On the field, though, the Bills were storming back. A 13-0 Eagles lead had nearly evaporated. The Bills scored a touchdown with Josh Allen on a Tush Push to cut the deficit to one. Sean McDermott opted to go for two. Enter the eye.
“While everything else is swirling around us, we’re in the middle,” Davis said. “We’re calm. Everything can be messy as hell, but when we’re in the eye of the storm, everything is calm. We have to keep ourselves composed, can’t let the moment get too big.
“It comes down to that one play. What are you going to do then? It’s not like you’re out there and playing a whole drive. You’ve got one more play to play.”
Davis felt the calmness from the sideline. Then he watched his teammates execute. Vic Fangio called a simulated pressure. Cooper DeJean rushed off the left side, but Jalyx Hunt dropped into coverage from the right side of the line. Jalen Carter, whose hands were all over the end of Sunday’s game, ran a stunt with Jaelan Phillips, who got past right tackle Spencer Brown and into the backfield.
Allen had an open receiver, but the pressure made him backpedal and throw off-balance. The ball bounced in front of Khalil Shakir and out of the end zone.
“It was like slo-mo turning my head to see what happened,” Phillips said.
“It’s what we play the game for. In clutch moments like that, it’s what all the preparation, all the conditioning, all the hard work, it’s for moments like that.”
The Eagles bent but didn’t break. It was why they won Sunday. It is why they’ve won a chunk of their 11 victories this season. It’s why they won’t be a desirable opponent in January. The failed two-point conversion sealed the game, but the Eagles also had a fourth-down stop near the goal line. They allowed 120 rushing yards to the top rushing offense in the NFL, but they were good enough when it mattered. Buffalo was just 6-for-15 on third down.
“I think that’s just the character of our defense,” Phillips said. “We’re just sturdy, in any situation.
“I think it doesn’t fluster us when things like this happen. I think that’s crucial. The moment you start panicking, good offenses are going to take advantage of it.”
Phillips credited the pass rush being disciplined in its rushing lanes with making sure Allen wasn’t able to beat the Eagles with his legs. Allen rushed seven times for 27 yards. He had one 17-yard rush and 10 yards on his other six attempts.
“We got after him and made him one-dimensional,” Phillips said.
Get after him, they did.
Carter’s return had an instant impact. He had one of the five Eagles sacks and also deflected a pass. Jalyx Hunt had two sacks, and Moro Ojomo and Phillips each had one.
The Bills wouldn’t have had a reason to go for two and the win if not for Carter’s earlier heroics. Allen’s 2-yard touchdown put the Bills on the board with more than five minutes left on the clock. But there was Carter leaping to block Michael Badgley’s point-after attempt. Nick Sirianni said the Eagles knew he had a lower trajectory. It was a similar story when Carter and Davis each blocked Joshua Karty in the fourth quarter of the Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Carter, like he did in September, credited assistant special teams coach Joe Pannunzio with identifying the opposing team’s “fish,” or the player to target. The fish, Carter said, was on his side of the line, and the Eagles made the Bills pay.
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (right) flexes at the Buffalo Bills offense late in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
Carter is back, and a defense that has returned to championship-level form appears to be more than ready for postseason football.
“We’re getting better every week, every day,” Carter said. “I don’t want to throw that out there, Super Bowl this, Super Bowl that. We’re playing a game at a time. When we get to the playoffs it’s all restarted. Win or go home.”
Said Phillips: “Gritty games like that are things you need to have to prepare yourself for the long haul.”
In other words, to get through the storm, whatever it may look like.
The Eagles offense provided little help for its defense in the second half. That inconsistency may matter at some point, but it didn’t in the end on Sunday.
“We say on defense, we want to have one more point than the other team,” Davis said. “It’s on us. Whether they score a billion or they score two. It doesn’t matter. We just want to go out there and have one more point than the other team, and we went out there and we did that.”
OKLAHOMA CITY — The 76ers must solve their third-quarter problem.
They also need to take better care of the ball.
And with the schedule getting tougher, the Sixers look like they blew golden opportunities to get much-needed victories against the struggling Brooklyn Nets and Chicago Bulls.
These things stood out in Sunday’s 129-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center.
Another third-quarter struggle
The Sixers (16-14) are now riding their first three-game losing streak of the season. But for a half, they appeared capable of beating the defending NBA champion Thunder, who have the league’s best record (27-5).
The teams played through six lead changes and 12 ties before Oklahoma City took a 64-62 advantage into the intermission. Afterward, the Thunder ramped up their defense, taking the ball out of hands of Tyrese Maxey, who had 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting in the first half. The Sixers point guard was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting in the third quarter, while the Sixers were outscored 38-24. Maxey added five points in the fourth to finish with a team-high 28 points on 10-for-18 shooting — including missing five of seven three-pointers — to go with five assists and a game-high four steals.
But the damage was done in the third quarter as the Thunder stretched a two-point lead into an 18-point cushion. They extended their lead to 27 in the fourth.
Tyrese Maxey (left) had 23 of his 28 points in the first half to lead the Sixers in scoring.
