The Eagles blew a lead late in Week Two, but they were on the right side of a comeback in New Orleans on Sunday.
Saquon Barkley ran for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter and safety Reed Blankenship picked off a Derek Carr pass in the final minute to seal a 15-12 road win for the Eagles. The win moves them to 2-1 on a day when it often felt like everything was going wrong.
Jalen Hurts threw an interception and lost a fumble before the team failed to convert short fourth downs on both sides of the halftime break. They had a punt blocked in the third quarter and lost right tackle Lane Johnson, right guard Mekhi Becton, and wide receiver Devonta Smith to injuries, but Barkley made sure there was a happy ending.
Barkley ran 65 yards for the team’s first points of the day one play after Smith took a big hit that sent him for a concussion evaluation and then ran four yards for a score with 61 seconds left to play to put the Eagles up for good. Barkley also scored on the ensuing two-point conversion and finished the day with 17 carries for 147 yards.
Tight end Dallas Goedert set up the winning touchdown by taking a pass from Hurts, turning upfield and picking up 60 yards. Given that the Eagles were without Smith and A.J. Brown, it was surprising Goedert got so open and he ended the day with 10 catches for 170 yards.
The Saints offense was all but impossible to stop in the first two weeks and they opened Sunday’s game with a field goal, but they punted three times in the first half and losing center Erik McCoy to a groin injury early in the game hurt the team’s ability to stay in front of defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis. Carr finished the day 14-of-25 for 142 yards and Alvin Kamara needed 26 carries to pick up 87 yards, so the Eagles defense had a better day than they did against the Falcons in last Monday’s loss.
The Eagles will be in Tampa for a meeting of 2-1 teams next weekend and the Saints will head to Atlanta to meet the aforementioned Falcons in a divisional matchup.
