The New Orleans Saints defense has been among the best in the NFL in recent weeks, and the Philadelphia Eagles had a rookie quarterback, Jalen Hurts, making his first start. So seeing the Eagles up 17-0 at halftime was a bit surprising.
“They had the Saints defense on their heels,” WWL NFL analyst Mike Detillier said. “We had not seen that over this [streak], and that was the surprising thing. Philly had struggled so much all season long, and the Saints had really played well in six straight weeks. And it came apart yesterday.”
New Orleans hadn’t allowed a 100 yard rusher in 55 games. Three years. , Philadelphia produced not one, but two 100 yard rushers with running back Miles Sanders gaining 115 yards and the mobile Hurts gaining 108 yards. As a team, the Eagles averaged 6.8 yards per carry.
Additionally, the Saints offense could not get much going in the first half either. They got into position for one field goal attempt, though kicker Wil Lutz missed.
“The [Eagles] secondary had been torched by virtually every team,” Detillier said. “They lose two starters. And you still couldn’t figure it out. You had some opportunities there, and it didn’t hit.”
The Saints had just 98 total yards, 56 passing, at halftime. Things improved greatly in the second half. The offense ended with a much more respectable 358 yards, and Taysom Hill threw two touchdowns as New Orleans outscored Philadelphia 21-7. It was too little, though; the first half hole was too deep.
“Everything sort of fell apart yesterday. Every year there seems to be a game where the Saints play just like this against a team that’s really not very good,” Detillier said. “Yesterday, the Eagles were the better team. [If] you play this game 10 times, you probably win 9 of the 10; but yesterday it was the Eagles game.”
The Saints have to move on quickly with the 12-1 Kansas City Chiefs coming to town on Sunday.