“The last game [against the Bulls], I was really aggressive in the third, which kind of helped us a little bit,” Maxey said. “Tonight, I got in the paint and passed a few times, like they were collapsing. But you know, Joel [Embiid] was on me, third quarters you got to go out there and go for it every single time. I’m going to try to do that.”
But in Maxey’s defense, he made the right plays. He just didn’t get a lot of help.
Turnover woes
The Sixers were also doomed by turning the ball over.
They committed eight that turned into 14 points for the Thunder in the third quarter. And 14 of their 23 turnovers came in the second half.
“Just the whole second half was we were playing, obviously, the big amount of turnovers put us in trouble, getting our defense set up,” coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s obvious zero points per chance on 14 turnovers. It’s just way too many. I told the guys, the No. 1 key to the game. And a few of them, were like they are going to guard, they are going to pressure, they are going to deny, you know that. But there’s a good 10 of those are just our fault that we just didn’t make a strong enough play or the right read or whatever.”
Beating the Thunder was always going to be a tough task for the Sixers. But now, they take their longest losing streak of the season into Tuesday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum.
The Grizzlies were 15-16 heading into Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards. Memphis had won six of their last nine contests.
As a result, the Sixers are preparing for a tough test. Then their final two games of the road trip are against the Dallas Mavericks (Thursday) and the New York Knicks (Saturday) before hosting the Denver Nuggets (Jan. 5).
Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (right) had a game-high 29 points against the Sixers.
With that, the Sixers could be in a downward spiral on the heels of blown opportunities in losses to the Nets (on Tuesday) and Bulls (on Friday).
“I don’t really look at it in any of those ways,” Nurse said. “I mean, I thought we played well enough in Chicago to win. Just needed to play a little bit better down the stretch. Brooklyn, we didn’t play well enough to win. They had a big night. They continued that.
“I don’t think that who we’re playing and who we played matters that much, because certain teams get in hot streaks. Doesn’t really matter what their records are.”
Nurse added that teams with good records don’t always play well, either.
“So we just got to play what’s in front of us,” he said, “and try to bounce back.”
The Eagles pulled out a nail-biter in the rain in Buffalo, stopping the Bills’ final two-point conversion attempt to stave off a comeback and win, 13-12.
Here’s everything you might have missed from the broadcast:
Weather woes?
It poured all through Sunday’s game in Orchard Park, N.Y. Bills quarterback Josh Allen told sideline reporter Tom Rinaldi pregame that he’d actually rather it pour than drizzle.
“Drizzle is harder to control,” Rinaldi said. “He said if it’s going to rain, let it rain. I find the ball more tacky, and it’s easier to control the pass game.”
Analyst Tom Brady, for his part, shared that back when he was an NFL QB, he downloaded basically every weather app on his phone and checked Weather Channel “about 75 times a day” before a start, so he’d know how to prepare.
Fox got a ton of mileage out of shots of just how hard it was raining.
After the kickoff, the Birds took a 5-yard illegal formation penalty on the opening play because offensive lineman Fred Johnson came on the field for the first drive sans helmet.
“Then you have Fred Johnson, who went on the field without a helmet somehow,” play-by-play man Kevin Burkhardt said.
“Felt the raindrops on his head and realized he made a mistake,” Brady said jokingly.
Facing Vic Fangio
Over the course of his decades-long NFL career, Brady faced Vic Fangio’s defenses a few times.
With the Eagles on pace for another elite season under Fangio, Brady shared his personal reaction to their defensive coordinator.
“Vic Fangio is the type of coordinator where, when you know you’re going up against him you go, ‘Ugh. Do we have to?’” Brady joked. “Such a talented coach; he’s been doing this for four decades. Pretty remarkable, his success.”
Bills running back James Cook is having the best year of his career, and entered Sunday’s game leading the NFL in rushing yards for the first time.
Barkley sent Cook a message on Instagram telling him to “go finish it,” and claim the NFL rushing title. But Barkley told sideline reporter Erin Andrews that he’s still extremely competitive and was looking to outplay Cook on Sunday.
He put up 68 yards on 19 carries, compared to Cook’s 74 yards on 20 carries.
Brady vs. Buffalo
There’s no love lost between Brady, a longtime New England Patriot, and the Bills fan base, which was at his mercy for nearly two decades. Even now, when Brady comes to Buffalo, he brings former teammate Rob Gronkowski, who’s from the Buffalo area, with him to serve as a bit of a human shield.
The former quarterback didn’t get a warm welcome on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, though.
“Warm embrace, a lot of people, that one-finger salute they were giving me as I looked down from the press box, reminding me how much they enjoyed me coming to town, I guess,” Brady said.
🤣 @TomBrady says he got a "warm" embrace from Bills fans today as they gave him a "one finger salute"
The Birds’ first turnover of the game came off a fumble by Allen that almost got ruled an incomplete forward pass.
With Brady on the call, you may have thought he would broach the subject. He’s famous for the controversial tuck rule play in an AFC divisional-round game during the 2001 season, in which he avoided a fumble because of his forward arm motion.
Unfortunately, he did not broach the subject. Rules expert Dean Blandino did, though.
