By Zach Berman, The Philadelphia Inquirer –
PHILADELPHIA — For the second consecutive week, the Philadelphia Eagles watched a field goal sail through the uprights to seal their fate. Yet the gripes of Eagles fans will not be reserved for overtime. It was also a fourth-quarter collapse that cost the Eagles a 10-point lead and eventually the win in a 26-23 loss to the Detroit Lions at Lincoln Financial Field.
The Eagles also lost last week to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a last-second field goal, and they eked out a victory over the New York Giants on Sept. 30 when the Giants missed a last-second field goal.
Jason Hanson’s 45-yard field goal on Sunday may have ended this game, but the momentum shifted much sooner. The Eagles looked to be in good position when wide receiver Jeremy Maclin scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 18 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to put the Eagles up, 23-13.
That left too much time on the clock, however, and the Lions drove 80 yards in less than two minutes to score on a 17-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Nate Burleson with 3:32 left.
Then, after the Eagles went three and out, Hanson tied the game at 23 with three seconds left on a 19-yard field goal after a 12-play, 67-yard drive.
The Eagles were actually fortunate the game went into overtime because Detroit had two attempts at the 1-yard line to score a touchdown before settling for Hanson’s kick.
The Eagles got the ball first in overtime, but quarterback Michael Vick was sacked twice to begin the session. That pushed the Eagles deep into their territory and allowed the Lions to get the ball for their first drive at the 50-yard line.
A key catch by Calvin Johnson gave the Lions a big first down to keep the five-play, 23-yard drive alive, and Hanson won the game with his kick.
Vick finished 28 for 46 for 311 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. LeSean McCoy, who briefly left the game with injury, only managed 22 yards on 14 carries.
Nnamdi Asomugha did a decent job covering Johnson, stopping “Megatron” on some potential big plays and even recording his first interception of the season. But the defense failed to record a sack for the third consecutive game and needed to play part of the second half without Fletcher Cox, who was ejected for unnecessary roughness.
The Eagles’ lackluster offense, apparent through much of the season, continued in Sunday’s first quarter, when they went three and out on consecutive drives before a premature snap by Dallas Reynolds sailed past Vick and resulted in the Eagles’ first turnover.
The second quarter did not begin much better. After a three and out, Vick threw an interception off his back foot after having gone three games without a pick.
Vick rebounded on his next drive, when he led the Eagles 89 yards — helped by a 26-yard pass interference penalty — for their first touchdown. Vick was clutch throughout the drive, enduring hits and making big throws. He capped the drive with a two-yard screen pass to McCoy to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead, which was the halftime score.
The Eagles dominated much of the second half, controlling the ball for more than 12 minutes and producing two long drives. But the Eagles kept settling for field goals, hitting three in the second half before Maclin’s touchdown gave the Eagles a 10-point lead.
Those points were critical because the Lions drove 80 yards in fewer than two minutes to cut the Eagles’ lead to 23-20. After the Lions forced the Eagles to punt, they actually took over at their 32-yard with 2:27 remaining and trailing by three points. They tied the game to send it to overtime, where bad became worse, a winning record slipped to .500, and the Eagles have two weeks to chew on a two-game losing streak.
