gain by Darren Sproles on 3rd and 6 assured the Eagles multiple chances at the endzone. For once, it seems, they delivered. On 1st and goal, Foles floated the ball towards Riley Cooper. The recently unsure target made one of his best catches of the season as he outjumped the defender and made a tremendous ‘hand catch’ to bring in the offense’s first touchdown since late in the Redskins game. Despite another shaky half, the Eagles were up 20-7 at the break.

After stalling on the first drive of the second half, the defense came up with another big play. Trent Cole delivered the strip-sack of Davis near his own endzone and Cedric Thornton recovered the ball in the endzone for the Eagles 3rd touchdown of the game. The 27-7 margin paired with the performance of the defense was plenty to ignore the struggles of the offense, at that point.

Later in the 3rd quarter, the defense came up with yet another turnover that felt like the knockout blow. Rams running back Zac Stacy had the ball cleanly poked out by Brandon Graham. Thornton came up with another fumble recovery and, after a spirited run at the endzone (40 yards), was finally dragged down in Rams territory. Foles connected with Maclin from 24 yards out for the touchdown two plays later and the Eagles were cruising, up 34-7.

From there, the Rams figured out that they could attack the Eagles secondary almost every play and proceeded to do so. Aided by 53 yards passing by Davis, the Rams found the endzone again on a Benjamin Cunningham 14-yard run and it was 34-14 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

On what proved to be the turning point of this game in terms of comfort level for Eagles fans, the next Philadelphia drive proved as such. After making their way past midfield, Nick Foles found himself with first-down yardage in front of him on a 3rd and six run. Several yards past the marker, Foles dove headfirst and, after not being touched, allowed the ball to squirt loose and make its way into a St. Louis defender’s possession. A first down could have conceivably taken three more minutes off the clock at the 12 minute mark and probably result in points with another Parkey field goal. Instead, the Rams seized the ball and momentum.

Davis got St. Louis to around the Eagles 30 yard line. On 3rd and 12, the Eagles were unable to bring down the quarterback and he exposed Bradley Fletcher in the endzone to the tune of a jump ball touchdown by Kenny Britt. Britt has feasted on the Eagles in the past, and this was a pure demonstration of out-talenting the defender. The Rams were suddenly within two scores, as the scoreboard read 34-21.

A three-and-out by the offense gave the Rams ball back with time to work with. They continued to move, like a sieve, through the Eagles defense and once again were knocking on the door. Davis hit Brian Quick for the second scoring hookup of the game and, all of a sudden, the Eagles lead was down to six at 34-28.

A drive somewhat extended by a long Darren Sproles run towards near midfield allowed the Eagles to run some more clock and pin the Rams deep in their own territory. That said, Davis got the ball back at his team’s own 7-yard line where a touchdown and extra point would allow him to escape with a road win. Things started well for the Rams. Davis hit Quick for a 43-yard pickup on the first play to get the Rams to midfield. A 2nd down drop by Austin Pettis prevented the Rams from another first down at the edge of the red zone. Brandon Boykin jarred a ball loose near the sideline as Pettis was trying for another catch, and the Eagles were in a position where a stop on 4th and long would preserve a win. Davis appeared to have a miscommunication with Quick and the ball fell harmlessly to the grass, assuring the Eagles a 4-1 record to start the season.

The game, once again, was far too close for comfort and there were plenty of issues to highlight. That said, the Eagles won a game that several other teams have blown in such fashion. They head into their 2nd division game of the season next Sunday as they host the Giants. With a bye on the horizon, a 5-1 record, given the team’s performance, would be a lot to hang one’s hat on six games in.