November 28, 2022
Kate Frese/for PhillyVoice
PHILADELPHIA - SEPTEMBER 19: A photo from the Philadelphia Eagles game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field on September 19, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Kate Frese for PhillyVoice)
When it comes to the NFL's best teams there are always signs that something special is going on.
On Sunday night in South Philadelphia, the overt was a hammer over the head in the form of 363 Eagles’ rushing yards, including career days from both Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders, during a 40-33 win over the Green Bay Packers, the most yardage piled up on the ground for this franchise since 1948.
It was something even stranger that made me look to the overcast skies to see if any stars had started aligning for Nick Sirianni’s league-best 10-1 team. In the week leading up to the game, always entertaining Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay noted something was missing in his prolific career, a GOAT Ball from superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Slay noted that he had victimized Tom Brady and Drew Brees over his 10-year career but Rodgers remained his white whale.
“He’s the only one I’m missing,” Slay said. “I hope he blesses me with one, but it’s going to be too hard. I know how he is, but if I do, he’s going on my Mount Rushmore.”
Slay, of course, started his career in Detroit and played with the Lions for his first seven seasons, something that got him and his teammates two chances at the four-time MVP each and every season. The problem, of course, is that no one has been better at protecting the football than Rodgers over the years. From 2013 to 2019, the time Slay spent in the Motor City, Rodgers threw a total of 38 interceptions over those seven seasons, less than six a year.
“He’s an animal, man. Besides Super Bowls, he’s probably one of the greatest ever at the quarterback position.”
Slay got Brady in 2018 and Brees three years prior to that. He was 0-for-15 against A-Rod, though.
“It’s hard,” Slay admitted. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you, I know how hard it is. It’s so damn hard. I know he’s just not going to throw it to me. He gave me a game jersey, so I might just put the game jersey in place of that in case I don’t get it.
“It’s hard to get them. He won’t just throw it to me. I wish he would. Some people just throw it to me. He doesn’t want to throw it to me. We’ll see though.”
The script was being written well in the first quarter when a strong rush from Javon Hargrave resulted in Rodgers being pressured into doing the unthinkable. He did throw it to Slay.
The Hollywood ending was there it was time to cut and end scene. The final GOAT Ball was being delivered to Slay.
The star CB didn’t finish the deal, though. The football bounced off Slay’s helmet and into the hands of Josiah Scott, whose career interception total entering Sunday night was zero.
Unlikely – Rodgers throwing a pick to one of the best CBs in football – turned into unbelievable – an unheralded backup victimizing the guy with the lowest interception rate ever.
If that’s not special enough for you, though, later in the game undrafted rookie Reed Blankenship, forced into action due to a rib injury to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, also got his first NFL interception at the expense of Rodgers.
That's not once every 54 years like a historic rushing attack. That's a once-in-a-lifetime anomaly.
Thanksgiving tends to be the demarcation line of any NFL season.
The contenders take the hint from the calendar to start separating themselves, the afterthoughts start tapping out with personnel decisions based on what’s going to happen next April, not the next 60 minutes, and the pretenders feel the sanitizing glare of sunlight only urgency can provide.
The Eagles really don’t fit in any of the categories, though.
To start, Sirianni’s team long ago established itself as contenders but the prior three games for the Eagles could be accurately described as a lull, a workmanlike performance against a terrible Houston team, the lone loss against limited Washington, and a grind-it-out win over an Indianapolis organization in disarray.
Sunday night was the market correction. Something special is going on.
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