PHILADELPHIA _ Jake Elliott hit a 35-yard field goal to save the game _ and the season _ for the Eagles in a 32-30 win over the Houston Texans on Sunday. The Eagles ensured they'll still have a chance for the playoffs in the final week of the season even though they gave up a 13-point fourth-quarter lead before Nick Foles led them on a game-winning drive.
Facing a third-and-10 at the Eagles' 11-yard line and the season on the line, Foles hung in the pocket and found Alshon Jeffery for a 17-yard gain. He was pummeled to the ground by Texans pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who was flagged with a late hit. But Foles didn't stand up after the hit, laying on the turf and requiring attention from the training staff. He missed one play, but was able to return to the game. Foles converted a 20-yard pass to Zach Ertz and Darren Sproles had a 16-yard rush to bring the Eagles to field goal range.
The game was not over. The season was not over.
Elliott's kick went through the uprights as time expired. The Eagles advanced to 8-7, and they go to Washington next week needing a win and a Minnesota loss to Chicago to secure a wild-card bid. Had Elliott missed the kick, the Eagles would have been eliminated.
Whether it happens, it's an impressive turnaround during an inconsistent season for a team that appears like it's recapturing last season's magic with Foles. They've now won four of five games.
Foles finished 35 of 49 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. Zach Ertz had 12 catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns, and also broke Jason Witten's single-season record for a tight end of 110 receptions in a season. Nelson Agholor led the team with 116 receiving yards and a score. Houston's Deshaun Watson went 29 of 40 for 339 yards, two passing touchdowns, and two rushing touchdowns.
After Elliott kicked a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter to tie the game at 16, the Eagles defense forced Houston to punt at midfield. From that point, it looked like it might be an easy win.
On the first play from scrimmage after the punt, Foles hurled the ball deep down the middle of the field. Agholor had run past Tyrann Mathieu and camped under the ball for the catch. There was nobody in front of him, and he could strut to the end zone for an 83-yard touchdown _ the longest play of the season for the Eagles.
The lead swelled when Chris Long sacked Watson and knocked the ball loose. Fletcher Cox recovered to give the Eagles the ball back at the Texans' 44-yard line. That set up a 23-yard touchdown by Ertz, with Ertz maneuvering through the Texans to show impressive run-after-catch ability. Jake Elliott missed the extra point, though, so the Eagles had a 29-16 lead instead of a 14-point lead. That mattered later in the game.
And when the Eagles stopped the Texans on fourth down with seven minutes remaining, the Eagles just needed to wind the clock down for the win.
Not these Eagles.
Josh Adams fumbled with 5 minutes, 20 seconds remaining to give the Texans the ball back, and Watson needed only 40 seconds to make it a one-possession game. He hit D'onta Foreman for a 20-yard touchdown, and it was suddenly a 29-23 game.
The Eagles offense did little to help. They went three-and-out, taking only 35 seconds off the clock. Houston took over with four minutes remaining.
That's when Watson's star continued to grow. On a third-and-11 at the Texans' 44-yard line, three Eagles pass rushers had a chance to sack Watson. He bounced off each one, connecting on a 22-yard pass to extend the drive. Two plays, Watson threw a strike to the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point gave the Texans the 30-29 lead.
The Eagles opened the game with such promise. They drove 77 yards on 13 plays, including three third-down conversions and a fourth-down conversion. The Eagles scored on a fourth-and-2 from the Texans' 37-yard line when Foles found Darren Sproles open along the sideline. Sproles took care of the rest, spring through Houston's defense and refusing to be tackled when he approached the end zone to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. Sproles handed the ball to baseball star Mike Trout, a devoted Eagles season-ticket holder.
The Texans could only respond with a field goal, but the Eagles lost their lead after Foles was stripped by Clowney inside the Eagles' red zone. Clowney recovered the fumble at the 5-yard line to set up a five-yard touchdown run by Watson. Houston missed the extra point.
The Eagles had a chance to go ahead when they set up for a third down at the six-yard line. They couldn't have believed it would be the first of 10 snaps inside the 10-yard line on that drive. The Eagles converted a fourth down to set up a first-and-goal from the 2-yard line. But after three consecutive plays without moving the ball, the Eagles were bailed out by a roughing-the-passer penalty that gave them a fresh set of downs. Although a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty, the Eagles still brought the ball down to the goal line. Pederson elected to go for the fourth down again. They scored again. Foles hit Ertz to give the Eagles a 13-9 lead before the Eagles went for the two-point conversion.
Foles was sacked on the conversion, but he was irate at the officials because Clowney dragged Foles down by the facemask. There was no flag. And it was the first of a series of flags that left the Lincoln Financial Field crowd with choice words for the officials.
Because on the ensuing drive, the Eagles were twice flagged for personal fouls. One of them was clear _ Tre Sullivan lowered his helmet _ but another was a roughing the passer on Brandon Graham that was far from egregious. He didn't even appear to drop his body weight on Watson. Almost everyone on the Eagles sideline jumped in disgust. That led to a six-yard touchdown rush by Watson to take the lead.
Although the Eagles passed midfield, they couldn't attempt a field goal before half because they couldn't get out of bounds before the clock expired in the first half.
They were able to get the field goal off before the clock expired in the second half, and that proved to be the difference.
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