April 16, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Somehow this incredible catch was only the third most notable play in the Eagles' win over the Jaguars.
For one day I thought we'd take a break from draft speculation, and remember some of the under-the-radar great plays from the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl season.
Since we all remember the big moments from the playoffs, the following 10 moments I picked out all happened during the regular season, and yes, I'm sure that many of you remember them well. We could really do a whole lot more than 10, but these were the 10 that I came up with. We'll do this in chronological order.
Facing a two-point deficit in the third quarter in Brazil, Blankenship made the pivotal play of the game:
Saquon Barkley scored on a TD run on the ensuing possession, and the Eagles never relinquished the lead.
Two weeks later, Blankenship ended the game on an INT of Derek Carr:
Blankenship kinda had something of an under-the-radar great season.
With two minutes left in the game, the Browns possessing just one timeout, and the Eagles facing a 2nd and 11, Jalen Hurts threw up a deep shot to A.J. Brown, ending the game.
Great throw, great catch.
But, certainly a questionable decision. If the Eagles got any kind of first down and were tackled in bounds, game over. Or, alternatively, if they simply ran it twice, the Browns would have likely gotten the ball back with about a minute left deep in their own end, needing their garbage quarterback to drive the field for a touchdown.
A shot play deep down the sideline was a low-percentage play that honestly didn't make a lot of sense. It was revealed after the game that Hurts checked to the play at the line of scrimmage, much like he did against the Seahawks in 2023 on a deep shot that resulted in a game-ending INT.
That play was almost like when your 8-year-kid launches a 30-footer in a basketball game, that goes in. You're like, "NO NO NO NO NO NO GREAT SHOT!"
Ultimately, the 2024 Eagles were different. They made the big plays in big moments.
The following week, Hurts dialed up another deep shot down the sideline to Brown, this time on 4th and 3 from the Giants' 41-yard line.
Again, great throw, great catch.
Late in the third quarter, the Bengals went for it on 4th and 1, and they dialed up a short pass in the flat to Ja'Marr Chase. Cooper DeJean not only diagnosed the play, but made a tough tackle on the Bengals' best player for a turnover on downs.
That was a moment where it felt like, "Oh hey, that kid might already be pretty good."
The Jaguars game will always be remembered for Saquon Barkley backwards hurdling a guy, and secondarily by Nakobe Dean intercepting Trevor Lawrence to seal it.
Somehow, DeVonta Smith's incredible one-handed toe-tap catch was only the third-most notable moment in that game.
The Eagles recently went like a half decade in which no receivers made a catch anywhere near that impressive.
The Eagles blew out the Cowboys in Dallas last season, but the Cowboys had a chance to take an early lead in that game. Zack Baun and C.J. Gardner-Johnson made sure that didn't happen.
The Eagles were outstanding at forcing turnovers all season, and this was a particularly great game by Baun, who of course was an NFL Defensive Player of the Year nominee.
With 8 minutes left in the game and the Eagles clinging to a two-point lead, the Commanders went for it on 4th and 2 at the Eagles' 25-yard line.
Jalen Carter got immediate pressure, forcing Jayden Daniels to flee, Blankenship forced Daniels to stretch the play even further outside, and Baun finished him off with a physical hit.
The Eagles played great team defense all season, and the above play was a great example of that.
CJGJ had kind of a monster game against the Panthers on a day the Eagles as a team didn't play all that well. He had an INT, and he got hurt pretty badly... twice... but still returned to the field. He also had this monster hit on Xavier Legette.
Bang. He was such a tough player for the Eagles last season.
The final drive of the Eagles' win over the Steelers ate up the entire rest of the clock (10:26 in game time), plus all three of the Steelers' timeouts, plus the two-minute warning. 21 plays, 88 yards, and some of the grimiest 10+ minutes of football you'll see in today's NFL.
The Eagles actually only had three drives in the second half. They were as follows:
That would be 47 plays, 209 yards, 24:10, lol. They out-bullied teams with bully reputations, like the Steelers and Ravens.
MORE: Eagles pre-draft takeaways from Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni
After Hurts was concussed in Maryland against the Commanders, the Eagles turned to Kenny Pickett the following week against the Cowboys, in a game that still had importance.
Pickett completed 10 of 15 passes for 143 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs, and a QB rating of 119.6.
When Pickett left with an injury to his ribs, Tanner McKee entered and completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, and a QB rating of 156.2.
And, of course, Brown launched McKee's first-ever TD pass into the crowd, which an Eagles fan then returned to Brown to give to McKee.
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