“It was really close; I think that’s why they let it stand,” Blandino said. “To me, it looks like a pass because once that hand comes forward, until he brings it back toward his body, you know the old tuck rule, Tom, it remains a pass. They probably said it was too close to change.”
Mewing?
Bills coach Sean McDermott is from Lansdale and got his coaching start as an intern with the Birds under Andy Reid. In some ways, he and Nick Sirianni swapped places. Sirianni grew up in Jamestown, N.Y., in far Western New York.
“We knew he was a wideout at Mount Union when he went to college,” Burkhardt said. “How about Southwestern Central High, in Jamestown? Look at him, looking lean and mean.”
Tom, you’re in your 40s, you shouldn’t know what mewing is. But for those of you who don’t know, it’s a facial expression that’s become a popular TikTok trend.
The two-point conversion
The Bills battled all the way back in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns, including one in the final five seconds. McDermott elected to go for two to effectively end the game, and Allen’s pass missed receiver Khalil Shakir by several yards. Fox caught him looking visibly frustrated after the miss.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — O’Cyrus Torrence is a large human being. At 347 pounds, he is the heaviest member of the Bills offensive line and the roster as a whole. He is the kind of man who eats turkey wings instead of chicken wings, and even then he does so only after he has first rolled them in flour and fried them in oil and doused them in melted butter. In fact, Torrence recently did all of these things in a handy how-to video he recently posted to Instagram. His smothered turkey wings look like quite the treat, at least for anybody who expects to have easy access to indoor plumbing for the rest of the night.
Bear with me, Eagles fans. There is a relevant point in all of this. See, Torrence isn’t just the heaviest man on the Bills offensive line, or the heaviest on its roster. He also happens to be 33 pounds heavier than the man who, late in the second quarter of the Eagles’ 13-12 victory over the Bills on Sunday, pushed him 5 yards into his own backfield and then tossed him aside the way a baggage handler might a memory foam pillow. The resulting sack of Josh Allen was a big play for the Eagles in the sense that it forced the Bills into a third-and-18. Much bigger was what it signified. Jalen Carter is back, and the Eagles once again have a defense that can win a Super Bowl on its own.
“You guys see what he does for us,” said defensive end Jaelan Phillips, who added a sack for an Eagles defense that racked up five total. “He had a blocked extra point that basically won us the game, if you think about it. I thought that in his absence, we did a great job, but having him back is key. It’s huge.”
As Phillips noted, Carter and the Eagles defense had their fingerprints all over this one, right down to the blocked extra point with 5 minutes, 11 seconds remaining that left the Bills needing a two-point conversion to win after another Allen touchdown run with five seconds left. Until that frantic ending, which featured two touchdown drives totaling 137 yards, Vic Fangio’s unit looked plenty capable of winning three straight playoff games on its own. The Eagles battered Allen in the pocket and held James Cook, the NFL’s leading rusher, to 74 mostly harmless yards on 20 carries. For 55 minutes, a second shutout in three games looked like a distinct possibility, this time against a team that entered the weekend with the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl.
We can’t ignore the fact that the Eagles again came way too close to losing a game. In this case, they came within 2 yards, after Allen’s frantic last-minute touchdown drive ended with a missed two-point conversion. The greatest testament to the strength of the Eagles defense is just how bad their offense looked. All of the usual criticisms applied. The quarterback was adequate, at best, if you squinted. The running game wasn’t good enough to make up for it. The result was an offense that looked about as dynamic as a truck stuck in mud. The Eagles mustered just 190 total yards, 16 of them in the second half. Rarely do you watch them and think, Wow, this is an enjoyable thing to watch. That will be a difficult way to go through the postseason.
What warrants reconsideration is the conclusion that many folks have drawn. As lackluster as the offense has looked, as underwhelming as Jalen Hurts has played, the Eagles have a good enough defense to make them one of the small handful of teams that will have an even-or-better chance against any other team in the playoff field. Say what you will about the Rams or the Seahawks or the 49ers. The Eagles have as good a chance as any of them. Maybe even better.
“You’ve got to give yourself points when you win football games,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “There’s always things to clean up when you come out of a football game. But when you come out of a football game that you win on the road in a hostile environment against a really good football team that’s had the sustained success that we have, if you come out of this and think about all the negative things, that makes for a miserable existence. We’ll get there.”
Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen during the second quarter.
With this defense, the Eagles may only need an offense that is on the lower end of functional. That’s what we saw against the Bills. Same as we saw against the Lions, and the Packers, and the Chargers. Against a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback, in a playoff-caliber environment, the Eagles defense was the best unit on the field for all but the last five minutes of the fourth quarter. The Bills gained just 12 first downs on their first nine possessions and did not score a point before Allen capped their last two drives of the game with short touchdown runs.
The story of the game was Carter, who returned after a four-game absence because of procedures on both shoulders. The third-year defensive tackle said earlier this week that he’d previously been in so much pain that he could not do a pushup. Against the Bills he looked as strong as anybody … not only with his manhandling of Torrence on his sack of Allen, but also on the blocked extra point that proved to be the difference in the game.
