NFL ASSKISS: EAGLES SAINTS: THE GRIT, THE GRIME, THE FAKE PUNT I CALLED AND THE BRILLIANCE OF THE SAINTS DEFENSE

EAGLES V. SAINTS
       It wasn't easy in the Big Easy.
       It wasn't even pretty, or always entertaining, but this gritty, grimy and physical game in New Orleans between two aggressive head coaches, with their in-your-face defenses, seasoned veteran quarterbacking and varied offensive attacks, was a bludgeoning battle that belied any of the "shootout" predictions people gave it.
      Although even I had each team scoring more points, yet the defenses and the big play ended the Eagles magical run under backup QB Nick Foles, the Saints survived  20-14 by the skin of their nuts.

         In the preview article, I called for the Eagles to intercept Brees (check), rough him up (check) but that the Saints would inevitably win the game as the front of the Eagles  (Cox, Long and Michael Bennett) would slow down as the game went on (also check).
       And they did: we watched on as Fletcher Cox limped on and off the field numerous times, putting his body on the line completely for his team. Though Cox  did it all in vain as he finished with 0 sacks, Jerrigan and My Morning Jacket Superfan  Chris Long both assisted each other on a sack of Brees and the Eagles finished with 2 sacks total on Brees and none of the two happened when it mattered.
       The game however, was decided in the 2nd quarter:
      Despite their valiant effort, The Eagles will rue the missed opportunity to go into the half with 17 or even 21 points on the board and the ball coming out for the second half kickoff:

       Down 14-0, Saints coach Sean Payton (never afraid to gamble) knew he needed to swing the momentum back to his team as Foles and the Eagles started the game in opportunistic fashion and he feared what would happen if he gave them the ball again. So, on 4th and 1 from their own 30 yard line, former BYU quarterback Taysum Hill took the snap on the punt, fooling the Eagles special teams unit and ploughed ahead for the necessary yardage, setting up Brees and co. who  scored a touchdown later in the drive, cutting the Eagles lead 14-7.
      Also with a 14-0 lead with 13:35 left in the 2nd quarter, Philadelphia squandered another huge moment on the Saints 21 yard line after another New Orleans 3 and out, only for Nick Foles to throw an interception to Saints defensive back Marshon Lattimore, who made an acrobatic and incredible play on the ball.
     These plays decided The outcome of this game...the Eagles couldn't recover from missing opportunities like that.  That's how they won the Super Bowl outscoring Tom Brady....and to not capitalize may have had a psychological effect as they looked across the sideline at the quarterback on the other team.
     The score stayed 14-10 going into the half.
       And the Eagles wouldn't score another point for the rest of the night. It was a 17 point swing that decided this game...
       Saints running back Mark Ingram delivered the busting, gashing second half runs up the gut that I predicted in our preview article, while weapon-out-of-the-back Alvin Kamara was a ghost for most of the game thanks to Philly's great defense, but found the spaces and (most importantly) Drew Brees made the incredible and perfectly timed screen pass throws to the Pro Bowl  running back, who contributed with 71 important yards.

Brees throwing an interception on the first play of scrimmage to Eagles cornerback LeBlanc.

      And, after the interception on the opening play, Brees went into overdrive finishing 28  out of 38 for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns, while his overlooked longtime receiver Michael Thomas delivered in the clutch as the best Saints player on the day: Thomas had 171 yards on 12 catches, repeatedly killing the depleted Eagles defense on 3rd down and long.
      It was a theme in the second half: after a duo of quality defensive snaps and effort by Philly, on 3rd downs they had no alternative but to sit back and watch a future Hall of Fame quarterback gut them time and time again.

         The Eagles fought hard, yet Foles was exposed as a limited quarterback when dealing with expert secondary who rose to the challenge and proved my assessment wrong, calling it the weakest part of their defense in the preview. They even shut down the dump off screen to Eagles tailback and former Saints tailback Darren Sproles, stuffing him to 3 catches for 21 yards. Lattimore even got his hands on another interception  (his 3rd against the Eagles this season) after a horrific drop by Eagles Super Bowl hero Alshon Parkey (I mean...Jeffrey, right?) that all but crucified Philly.

       We always think we know what's going to happen in these NFL Playoffs, yet even when the predictable teams get through, the ways in which it happens can stun us all.
        Only the biggest Colts haters thought they would come out to Kansas City and plummet like Christopher Walken falling out of the blimp at the end of A View to A Kill; only the most analytical LA fans knew C.J Anderson would put up 130+ rushing yards and topple the young Cowboys defense. I wanna know who saw a 35-7 Patriots lead who doesn't live in the Northeastern part of the country?
          Shit, we got 2 out of 4. That isn't too bad.
         It's all a delusion.
         An illusion....
         And ain't it fun?