What We Saw: Week 11

Eagles @ Colts 

Final Score: Eagles 17, Colts 16

Writer: Mario Adamo Jr. (@marioadamojr on Twitter, /u/dotcaim on Reddit)

Entering today’s game the Colts were the only team to not score any opening drive points this season. That changed today when Jonathan Taylor and the Colts marched down the field and scored a touchdown putting them up 7-0 early. The next four combined drives would end in punts with nothing notable for either team. On the Eagles’ third drive they finally chewed some clock, drove down the field, and scored a field goal to bring it to 7-3. Another pair of punts would follow before the Colts managed to get a field goal with thirteen seconds left in the half, extending their lead to 10-3.

The Eagles needed something explosive to start the second half and ended up with a play blowing up in their face. On the first play of the third quarter, Jalen Hurts was hit from behind and fumbled the ball, giving the Colts the ball and excellent field position. The Eagles’ defense remained as strong as ever as they only allowed a field goal, 13-3 Colts. On their seventh drive, the Eagles marched down to the Colts’ 47-yard line, before a turnover on downs when Hurts was sacked on fourth down. Another pair of punts followed before McLaughlin missed a 50-yard field goal try in an attempt to extend the Colts’ lead.

With some momentum on their side, the Eagles finally marched down the field as Quez Watkins scored on a 22-yard catch, making it 13-10. As the Colts were looking to maintain position and build upon their lead, Jonathan Taylor had a rare fumble giving the Eagles the ball back. Not to be outdone, A.J. Brown fumbled just three plays later to give the Colts the ball back. The Colts drove all the way down to the Eagles’ 5-yad line before a 14-yard sack on third down squashed their chances at a touchdown. The Colts settled for the field goal to take a 16-10 lead.

On their last chance to avoid losing two straight games, the Eagles accelerated down the field with a defensive pass interference call in the direction of Miles Sanders for 39 yards. They followed it up with Sanders and Boston Scott rushes before Jalen Hurts ran it in himself giving the Eagles their first lead of the game with just over a minute remaining, 17-16. While Matt Ryan is no stranger to a late-game comeback, he’d fall short today as a sack on 3rd & 9 followed by a false start left the Colts in a 4th & 21 situation. A Deon Jackson catch for five yards wasn’t enough for the first down, as the Eagles complete their first comeback of 10 or more points in the fourth quarter since the Miracle in the Meadowlands against the Giants back in 2010.

Philadelphia Eagles

Quarterback

Jalen Hurts: 18/25, 190 Yards, TD | 16 Carries, 86 Yards, TD, 1 Fumble (Lost), 1 Fumble (Recovered)

In a game where the Eagles’ offense looked stagnant, Jalen Hurts still had 24.2 fantasy points. His fumble on the first play of the third quarter was something no Eagles fan wanted to see, but the defense held and kept the game within reach. His walk-in, game-winning touchdown was a thing of beauty. He continues to be an electric player to watch with his arm and his legs. His 16 carries were one short of all three Eagles’ running backs combined.

JALEN HURTS RUSHES HOME 😤😤!!
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.#NFL #NFLTwitter #NFLSunday #EaglesNation #Eagles #FlyEaglesFly #ForTheShoe #ColtsNation #Colts #Trending #Touchdown #Hurts pic.twitter.com/NgMfcpkeRV

— Daily Sports Home (@dailysporthome) November 20, 2022

Running Back

Miles Sanders: 13 Carries, 47 Yards | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 1 Yard

Boston Scott: 3 Carries, 8 Yards | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 4 Yards

Kenneth Gainwell: 1 Carry

Miles Sanders’ biggest play of the game was the defensive pass interference called in his direction on the Eagles’ eleventh drive. Those 39 yards gave them the field position and the momentum to allow Hurts to rush in a touchdown. Besides that, his biggest gain was a 10-yard rush on the third drive. The run game was pivotal on the eleventh drive as Sanders and Boston Scott each had three straight carries before a Hurts run got them within 10 yards of the goal line. Besides that the run game was lackluster, Sanders had three straight runs on the Eagles’ eighth drive resulting in a three-and-out. Kenneth Gainwell did not live up to his name as his only carry went for zero yards.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

DeVonta Smith: 9 Targets, 6 Receptions, 78 Yards

A.J. Brown: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 60 Yards, 1 Fumble (Lost)

Quez Watkins: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 31 Yards, TD

Zach Pascal: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Jack Stoll: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 7 Yards

It only took one catch for A.J. Brown to double his yards from last week. Brown was targeted early and often, including a 34-yard catch on the Eagles’ second drive. His two incompletions both came on the Eagles’ third drive. His fumble came just three plays into their tenth drive, right after they recovered a Taylor fumble. He still managed to get eight yards before the ball was punched out as he was fighting for extra yards. 

DeVonta Smith led the team in targets, receptions, and yards. Although he led the team in targets, all of his targets came early. He wasn’t targeted in the eighth, ninth, tenth, or final eleventh drive for the Eagles. On the seventh drive, he was targeted four times with receptions of 24, 10, and 9 yards. He also had big catches of 17 and 12 yards, both on the second drive. 

