Eagles remember Saints running up the score, excited for playoff rematch
There was an unusual moment the first time the Philadelphia Eagles faced the New Orleans Saints back in Week 11, and the Eagles apparently haven’t forgotten it.
Leading 38-7 in the fourth quarter, the Saints went for it on fourth-and-6. They threw deep to Alvin Kamara, who caught a 37-yard touchdown to push New Orleans’ lead from 31 points to 38. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who got beat by Kamara on the play, flipped off Saints coach Sean Payton. The Saints kicked a field goal later in the fourth quarter to cap the final score at 48-7.
There’s certainly a debate over what is running up the score, especially on the professional level. But the risk in doing it is agitating the opponent in case you meet again.
The Eagles and Saints play in a divisional round playoff game next Sunday.
‘We wanted them again’
The first meeting between the teams was a low point for the Eagles’ season, which has been revived and then some with Nick Foles. The Eagles were embarrassed by 41 points, the worst loss for a defending Super Bowl champion in NFL history.
The best way to not have someone score a fourth-down touchdown on you when they’re up 31 points is to not fall behind by 31 points. But the Eagles don’t seem pleased with what happened in New Orleans earlier this season.
“They ran up the score,” Eagles offensive tackle Jason Peters told Zack Rosenblatt of NJ.com. “We wanted them again, we got them again. This time, we coming. It’s not going to be the same outcome.”
Eagles riding a hot streak
The Eagles seem like a much different team than the one that was entirely uncompetitive against the Saints back in November. Philadelphia was 6-7, Foles replaced an injured Carson Wentz, and they haven’t lost since. Foles led a last-minute win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Eagles are proud champions, and proved that by rallying to make the playoffs and then upsetting the Bears. It’s not surprising they didn’t exactly enjoy what the Saints did to them in the first meeting.
We’ll probably hear again about what the Saints did in Week 11 to the Eagles. Then we’ll see on Sunday if the Eagles can get any revenge for it.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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