It’s funny how he always looks like the biggest player on the field, even when he isn’t. On a unit that is brimming with talent around him, Carter’s presence makes the Eagles the caliber of unit that can win a Super Bowl on its own.
Jalen Hurts does what he does best: He wins. It wasn’t a stellar outing by any measure. But Hurts didn’t turn the ball over and he avoided big mistakes. He threw for 110 yards in the first half but didn’t complete a single pass in the second, when a driving rain obviously affected the passing game. It was ugly. But he knows how to win ugly.
Hurts short-hopped a throw to an open DeVonta Smith in the second quarter. But he rebounded a play later and knifed a pass to his receiver through a tight window to convert on third down. He later stepped up in the pocket and hit A.J. Brown for 15 yards on third-and-10. Hurts was great against the blitz in the first half, completing 7 of 8 passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, according to Next Gen Stats.
Saquon Barkley carries the ball for the Eagles in the second quarter at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
Running back: C
Saquon Barkley was held to 68 yards on 19 carries, a 3.6-yard average. He ran hard, but often into Bills bodies. Barkley should have had more success on the ground against one of the worst run defenses in the league. He did rip off a 16-yard gain when he got skinny through an inside crease before the half.
Tank Bigsby spelled a dinged-up Barkley briefly in the second quarter. He ran two times for 7 yards and caught a pass for 2 yards. Will Shipley had a couple of rushes on coward’s draws.
Receiver/tight end: B-
Wide receiver A.J. Brown was great in the first half, catching 5 of 7 targets for 68 yards. But he, like most of the passing game, was grounded in the second half. Brown eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving in the first half. He has accomplished the feat in each of his four seasons in Philly. Brown got open for a 27-yard grab on a corner route in the first quarter. He should have drawn a penalty on a Hurts floater into the end zone before the half, but cornerback Tre’Davious White appeared to get away with pass interference.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown splashes down after making a catch during the first quarter against the Bills.
DeVonta Smith finished with just two receptions for 25 yards. He nearly made a tremendous grab on a jump ball in the third quarter, but a Bills challenge that he didn’t complete the process overturned the 17-yard gain. The Eagles may have gotten hosed on the replay. Smith got hurt on the play, but he returned. He picked up yards after the catch on a 14-yard reception before the half.
Tight end Dallas Goedert scored his 11th touchdown of the season — tying a franchise mark for tight ends — when he got wide-open on a play-action pass from under center. Goedert had a poor block when Barkley was dropped in the backfield in the fourth quarter.
Offensive line: C
The run blocking was up and down. There were some nice combo zone blocks that helped spring Barkley into the second level, but there also were too many negative-yard rushes — again. The pass protection was mostly sound, especially in the first half.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scrambles in the second quarter as Tyler Steen blocks for him.
But the Eagles kept getting into third-and-long situations in the second half and Hurts was pressured. The O-line, for instance, failed to pick up a four-man simulated pressure that resulted in Hurts having to take a sack in the third quarter.
Fred Johnson filled in for the injured Lane Johnson (foot) for a sixth straight game. His day got off to a rough start when he ran onto the field without his helmet and had to hustle off and back on. Johnson kept Bills edge rusher Joey Bosa from wrecking the game. He also sealed the edge on Barkley’s 8-yard run to the right in the first quarter. Left tackle Jordan Mailata locked down his side in pass protection.
Right guard Tyler Steen failed to block a blitzing Matt Milano long enough on a fourth-quarter third down, which resulted in another Hurts throwaway. Left guard Landon Dickerson had a vise grip on a Barkley 10-yard pickup in the third quarter. He allowed an early pressure after the Bills ran a stunt.
Cam Jurgens’ struggles on under-center runs continued. In the third quarter, the center got dusted and Barkley was dropped for a loss. Jurgens and Steen opened the hole on Barkley’s 16-yard tote up the middle.
The Eagles’ Jalyx Hunt tackles Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the second quarter.
Defensive line: A
The Eagles kept the NFL’s leading rusher, James Cook, in check. He finished with just 74 yards on 20 carries. The front played a huge role in limiting Cook on the ground, but it was more impressive in harassing quarterback Josh Allen all game. He was sacked five times and did little damage with his legs.
Jalyx Hunt had a breakout performance with two sacks and seven total tackles. He used an inside stunt to get to Allen and sack him on third down on the Bills’ opening drive. Hunt earned his second takedown when he dropped the elusive quarterback for a 19-yard loss in the fourth quarter. Hunt might have saved an Allen house-call run in the second quarter had he not tripped up the quarterback. A few plays later, he drew a holding penalty on a running play.
Defensive tackle Jalen Carter returned after missing three games and made an impact, despite his ailing shoulders. He completely destroyed Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence with an inside rush before sacking Allen before the half. And Carter blocked another kick when he got a hand on the Bills’ lone extra-point try.
Outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips was credited with the sack when Allen lost the ball outside the pocket in the first quarter. Phillips injured his left leg in the second quarter, but he didn’t miss a series. He failed to set the edge on a Cook 10-yard rush in the third quarter.
