NFL
No Alshon Jeffery, It’s Not On You
An Outpouring of Love for One of Philadelphia’s Favorite Adopted Sons
The Philadelphia Eagles lost a heart-breaker to the New Orleans Saints in the Divisional round of the playoffs Sunday night. The 20-14 loss is the second time in five years that the Saints have knocked the Eagles out of the postseason.
The final Eagles’ play ended but didn’t decide the fate of the game. With 2:01 left on the clock, Doug Pederson elected to call a play rather than take the two-minute warning to regroup. A pass from Nick Foles to Alshon Jeffery slipped through the wide receiver’s hands and into the grasp of Marcus Lattimore.
From there, a serious of ground gains by Saints’ running back, Alvin Kamara, sealed the deal. Immediately after the pick, teammates rallied around Jeffery on the sideline. Later in the locker room, Jeffery was clearly emotional as reporters rushed to his locker.
“Went through my hands… I got to make that play… city of Philadelphia. That’s on me”
What may be a shock to Jeffery, the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection saw it quite differently.
Alshon Jeffery Reportedly Played with Broken Ribs
After the game, Martin Frank via Lane Johnson reported that Alshon had actually played through broken ribs. That would make the second straight season that Jeffery had continued to play through an injury in attempts to push the Eagles further in their playoff hunt. Eagles’ fans took note of this.
An Exception to the Rule
After being signed by the Eagles prior to the 2017 season, Jeffery had a slow start with the Birds as QB Carson Wentz began working him into the system. However in the postseason last year, Jeffery averaged 73 receiving yards a game.
In the Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, Jeffery had 73 yards and a touchdown that eventually would win the game. A pass that according to Next Gen Stats, had only a 19% chance of completion. Without that touchdown, the Eagles would have been up by only five points at the half rather than 12.
That reception wasn’t the only memorable one of Jeffery’s short time in Philadelphia thus far. A career that’s seen few drops, just two, to be exact, this season before the game.
Alshon Jeffery Didn’t End a Season, He Saved It… Twice
Not only did Jeffery help secure a first-half lead for the Eagles in the Super Bowl that resulted in their first Lombardi trophy, but he was also a major reason of why they got to that game in the first place. In the game against the Falcons, Jeffery caught three receptions that led the Eagles to a field goal, giving them 12-10 lead. Jeffery was also to thank for a drive that led to another field goal against the Vikings along with a touchdown in the fourth quarter of that game.
This year, after missing the first three weeks due to recovering from surgery on his torn rotator cuff, Alshon still managed to record 843 receiving yards. In the must-win games against the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans, AJ had 160 and 82 yards respectively. Against the Rams, Jeffery caught eight out of eight targets.
Against the Chicago Bears during the Wild Card round, Alshon Jeffery had 82 yards, most of them coming in big game scenarios. In two of the just three scoring drives the Eagles had, Jeffery was a major component.
Without his offensive assistance, much of which kept Golden Tate and Jordan Matthews open targets, the Eagles would have almost certainly fallen to the Bears without getting a chance to take on the Saints in the Divisional round.
A Deck Stacked Too High
The loss to the Saints came at the hands of season’s worth of bad luck. The injury gods through lightning bolts at the Eagles from preseason to playoffs. Injured Eagles include Jay Ajayi, Mike Wallace, Rodney McCloud, Mack Hollins, Carson Wentz, Jalen Mills, Derek Barnett, Corey Clement, and Ronald Darby, just to name a few.
In Sunday’s game, several more players went down. Fletcher Cox and Avonte Maddox both limped off the field while Brandon Brooks was carted into the locker room.
On top of the injuries, the Eagles were forced to play eight straight weeks of football. Their Week 9 bye week and last seed meant very little rest time for the Birds. Making the playoffs at all was a victory for the reigning champs who had just a 14% chance of making it into the postseason going into Week 15.
Alshon If You’re Listening
The Eagles have a long offseason ahead of them which will be much needed. Injured players can rest up and rehab, one of whom may very well be Alshon Jeffery. The NFC power dynamic continues to shift as well as game strategy. Pederson can take time to look over some game tape and reassess his playbook and personnel.
Alshon, if you’re listening, you’ll eat for free anywhere you go in this city for the rest of your life. Have a beer on us, your adopted city, and feel all the love the 215 to the 610 has for you. We expect to see you ringing the bell at some more Sixers’ games this season. Take a look at that Super Bowl ring when you get home. Next year is your year.
Special Thanks to Dianna Reuter.
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Photo credit to Thomas S via Flickr
