Some thought this might be a trap game. Playing the 2-8 Tennessee Titans at, some thought the 7-3 Philadelphia Eagles might be looking ahead to their Thanksgiving showdown in Dallas. After being crushed by Green Bay last week it took the Eagles all of thirteen seconds to obliterate the notion of a trap game. Rookie wide receiver Josh Huff, who played for Eagles coach Chip Kelly at Oregon and had been under whelming so far, took the opening kickoff seven yards deep in the end zone. Instead of kneeling down he took off upfield, got a few blocks as he headed toward the right sideline while fending off a couple of Tennessee tacklers. The result was Huff’s first NFL touchdown and the 107 yard return was the longest play in Eagles history.
The Eagles dominated the first quarter. Four minutes after Huff’s kick return, Darren Sproles ran for a touchdown and rookie Cody Parkey added a field goal. The quarter ended 17-0 Philadelphia, though Brandon Ghee intercepted Mark Sanchez with thirty seconds left in the quarter. It appeared that Sanchez and receiver Riley Cooper were not on the same page in regard to the play that was run and Cooper made no attempt to prevent Ghee from picking off the pass. Tennessee would use that play to claw back into the game in the second quarter.
Just nine seconds into the quarter, Titans rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger threw deep to the right side toward receiver Justin Hunter. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins tipped the ball and that may have actually made the catch easier for Hunter, who grabbed it and ran into the end zone for a forty yard touchdown. The teams would each add another touchdown and field goal and the halftime score was 27-17 Eagles. The third quarter saw only a James Casey fourteen yard touchdown catch from Sanchez to put the Eagles up 34-17 heading into the fourth quarter.
Parkey added three field goals while Mettenberger threw a six yard touchdown to Dexter McCluster to reach the final score of 43-24. Sanchez ended the game 30-43 for 307 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Sanchez was solid but will still need to be smarter with the ball. The second interception came on a poorly thrown ball. Mettenberger was pressured all day and was sacked five times but he held strong and finished 20-39 for 345 yards with two touchdowns and an interception by Brandon Boykin late that ended any hopes for a comeback. Once again the Titans provided very little run support for the quarterback, totaling just 52 yards on 19 carries. LeSean McCoy had another big day against the Titans weak run defense, carrying the ball 21 times for 130 yards and a touchdown.
The win was a solid effort for the Eagles, who were never really threatened in the game. Turnovers and allowing big plays are still a problem and that is something that needs to be fixed quickly as they face Dallas on Thanksgiving, then return home to play Seattle and Dallas. The Eagles are now 8-3, tied with the Cowboys for first in the NFC East but have the tiebreaker. The division will be won by either the Eagles or the Cowboys and we should have a very good idea of who that will be in a few weeks.