Defensive tackle Jordan Davis didn’t notch a tackle until the second half, but Davis was a beast vs. the run throughout the game. Moro Ojomo got in on the sack party by getting to Allen in the third quarter.Outside linebacker Nolan Smith had a relatively quiet game.
Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell celebrates his recovery of a fumble by Buffalo’s Josh Allen in the first quarter.
Linebacker: A-
Jihaad Campbell played in place of the injured Nakobe Dean (hamstring). It was his first start since October. Campbell had tight coverage on Cook on a pass that Allen was forced to throw wide of his target. He chased down Allen’s fumble after Phillips’ strip-sack.
Zack Baun was outstanding. He stopped a scrambling Allen short of the goal line on fourth down in the third quarter and had a number of stops on Cook runs. Baun had the flat covered when Allen was forced to throw the ball away when blitzed in the third quarter.
Quinyon Mitchell had a couple of tough breaks, but mostly locked down his side of the field. His third-down pass interference on receiver Joshua Palmer gifted the Bills 26 yards in the third quarter. Mitchell missed an early run tackle attempt but did much better the next time the Bills ran in his direction.
Cooper DeJean was excellent and led the Eagles in tackles with nine. He blew up a third-down screen late in the game. DeJean wasn’t fooled by two early backside throws to the flat and made open-field tackles. Adoree’ Jackson had a solid day in coverage, but Khalil Shakir ran over him after a short catch in the fourth quarter.
Eagles safety Reed Blankenship (32) and cornerback Cooper DeJean celebrate a stop in the second quarter.
Safety: B+
Aside from one deep breakdown, the Eagles didn’t get beaten downfield much. Reed Blankenship appeared to have vacated the deep middle when Allen hit Brandin Cooks 50 yards downfield in the first quarter. He delivered a textbook tackle after Shakir caught a check-down pass in the second quarter.
Marcus Epps made impressive back-to-back plays in the third quarter, stopping a receiver short of the goal line and tackling Cook in the backfield. Cooks caught a 36-yard pass over Epps late in the game.Epps also had a holding penalty on an early third down.
Special teams: A
Kicker Jake Elliott bounced back and made all three of his kicks, including a 47-yard field goal in the rain that split the uprights in the second quarter. Elliott became the second kicker in team history to top 1,000 career points, joining David Akers. He had a good kickoff in the landing zone that rolled into the end zone for a touchback at the 20-yard line.
Punter Braden Mann was the special teams MVP. His seven punts traveled an average of 55.4 yards and 45.4 net yards. Mann somehow got a 50-yard punt off from the back of the end zone in the third quarter. His first punt traveled 54 yards without a return. Mann also boomed a 62-yarder through the heavy rain in the third quarter.
Britain Covey fair caught 4 of 5 punts. He got dinged when the Bills’ Sam Franklin ran into him — drawing a 15-yard penalty — after he signaled for a fair catch in the second quarter.
Shipley averaged 24.5 yards on two kick returns.
Kicker Jake Elliott (4) and punter Braden Mann (10) had strong games against the Bills.
Coaching: B-
Nick Sirianni‘s Eagles escaped Western New York with a nice win over a quality opponent. The second half was a nail-biter, partly because the offense was stagnant. But Sirianni’s defense delivered despite having to keep trudging back onto the field following one three-and-out after the other.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo had a nice first half calling plays. He was too conservative at times. Patullo dialed up a nice drive after Allen’s first-quarter fumble and finished it off with yet another red zone touchdown. The rain obviously affected the play-calling, but a draw to Shipley on an early third down seemed too conservative, as did a third-down screen when the Eagles settled for a field goal before the break.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio helmed another master class. He kept Allen guessing for most of the game and used a ferocious pass rush to hound the quarterback. If the Eagles are to repeat as champions it will likely be on the shoulders of their defense.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Once again, the Eagles defense dragged the offense to the finish line.
The Eagles squeaked out a 13-12 victory over the Buffalo Bills on a cold, rainy evening at Highmark Stadium thanks to Vic Fangio’s dominant unit. Despite taking a 13-0 lead in the first half, the Eagles punted on all five of their possessions in the second, routinely putting their defense in difficult situations.
The Bills notched touchdowns on two straight drives — both on Josh Allen Tush Pushes — late in the fourth quarter. Bills head coach Sean McDermott opted to go for two to win it, but Allen’s pass intended for Khalil Shakir sailed too far in front of the receiver. Dallas Goedert recovered the ensuing onside kick with four seconds remaining to seal the win.
Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ third straight victory:
Allen’s costly turnover
The Bills had early momentum on their second possession, but squandered it to set the tone for much of the first three quarters.
They were just outside the red zone, thanks to Allen’s 50-yard completion to wide receiver Brandin Cooks. On second-and-3 from the Eagles’ 23-yard line, Allen faked a handoff to running back James Cook, then rolled out to his right. He had Jalen Carter in his face, forcing Allen to scramble away.
As Allen fled Carter, he attempted to tuck the football, but Jaelan Phillips knocked it out of his grasp. The ball bounced past midfield, where Jihaad Campbell fell on it, beating Bills right guard O’Cyrus Torrence to the ball.
