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Eagles’ offense achieves weird feat in close win over Bills
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- Eagles’ offense achieves weird feat in close win over Bills
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The Philadelphia Eagles survived a bizarre offensive performance to defeat the Buffalo Bills 13-12 in a dramatic Week 17 matchup on Sunday, extending their winning streak to three games and improving to 11-5 on the season. With yardage hard to come by, Philadelphia leaned on a suffocating defense to earn a narrow win in Buffalo's rainy conditions, moving to 7-3 in one-score games and becoming the first team since the 1987 New England Patriots to win multiple games without completing a pass in the second half.
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All of the Eagles' scoring came in the first half. A 1-yard touchdown reception from Dallas Goedert in the first quarter was his 11th touchdown of the season, breaking Pete Retzlaff's 1965 franchise record for tight ends. Kicker Jake Elliott contributed field goals of 28 and 47 yards and converted his extra point, giving Philadelphia a 13-0 lead at halftime.
Remarkably, after halftime, the Eagles' offense nearly disappeared . Quarterback Jalen Hurts went 0-for-7 passing in the second half, and the team gained only 17 total yards over five second-half possessions. Four consecutive three-and-outs followed before the final kneel-down to end the game. With fewer than five passing yards in a half, Philadelphia has now won three times this season — an odd statistical anomaly, considering such low passing output happens in only about 10 percent of halves league-wide.
Buffalo's offense finally came alive late, scoring two touchdowns in the final 5:11. Josh Allen rushed for both scores, including a 1-yard "tush push" on fourth-and-goal after a Dawson Knox attempt was ruled short. Returning from a three-game absence due to shoulder injuries, Eagles offensive tackle Jalen Carter blocked Michael Badgley's extra-point attempt following the first touchdown. With the Bills behind 13-12, Allen attempted a two-point conversion to win the game, but under pressure from linebacker Jalyx Hunt, his pass sailed wide of Khalil Shakir, giving Philadelphia the victory.
The Eagles' defense held sway from beginning to end. Philadelphia sacked Allen five times, with Hunt recording two, and Carter, Jaelan Phillips, and Moro Ojomo each contributing one. They limited Buffalo's potent rushing attack, ranked second in the NFL, to just 120 yards, including 68 by Saquon Barkley on 19 carries, and held the Bills to only 3.5 yards per play for the game. Marcus Epps led the team with nine tackles, while cornerback Cooper DeJean tied his career-high with nine sacks.
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Amid the offensive slump, the Eagles clinched their third first-half shutout of the season and remain the NFC East champions with an 11-5 record. Next, Philadelphia will host the Washington Commanders, with a chance to improve its playoff seeding and possibly claim the No. 2 overall seed.
Related: Bills most to blame for ugly loss to Eagles in Week 17
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