In a must-win for the Philadelphia Eagles against the Buffalo Bills, we are going to look at the play that changed the entire course of the game. We'll break this thing down like the Eagles defensive line broke down the Bills' offensive line to create pressure, which gave the Eagles the momentum they needed to flip the script of the game.
With two minutes left in the second quarter, the Bills were leading seven to three and starting to drive down the field. On a designed run, Josh Allen was trying to get the first down himself, but he did not get far before Brandon Graham came crashing into him with his shoulder bashing into Allen (I'm pretty sure he was seeing stars after that). Then he was able to knock the ball out of Allen's hand, and divd toward the ball with 265 pounds of force to come away with the recovery. This would go for a forced fumble recovery instead of strip-sack because Allen was running with the ball, either way, a much-needed blessing the Eagles needed to get the chains moving.
Deep in Bills territory with the clock ticking down to end the first half, I feel my chest pounding, I’m on the edge of my seat hoping the Eagles do not take this turnover for granted. They need to take advantage of this field position with an offense that’s still struggling to get in sync. This is a huge take away that could put the Eagles offense back in the game. After five long plays quarterback, Carson Wentz found tight end Dallas Goedert in the end zone.
Then just to keep building on that momentum, the Eagles used running back Miles Sanders' quickness on a lateral for the two-point conversion, taking a 11 to 7 lead into the half.
The snowball effect from Graham's play was not over -- the Eagles came right back out in the second half with a spark that was only going to shine brighter as the game went on. A minute into the third quarter, the Eagles offensive line won all its matchups and Jordan Howard lended a key block to allow that a sneaky Sanders to burst out of the backfield for a 65-yard touchdown (in which I would like to add is his first rush touchdown). It was a beautiful play that just makes you jump out of your seat to cheer victoriously.
From that point on the Bills stumbled and couldn't recover. The Eagles kept their foot on the gas and didn't allow their once struggling offense to slow down, taking it to the Bills by a final score of 31-13. This was a tough road game for the Eagles to turn things around, to the point I was doubting the win myself. However, after that forced fumble recovery, I saw the Eagles firing on all cylinders (something that has certainly been missing since Week 1).
I have to say they owe this game to Graham and that impact play. He gave this team the confidence and faith that was once hidden within themselves to pull away with this win. As for that snowball effect, hopefully that’s going to keep rolling into next week's game against the Chicago Bears.