Eagles linebacker Jihaad Campbell recovers a fumble by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the first quarter Saturday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.
“We knew Josh Allen could continue to extend plays,” Nick Sirianni said postgame. “And the way we pursued to the ball showed how good of shape [the defense is] in. It showed how relentless they are.
“I tell them, I always say, ‘Hey, talented teams that play with great attention to detail — which we have some things to clean up — that play together and play with relentless effort, those teams are hard to beat.’”
The Eagles made Allen pay for his mistake. On the second play of the drive, Jalen Hurts completed a 27-yard deep ball to A.J. Brown with Bills safety Cole Bishop and cornerback Christian Benford trailing in his wake to bring the Eagles to the Bills’ 14.
Hurts eventually went back to his favorite red-zone target — Goedert. The 30-year-old tight end hauled in a pass in the end zone from Hurts out of an under-center play action look in 14 personnel (four tight ends, including depth tackle Matt Pryor).
The Eagles went up, 7-0, on the heels of Allen’s blunder.
Defense does its best
Fangio’s unit ensured that Allen was under duress for the majority of the game.
The pass rush gave him fits. Allen was sacked five times — twice by Jalyx Hunt and once each by Phillips, Moro Ojomo, and Carter.
Carter, the 24-year-old defensive tackle, made his return to action after a three-week layoff because of a pair of shoulder injuries. He dominated the Bills’ offensive line, notching his sack when he obliterated Torrence on his way to Allen in the second quarter. Carter also had a critical extra point block after Buffalo scored its first touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter.
Jalen Carter and Saquon Barkley celebrate after the Eagles defense stopped the Buffalo Bills on a two-point conversion attempt late in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles were the more physical team. On the play following Carter’s sack, Reed Blankenship crashed down on a short pass to Shakir over the middle and stuffed him, forcing the Bills to go three-and-out.
Late in the third quarter, the Eagles defense bent but didn’t break. Quinyon Mitchell had a shaky drive, getting flagged for pass interference and then conceding a 32-yard catch at the hands of wide receiver Terrell Shavers to the Eagles’ 7-yard line.
The Eagles didn’t blink and mustered a goal-line stand. On third-and-goal from the 2, Marcus Epps stuffed Cook for a loss of a yard. Allen attempted to scramble on the ensuing fourth down, but Zack Baun tackled him short of the goal line to force a turnover on downs.
Allen wasn’t finished making costly plays. On the Bills’ next possession, on third-and-8 from the Eagles’ 27, Hunt sacked Allen for a loss of 19 yards. The 24-year-old outside linebacker’s play pushed the Bills out of field-goal range and forced them to punt.
The Bills had opportunity after opportunity to mount their comeback. Allen tried to pull it off with his arm, going 23-for-35 for 262 yards, his fifth-best performance in terms of passing yards this season. Still, the Eagles defense prevented Buffalo from scoring on four of their six drives in the second half, leading to the Bills’ second home loss of the season.
“We’re just resilient,” Hunt said. “We trust each other, no matter what, the ups and downs. Nobody gets to bickering on the sideline. We know it’s a close game. We’re built for close games. So we just keep playing football.”
Offense sits back
After punting on their first two possessions of the game, the Eagles offense got going. They scored points on all three of their possessions following Allen’s fumble — the Goedert touchdown and two Jake Elliott field goals (for 47 and 28 yards).
The Eagles were balanced in the first half on offense. The run game averaged 4.0 yards per carry, with Saquon Barkley averaging 4.6. Hurts was fairly efficient in the passing game, going 13-for-20 for 110 yards and the touchdown throw to Goedert. Brown eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards on the season with his five receptions for 68 yards in the first half.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts tries to push through Bills defenders in the third quarter.
The second half was a different story. The Eagles punted on all five possessions, collecting just 17 yards of offense in that span. The Eagles went three-and-out on four of those drives.
The Bills eventually capitalized on the strong field position afforded them by the struggling Eagles offense. After the Eagles went three-and-out for a fourth time, ending their drive at their own 24, the Bills started the following possession from their own 46. They marched down the field, capping it off with a Allen Tush Push for a touchdown to make it 13-6, Eagles.
Negative plays wrecked the Eagles. Barkley had eight carries for 17 yards in those five possessions, averaging 2.1 yards per play. Hurts did not complete a pass on seven drop backs in the second half. After the game, Hurts acknowledged the disparity in the level of execution between halves.
“I think we got into a good rhythm and good groove,” Hurts said of the first half. “We were able to move the ball down the field in the first half and in the second half, there are a lot of things that I have to watch the tape on to be able to pinpoint obviously maintaining aggression is one thing and maintaining rhythmic ball play. Then just going out there and executing, ultimately. So you always look yourselves in the mirror with that.”
SEATTLE ― Mike Gartner once said, “Goals for me are a little like bananas; they come in bunches.”
Considering that the pure goal scorer finished his Hall of Fame career with 708, that’s a lot of potassium.
It summarizes Owen Tippett’s start to the year. And yes, he has heard the quote.
