PHILADELPHIA — Nick Foles threw a deep pass into the wind on the first play against the Falcons, LeGarrette Blount scored the only touchdown on fourth down and wide receiver Nelson Agholor ran 21 yards on a new play.
The Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) are aggressive no matter what.
COMING UP
WHAT: NFC championship game
WHO: Vikings at Eagles
WHEN: 6:40 p.m. Sunday
TV: FOX
They’ll need that approach when they face the Minnesota Vikings (14-3) and their top-ranked defense in the NFC championship game on Sunday.
“You’d probably call me unorthodox with some of the decisions I’ve made on fourth downs and going for it, 2-point conversions, things like that,” Eagles Coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. “Sometimes you just don’t do the norm, you just don’t do what everybody expects you to do and sometimes that can help you. I’m calculated by it, but at the same time, I’m going to make sure that I’m putting our guys in a good position.”
Foles underthrew the long pass to Torrey Smith to start the divisional playoff game, but a pass interference call gave the Eagles a 42-yard gain to the Falcons’ 25.
Jay Ajayi fumbled on the next play or perhaps the game wouldn’t have come down to a defensive stand at the end to preserve Philadelphia’s 15-10 win.
“Take a shot,” Pederson said explaining his decision to throw long.
On the touchdown drive early in the second quarter, Philadelphia faced third-and-3 from the Falcons’ 24. Foles faked a pitch to running back Corey Clement and handed off to Agholor on an inside counter with Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson pulling out and leading the way. Agholor took it to the 3. It was the first time Pederson called the play this season.
“Coach has just had a knack of seemingly calling those at the right time,” offensive coordinator Frank Reich said. “It comes up different every week. Sometimes we think we like something and we go out on the practice field and it doesn’t quite look like it’s ready. So, we have to keep it in the crock pot for another week or start over with a new recipe.”
Three plays later, tight end Trey Burton lined up at fullback and Blount followed his block into the end zone for a 1-yard TD run. Pederson didn’t think twice about going for it instead of kicking a tying field goal.
“The ball was just inside the 1-yard line, and we had confidence to go for it in that situation,” Pederson said.
During the regular season, only Green Bay (28) went for it on fourth down more than Philadelphia (26). The Eagles converted 17 times for 65.4 percent, third-best behind New Orleans (80 percent on 12 for 15) and Jacksonville (76.9 percent on 10 for 13). Minnesota is 1 for 7 on fourth down, fewest attempts in the league.
“You always want to be aggressive,” Foles said. “I love Coach’s calls.”
STEELERS: Todd Haley, who spent six seasons helping turn Pittsburgh’s offense into one of the most successful in the NFL, will not have his contract renewed.
Haley, whose father Dick spent two decades as Pittsburgh’s director of player personnel in the 1970s and 80s, was hired in 2012 and tasked with developing an offense around quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Though there appeared to be some tension between the two early in Haley’s tenure, the results rewrote much of the team record book.
The Steelers finished in the top seven in total offense in each of the past four seasons, including third in 2017.
Pittsburgh won three division titles and reached the playoffs in each of those seasons thanks in part to Haley’s play calling, the ascension of All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown to one of the best players in the league and the arrival and development of All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell.
Brown is the only player in NFL history with five consecutive seasons with at least 100 receptions. Bell is one of the best all-around backs in the league and his 406 touches in 2017 were 60 more than any other player.
Roethlisberger tied for the NFL lead in yards passing in 2014 and just as importantly saw the number of times he was sacked decrease substantially even as he put the ball in the air more frequently.
JETS: A person with direct knowledge of the decision says the Jets have fired offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season.
Morton’s firing means the Jets will have their sixth offensive coordinator in eight years next season.
SUPER BOWL: Referee Gene Steratore will lead the seven-person crew of on-field game officials working the Super Bowl. The other members of the officiating crew for the Feb. 4 game are Roy Ellison (umpire), Jerry Bergman (down judge), Byron Boston (line judge), Tom Hill (field judge), Scott Edwards (side judge) and Perry Paganelli (back judge).
DOLPHINS: Receiver Jarvis Landry says his negotiations with the team on a new contract have been “handled a bit disrespectful” but he still would like to remain with the franchise if they can agree on contract terms.
The Dolphins made an offer to Landry’s agent, Damarius Bilbo, in early December and Bilbo made a counter offer in mid-December. The Dolphins have not yet responded to that offer, Bilbo said.
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.