After winning a game of inches; Eagles have a lot of ground to make up vs. Saints

PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles’ margin of victory over the Chicago Bears in their NFC playoff Sunday at Soldier Field was a matter of inches.

Such is life in the NFL, where victories are often secured in whisker-thin fashion in a series decisive moments.

Now the Eagles have miles to make up in tackling their next task against the Saints in New Orleans.

Considering the miraculous late-season surge the Eagles, who’ve now won six of their last seven, have generated to get there, doubting them would be foolish.

So far, they’ve been fairly adept at covering the necessary ground, as Sunday’s win demonstrated.

It came down to that do-or-die fourth-and-goal from the Chicago 2-yard line, where, with 56 seconds left, coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Nick Foles – as in their fourth-and-1 Philly Special Super Bowl brainstorm – conspired to call the perfect play again.

Foles' magic again allows Eagles to prevail

“Why don’t we move the pocket and put one of our best guys on one of their guys and let them win,” Foles said afterward of their flawless logic.

Foles rolled right and passed to Golden Tate, who was heralded for his ability as a possession receiver catching the ball in such situations after his November acquisition.

Tate, lined up in the slot with cornerback Sherrick McManis covering, dashed along the goal line toward the pylon with McManis tailing. Foles, as he often does, put the pass in the perfect spot for the reliable Tate to get his hands on it out of McManis’ reach.

Wendell Smallwood’s leaping lunge toward the end zone off a direct snap on a potentially pivotal two-point try then came up inches – maybe millimeters – short.

 After the Eagles let Tarik Cohen zip way too far – 35 yards – on the subsequent kick return and Mitch Trubisky completed 25- and 8-yard passes, it set the stage for ex-Eagle Cody Parkey’s game-winning 43-yard field goal try.

Again, the degree of his miss was minuscule.

Parkey, who hit four against the Lions earlier this year, can’t avoid goalposts in the same way Donald Trump can’t dodge alleged ties to Russian oligarchs.

His kick glanced off the left upright, fell to the crossbar, then plunked onto the turf in a place that was very good for the Eagles and horribly bad for the Bears. Eagles fans, including the thousands in Delaware, felt their emotions transform from imminent despair to unexpected jubilation in one, unforgettable instant.  

After the game, it was learned that Eagles defensive lineman Treyvon Hester may have had something to do with that.

“Tipped off my fingertips,” Hester told Philly.com of Parkey’s ill-fated kick, which allowed the Eagles to move on as 16-15 winners.

Now all they have to do is win in New Orleans, where they have considerable distance to make up.

On Nov. 18, the Eagles’ 48-7 loss to the Saints in the Superdome was the worst ever suffered by a defending Super Bowl champion in the 52 seasons there have been defending Super Bowl champions.

Certainly, the Eagles are not the same team then that they are now. Saints quarterback Drew Brees strafed a depleted Eagles secondary for 363 yards and four touchdowns. The Saints also rushed for 173 yards and 4.7 yards per carry in a prolific display of balanced offense.

The Eagles managed 196 total yards. Carson Wentz also threw three interceptions, though back trouble later paved the way for Foles to step back in and work his miracles once again.

After that loss in New Orleans, Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins had lashed out at teammates, questioning their “demeanor.”

Nobody has doubted the Eagles’ deportment since. Though the Eagles will remain big underdogs – the Saints were 8½-point favorites as of Monday morning – they’ll travel south carrying confidence with them.

“I think you’ve just gotta look at where we’ve come and what we’ve done,” coach Doug Pederson said Monday about why the Eagles and their fans should have faith. “Just the way this team has come together at the end of the season to be counted out with even about three games to go. We really had to win our last three regular-season games just to be into the postseason, needing a little bit of help.

“But this team believes. This team believes in everything that we’re doing and you saw it yesterday and we’re different. It’s a different mindset. It’s a different football team. And we’re a different group than when we played New Orleans the first time. We learned from it and obviously have been better since.”

The top-seeded Saints (13-3) appeared closer to mortal in games since, including that 13-10 loss to the Cowboys Nov. 29. They also had a bye this week and rested many starters in the regular-season finale, so maybe that’ll be of benefit to the Eagles.

Rarely are second chances more appealing than what the Eagles encounter Sunday in New Orleans, where, by keeping it close, they’ll be perfectly positioned to add to their storybook finish.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @kevintresolini.