“I don’t know if it’s anything in particular or it’s just nice to see one go in and it gives you the confidence going forward,” he said. “But definitely, I definitely feel that way at times.”
In the first 36 games of the season, the forward has 11 goals and 22 points. Five of those goals came in the first seven games of the season, and two have come in the last three games — which means 26 games in the middle saw him find the back of the net just four times.
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet recently said Tippett is chasing consistency and wants to see him stack games. But it’s not just goal scoring, it’s about playing well overall. Essentially, he wants to see him lay a strong foundation — brick by brick.
“Yeah, for me, it’s just the details,” Tocchet said at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday. I think he’s been starting to play real well. [Denver] Barkey has helped him, and [Sean Couturier], and I think the line’s been pretty good for us.
Flyers right wing Owen Tippett scoring a third-period goal against Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko.
“I think Tipp, there’s the little things for him, he can stay detailed, he looks really good out there, especially off the neutral zone or off the rush — that’s what his talent is. But I still think there’s stuff around the net, in the slot … that he’s getting better at, and we’re going to keep working with him when it comes to those things.”
It’s been only three games, but the line of Tippett, Barkey, and Couturier has been off to a hot start.
Among Flyers lines that have played at least 20 minutes together this season, Money Puck has the trio No. 2 in expected goals percentage (73.3%). They are tied for eighth in expected goals (2.2) and have the fourth-best expected goals against (0.8).
According to Natural Stat Trick, when they are on the ice at five-on-five, the Flyers have 61.29% of the shot attempts, including 10 high-danger chances to just four against. They have outshot opponents across their almost 28 minutes together, 19-8, have had 17 scoring chances to nine against, and have two goals to one allowed.
Both of the goals were scored by Tippett.
“We try to talk a lot, as much as possible,” Couturier said. “Me being in the middle, try to control the play as much as I can and let him use his feet wide when he can. And then offensively, I think it’s just about finding the support areas and the open areas to create some chances, some opportunities.
“Lately, with Denver joining our line, it’s been clicking. He’s a smart little player who makes a lot of good little plays. So, yeah, just trying to build, and I think we have a lot of potential as a line to grow, and it’s fun to be a part of.”
The trio is having fun, and Tippett has been excelling lately. He scored a highlight-reel goal against the Vancouver Canucks, whom the Flyers play in British Columbia on Tuesday. And while Tippett is dazzling to watch when he can get into open ice, Tocchet says the next step for the 6-foot-1, 210-pound winger is to bury pucks around the net.
But it all comes down to consistency.
“I think, obviously, there’s a little bit of a kind of dip there, I think halfway through the first half,” he said. “I guess, but I’m feeling better about it now.”
“I think just doing everything I can to be ready,” he added when asked what he’s doing to try and be more consistent. “Obviously, body first, and making sure the mindset stays the same each and every game, no matter kind of what happens game to game or even within a game.”
Considering that Tippett has four goals in nine career games against the Seattle Kraken, whom the Flyers play on Sunday (8 p.m., NBCSP), it’s not a bad place to keep stacking.
“He’s a hot streak type of guy. He’s got a [heck] of a shot,” Tocchet said. “Sometimes I’d like to see him kind of just hit the net a little bit more, because he’s got a [heck] of a shot. You don’t have to be so fine sometimes.”
“A lot of goal scorers, they can hit the little orange in the net type of thing. But sometimes you just got to shoot it like it’s a basketball and the goals will go in.”
Breakaways
The Flyers will sport the same lineup that they’ve been using for the last few games. It means Barkey and defenseman Travis Sanheim, who each left the last game in Chicago before the holiday break early, are good to go. … Dan Vladař will get the start in goal against the Kraken. The Czech netminder is 7-1-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and .905 save percentage against the team from the Pacific Northwest.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Chet Holmgren had 29 points and nine rebounds, and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the second half for a 129-104 victory over the 76ers on Sunday, ending a two-game skid.
Holmgren made 12 of 17 shots, including 2 of 4 from three-point range for Oklahoma City (27-5), which was coming off consecutive losses to the San Antonio Spurs.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points, five assists and two steals, and Jalen Williams added 14 points and six assists for the NBA-leading Thunder.
Gilgeous-Alexander made 10 of 13 field goals and shot 7 for 9 from the line before sitting out the fourth quarter. He scored at least 20 points for the 103rd consecutive game.
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey (left) led the team in scoring with 28 points against the Thunder.
Tyrese Maxey scored 28 points, Quentin Grimes had 13 and former Oklahoma City star Paul George added 12 for the Sixers (16-14), which played without injured starter Joel Embiid (ankle). Philadelphia committed 23 turnovers leading to 31 Oklahoma City points.
George received a warm welcome from the Oklahoma City crowd. His 2019 trade to the Clippers helped shape the NBA champion Thunder, who received Gilgeous-Alexander and later Williams in the deal.
The Thunder made their first nine field goals, but Maxey helped the Sixers keep it close with 23 first-half points. His three-pointer with 1 minute, 42 seconds left in the second quarter gave Philadelphia a 61-59 lead. But Gilgeous-Alexander’s 13-footer with 36.2 seconds left gave Oklahoma City a 64-62 lead at the break.