The speedster Quez Watkins caught the only touchdown of the receiving bunch, a 22-yard bomb on the Eagles’ ninth drive. He also had a nine-yard catch on the third drive. 

Although it was a revenge game, Zach Pascal was hardly a factor. He caught his only target during the fourth drive for nine yards. 

Jack Stoll hardly stepped up in the absence of Dallas Goedert, he brought in his only target in the second drive for seven yards. He was targetted twice on that drive, but the first was nullified by an ineligible player downfield. For what it’s worth he caught it for two yards. 

Hurts to Watkins! @Eagles pull within 3.

📺: #PHIvsIND on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/CMzpA9IhIB pic.twitter.com/q0xL7iA9du

— NFL (@NFL) November 20, 2022

Indianapolis Colts

Quarterback

Matt Ryan: 23/32, 213 Yards | 1 Carry, -1 Yard

Matt Ryan was his accurate self today against a tough matchup. Though he did take four sacks, he still completed 72% of his passes. In a game with stuttering offenses from both sides, he helped the Colts jump ahead to an early lead. Unfortunately, with the game on the line, he took a seven-yard sack on 3rd & 9 to set up an unfavorable 4th & 16 which became an insurmountable 4th & 21 after a false start. He looked to all the relevant fantasy targets often, the Eagles’ defense just did not break in the red zone after the opening drive.

Running Back

Jonathan Taylor: 22 Carries, 84 Yards, TD | 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 10 Yards | 1 Fumble (Lost)

Deon Jackson: 1 Carry, 7 Yards | 4 Targets, 4 Receptions, 3 Yards

Zack Moss: 2 Carries, 7 Yards

A big reason the Colts scored their first opening-drive touchdown since Christmas 2021 was none other than Jonathan Taylor. Taylor had 49 rushing yards and a touchdown on the first drive alone. Unfortunately, he’d only amount to 35 more rushing yards for the rest of the game. The strangest part of this game was after the ground game couldn’t be stopped in the first drive, the Colts attempted three straight passes on the second drive for a quick three-and-out. They seemed to learn their lesson on their third drive as Taylor had three more rushing opportunities (four counting an offensive holding) for 13 yards but the Colts couldn’t make up the penalty yards and had to punt it away. It wouldn’t be until the Colts’ ninth(!) drive for Taylor to get more than one carry, but he fumbled. On the tenth drive, he’d get four carries for 3 yards and he never touched the ball on the final drive.

Credit to the Eagles, their new additions wrapped up Taylor more often than not, but to see the Colts abandon the run game when it was working so well in a game they had the lead until the final few minutes makes no sense to me.

Deon Jackson’s only carry came right after he caught a pass five yards behind the line of scrimmage. He caught all four passes thrown his way and was thrown to on the second, fifth, and eleventh (x2) drives.  

Zack Moss had both of his carries in the eighth drive.

What a mud pile!#Eagles strip Jonathan Taylor of the ball and TJ Edwards recovers!

Philly’s ball! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/EsaTXOzOrG

— DIE-HARD 🦅 REALTOR® (@Eaglesfans9) November 20, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Michael Pittman Jr.: 7 Targets, 6 Receptions, 75 Yards

Parris Campbell: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 67 Yards

Alec Pierce: 8 Targets, 3 Receptions, 28 Yards

Kylen Granson: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 16 Yards

Mo Alie-Cox: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 14 Yards

Michael Pittman Jr. seemed to make all the big plays when this offense needed it. His 24-yard catch and run was pivotal on the Colts’ first drive to garner momentum resulting in the Colts’ first opening-drive touchdown since Christmas 2021. His next catch would go for 12 yards and later in the game would add on big gains for 15 and 16 yards. The only cause of concern was his lack of targets on the Colts’ tenth and final eleventh drive, though that can be credited to the Eagles’ secondary playing him tight. Early in the game, he was able to find holes in the zone and make plays. 

Parris Campbell‘s day was highlighted by a 32-yard completion on third down of the Colts’ tenth drive to set them up with a 1st & Goal situation. He was also targeted twice on the final eleventh drive, catching one of them for 14 yards. He had a catch overturned on the Colts’ sixth drive when the Eagles challenged that he never had possession versus the call on the field that he made the catch and then fumbled out of bounds.

Although he lead the team in targets, Alec Pierce was only able to bring in three of them for 28 yards. The Colts’ tenth drive featured two of his three receptions where he also caught one ruled out of bounds. His other catch came on the fifth drive while his incompletions came on the fourth, eighth, and final eleventh drive. This shows me Matt Ryan likes Pierce and trusts him, but the Eagles’ secondary won most of the battles today against Pierce and he wasn’t able to establish himself really. 

Both Kylen Granson and Mo Alie-Cox caught their only targets for double-digit yardage. Alie-Cox caught his early in the fourth while caught his during the eighth drive.