PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Even with an exciting finish eerily similar to last January’s playoff game
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Even with another Philly Special, there wasn’t a whole lot to cheer about in the Eagles‘ 18-12 victory over the Falcons on Thursday night.
And even with a weather delay featuring some lightning before the Eagles and their fans could celebrate the unveiling of the banner for their first championship since 1960, this wasn’t exactly a sparkling display of football.
You can credit two pretty staunch defenses if you want. Yet despite neither team reaching 300 yards in total offense, neither D was dynamic because plays were there to be made. The offenses rarely could do so.
And then there were the penalties. Altogether, 30 points were scored — and two teams expected to contend for the NFL title compiled 26 penalties. It’s never a good sign when flags nearly equal points.
Hey, the Super Bowl champions gained 232 yards and gave away 101 in penalties. Atlanta, which must think there are hot coals lining the red zone at the Linc, gained 299 but had 135 yards in penalties.
“This stings for sure,” said Falcons coach Dan Quinn, who certainly knows that feeling after the Super Bowl collapse two seasons back against New England, and then last winter’s divisional playoff loss here that ended almost exactly the same way as Thursday night’s defeat. “We knew this would be a competitive fight that would come down to the end, and it did.”
Competitive? For sure.
Classic? Not even close.
“It wasn’t pretty
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What NFL fans got ultimately might be an indictment of the preseason.
In Julio Jones‘ case, it’s simple to say, “Who needs it?”
Jones didn’t play a down in August, but he was unstoppable against a Philadelphia defense that handled everyone else, especially the scatter-shot arm of Matt Ryan. While local native Ryan once again was struggling at the Linc, Jones still managed to make 10 receptions for 169 yards. Only when Atlanta got within the Eagles 20-yard line did Jones not dominate — in great part because Ryan kept making misguided throws.
Frankly, while Jones seemed to be in all-world form, Ryan — a virtual non-participant in the exhibition games — looked rusty.
The Eagles weren’t a whole lot better. Other than their opportunism and some creativity, they also were plagued by mistakes on both sides of the ball.
Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles caught another pass; it didn’t score a touchdown as the quarterback did against the Patriots, but it set up one of Jay Ajayi’s two TD runs. That was fun.
But the dropped passes, including some potential interceptions
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“It wasn’t a rhythmic game but we fought hard and did the job,” Foles said. “Winning isn’t easy, especially against Atlanta. It was a dogfight. Our defense did a great job.”
If this is a harbinger of what the other openers might look like on Sunday and Monday, fans might want to juggle their viewing schedules. Remember, virtually every team preserved regulars for the games that count. Unfortunately, that just might mean counting the number of flags that fly and errors that occur from Miami to Minneapolis, from Detroit to Denver, more so than the touchdowns going up on the scoreboard.
“We made a ton of mistakes today,” safety Malcolm Jenkins noted. “But every time we got out there
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The Eagles did, displaying the kind of resilience that helped them to last season’s title. The Falcons flopped again in a tight spot, though it’s inconceivable such a talented group will continue to get in its own way like this again.
“It just came down to closing really,” Atlanta cornerback Desmond Trufant said.
This was one opening show that artistically deserved to close after one night.
SAN FRANCISCO — Right-hander Jack Flaherty returns to the scene of his major league debut last September when he closes out a four-game series for the St. Louis Cardinals against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday afternoon.
Flaherty (3-4, 3.19 ERA) will attempt not only to give the Cardinals a 3-1 win in the four-game series but to reward manager Mike Matheny with his fifth series win in seven return visits to San Francisco, where he played the final two years of his career.
Matheny has never lost a series as a manager in San Francisco, winning four and tying the other two. He is assured of at least a tie in this one as well, with the Cardinals having posted 11-2 and 3-2 wins sandwiching a 3-2 loss on Friday night.
Flaherty was just 21 years old when he debuted for the Cardinals last Sept. 1 in an 11-6 win in San Francisco.
He did not get credit for the win, going only four innings, during which he was roughed up for five runs and eight hits. He’s thus 0-0 with an 11.25 ERA against the Giants.
Brandon Crawford doubled and homered against Flaherty, and Hunter Pence lashed a two-run triple.
The California native will be seeking to snap a two-game losing streak. He has allowed eight runs and 10 hits in 10 innings in losses to Cleveland and Arizona.
Flaherty will be backed by a Cardinals defense that has been superb against the Giants
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“That’s kind of the initiative we have going on right now: bolstering our defense,” Matheny noted Saturday. “Let’s play a cleaner defensive game. And then hope that we get contributions offensively. Let’s figure out ways to make sure we’re catching the ball to help reinforce the great starts that we’ve been getting.”
Luke Weaver, John Gant and Carlos Martinez have provided that pitching in San Francisco. The Giants have totaled just seven runs in the series, extending to six games their streak of scoring three or fewer.
Martinez even contributed an RBI double to Saturday’s win.
The Giants have hit a cumulative .167 in their last six games, five of which they’ve lost.
San Francisco will be counting on ace Madison Bumgarner (1-3, 2.58) to contribute both on the mound and at the plate in the series finale.
The Giants have supported their pitching leader with just 14 runs in his six starts. He hasn’t helped his own cause; the slugger with 17 career homers has gone 0-for-14 so far this season.
The left-hander has pitched brilliantly in his last three starts, allowing just three runs (two of which were earned) and 12 hits in 21 innings.
Bumgarner often has not been at his best against the Cardinals in his career, going 3-5 with a 4.38 ERA in eight starts. He hasn’t beaten St. Louis since 2014.
One player who has never figured out Bumgarner is Kolten Wong, who has been the big hitter in the series with six hits, including a double and a triple, and two RBIs.
He’s 0-for-9 with two strikeouts in his career against Bumgarner.
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