Oklahoma City took control in the third quarter, outscoring Philadelphia 38-24 for a 102-86 lead heading into the fourth. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 points in the third before taking a seat.
The Sixers continue their roadtrip with the Memphis Grizzlies up next on Tuesday night (8 p.m., NBC10, Peacock).
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Zach Charbonnet ran for 110 yards and two touchdowns as the Seattle Seahawks turned two third-quarter Carolina turnovers into TDs to beat the Panthers, 27-10, Sunday and close in on the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Sam Darnold threw an interception in the end zone but finished 18 of 27 for 147 yards with a touchdown for the Seahawks, who can wrap up the NFC West title and the top seed if the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams both lose or tie.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba added nine catches for 72 yards as Seattle (13-3) won its sixth straight.
The Panthers (8-8) had a chance to win the NFC South because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost, 20-17, at Miami on Sunday. Now the Panthers will likely need to win at Tampa Bay next weekend to win their first division title since 2015 and snap a seven-year playoff drought. Carolina could still claim the division with a loss to the Bucs if the Atlanta Falcons (6-9) win their final two games.
Bryce Young was limited to 54 yards on 14-of-24 passing and threw an interception for the inconsistent Panthers, who followed up a win with a loss for the fifth straight time. Young ran for 30 yards and accounted for Carolina’s only touchdown with a 10-yard scamper.
Carolina was limited to 139 yards of offense.
After an ugly first half that ended in a 3-3 tie, the Seahawks took control in the third quarter thanks to their defense.
DeMarcus Lawrence recovered a fumble by Chuba Hubbard deep in Carolina territory and Charbonnet cashed in with a 2-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing possession, Young’s pass to a Tetairoa McMillan was intercepted by Julian Love, leading to Darnold’s 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end AJ Barner.
The Panthers, who were held to 72 yards in the first three quarters, responded with a 13-play, 69-yard drive. Young scored on a 10-yard run to cut Seattle’s lead to 17-10.
The Panthers’ defense appeared ready to get off the field on Seattle’s next possession, but two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaycee Horn was flagged for grabbing Smith-Njigba’s facemask on a third-down reception on third-and-21, more than 15 yards behind the first-down marker.
That gave Seattle a first down and the Seahawks cashed in with Jason Myers’ 30-yard field goal to make it a two-possession game with eight minutes remaining.
Seattle sacked Young twice on the ensuing possession to get the ball back, and Charbonnet sealed it with his second TD run.
OKLAHOMA CITY — VJ Edgecombe’s patience on the court is undeniable.
One might expect the third overall pick in June’s NBA draft to be anxious about making an impact. But the 6-foot-5 shooting guard picks his spots while deferring to Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and Paul George, the 76ers’ three maximum-salary players.
“The ultimate goal is just winning,” Edgecombe said. “I just want to win, to be honest. I know I was picked [No. 3], but they brought me here just so I can make plays. We have three prolific scorers. I don’t have to score the ball. I have to pick my times, but I must stay aggressive also. But I’m also a player that just wants to win.
“So whatever that takes, if it takes me guarding the best players on the defensive end, if that takes me playmaking, whatever, getting in the paint just to make plays for everyone else, I will do that.”
Staying aggressive has made him a human highlight film with his high-flying dunks. And it allows him to showcase his overall skill set when needed. Folks are still raving about his season-opening performance against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Oct. 22.
That night, the 20-year-old scored 34 points to help lead the Sixers to victory. The performance placed him in the same rarified air as Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain and future Hall of Famer LeBron James.
It was the third-highest scoring debut in NBA history behind Chamberlain’s 43 points on Oct. 24, 1959, and Frank Selvy’s 35 on Nov. 30, 1954. Edgecombe’s 14 first-quarter points set a record for the most in the opening period of an NBA debut, surpassing James’ 12 points on Oct. 29, 2003.
But that was Embiid’s first game since February of last season, and George was sidelined with left-knee injury management. So the Sixers needed Edgecombe’s scoring prowess. Since then, the rookie has shown his scoring ability in spurts. Sometimes he’ll dominate play in a quarter or for a half — when needed. But other than that, Edgecombe defers to the Big Three.
Sixers guard VJ Edgecombe is averaging 15.8 points a game.
He took averages of 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.2 steals into Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Paycom Center.
“It comes with patience,” he said. “It comes with just learning the game. I know as the No. 3 pick, but I’m on a team with people that can do that. They can score 30 a night. I can still score. I just want to win. Whatever it takes, that’s the most important thing.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse praised Edgecombe for having a “really good feel for the game.” He noted that the rookie doesn’t get sped up during games. Still, Nurse would not mind seeing more.
“I would say, I probably would lean on him to be a little bit more aggressive,” the coach said. “I think there’s more opportunities for him to use his abilities, especially in transition, up the floor, etc.
“So, again, great feel for it. You know me well enough that I’m always pushing these guys to go a little bit more on the aggressive side, not necessarily for their own shots, but just to play-make. Get in there and draw two defenders, draw three defenders. Figure out how to start doing that and make the right play, create on offense.”
