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Eagles vs. Ravens Week 15 Observations and Reaction (With Videos)

Adrian Fedkiw|

Trailing by seven with the ball and less than two minutes left, Carson Wentz was finally able to do what Philadelphia Eagles fans had been looking for all season in late-game situation.

Find the end zone.

But then Doug Pederson went for the two-point conversion and it backfired.

Wentz’s slant pass intended for Jordan Matthews was tipped at the line of scrimmage and fell incomplete and the Baltimore Ravens held off the Philadelphia Eagles 27-26 on a windy day at M&T Bank Stadium.

Wentz was 3-of-8 for 37 yards on the final drive. The Eagles regained possession at their own 41-yard line with 1:39 left and one timeout at their disposal. Wentz hit Zach Ertz for a key 24-yard completion along the right sideline to set the Eagles up at the 17 and Nelson Agholor drew a pass interference penalty on rookie Tavon Young to put the ball at the four.

Wentz’s touchdown scamble came on second down. He eluded Brandon Williams by spinning to his left, took off along the left boundary and cut inside of Eric Weddle near the goal line before diving across the line for the score.

Wentz finished 22-of-42 for 170 yards with and an interception, but it was Ryan Mathews and the run blocking which kept the Eagles in the game. Mathews carried the ball 20 times for 128 yards as the offensive line did an outstanding job of paving the way for him against the No. 1 ranked run defense coming into the game. It was a very impressive performance considering the game of musical chairs the line had been playing. Allen Barbre, who played right tackle last week in place of Halapoulivaati Vaitai before getting injured, was replaced in the starting lineup by Isaac Seumalo.

The Eagles had a much more even ratio, attempting 42 passes and 38 runs (Wentz took off four times so 34 of the runs were called). They controlled the clock, leading the time of possession battle 36:38-23:22. They had a 17-play drive that took 7:42 off the clock and one that went 13 and lasted 6:59.

Although Wentz led the Eagles down the field on that last possession, he was far from sharp. He resorted back to his old mechanical flaws coming off arguably his best performance of the season last week. He is not the same quarterback on the road as opposed to being at home. His quarterback rating at Lincoln Financial Field is 88.5, while his mark on the road heading into Sunday’s showdown was just 74.8. Nine of his 13 interceptions have come on the road.

His interception was awful. He threw off of his back foot on a pass intended for Trey Burton down the seam and pays for it. Sometimes you have to eat it and live for another play. That was a careless turnover.

The pick led to a Kamar Aikan 5-yard touchdown reception. The teams traded field goal near the end of first quarter and the Ravens led 10-3 heading into the second.

Nigel Bradham sacked Joe Flacco early in the second quarter and forced a fumble, which Fletcher Cox recovered at the Baltimore 8-yard line.

After an offsides penalty, Mathews scored from four yards out and then crowd surfed into the end zone on the subsequent two-point conversion to put the Eagles on top 11-10.

The teams traded field goals over their next two series and Baltimore was able to find paydirt right before the half. Flacco hit Steve Smith along the right sideline for a 34-yard score with nine ticks to go until the break when he beat Jalen Mills and Jaylen Watkins’ help over the top was well late.

Caleb Sturgis split the uprights from 27 yards out early in the fourth to cut the margin to 20-17, but Kenneth Dixon helped Baltimore extend its lead on its next touch when he scored from 16 yards out.

The Ravens appeared like they were going to add to their lead after Mike Wallace hauled in a 54-yard reception to the Eagles’ 11, but Jordan Hicks made a key interception to keep Philly in the game.

The pick led to a 29-yard Sturgis field goal and the Eagles’ defense forced a three-and-out after that.

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