Saquon Barkley's 2 fourth-quarter TDs lift Eagles over Saints in a defensive 15-12 thriller
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Saquon Barkley rushed for fourth-quarter touchdowns of 65 and 4 yards, and the Philadelphia Eagles rebounded from a maddening late-game collapse six days earlier to beat the New Orleans Saints 15-12 on Sunday.
Barkley's shorter scoring run came with 1:01 left, one play after Dallas Goedert got free across the middle on third-and-16 for a 61-yard catch and run that gave him a career-high 170 yards on 10 receptions.
Eagles safety Reed Blankenship sealed the victory when he intercepted Derek Carr's pass over the middle with 48 seconds left, capping a banner performance by Philadelphia's defense against an offense that had scored an NFL-high 91 points during the regular season's first two weeks under new coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Coming off a 22-21 home loss to Atlanta on Monday night, the Eagles (2-1) did not allow a touchdown until Carr found Chris Olave for a 12-yard, go-ahead score with just more than two minutes left. That gave the Saints a 12-7 lead after a failed 2-point try.
The Eagles looked the better team on both sides of the ball, outgaining New Orleans (2-1) in total net yards, 460 to 219. But a number of curious decisions by heavily scrutinized Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni, along with some clutch plays by the Saints' defense, kept the Eagles off the board for three quarters.
Hurts turned the ball over twice in the first half, intercepted by Tyrann Mathieu in the end zone and losing a fumble on a sack by Carl Granderson.
The Eagles again threatened to score late in the second quarter, only to come away empty when they eschewed a field goal on fourth-and-1 from the New Orleans 15 with just 14 seconds left.
Defensive end Chase Young and linebacker Pete Werner stuffed Barkley’s run to the left side, preserving the Saints’ 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Eagles twice drove into Saints territory in the third quarter, only to fail on fourth-and-short and then have an illegal substitution penalty contribute to a stall near midfield.
But after J.T. Gray’s block of Braden Mann’s punt gave New Orleans the ball inside the Philadelphia 30, New Orleans stalled out on their own fourth-and-1 failure late in the third quarter. Barkley’s long run came four play’s later to make it 7-3.
Already missing receiver A.J. Brown, the Eagles lost Devonta Smith early in the fourth quarter on a hit by defensive tackle Khristian Boyd that knocked the receiver's helmet off as he tried to prevent two other Saints defenders from bringing him to the turf.
What appeared to be a concussion-causing, helmet-to-helmet hit came after Smith's seventh catch, giving him 79 yards receiving for the game.
That drive wound up stalling when the Eagles elected to try a 60-yard Jake Elliott field goal, which missed.
Eagles: WR Britain Covey left with a shoulder injury. ... RT Lane Johnson left with a concussion in the first half.
Saints: Versatile TE Taysom Hill (chest) was ruled out two hours before kickoff. ... C Erik McCoy limped off the field with a left groin injury on the game's opening possession and could not return. ... RG Cesar Ruiz received attention for an apparent lower body injury in the fourth quarter.
Eagles: Visit Tampa Bay on Sunday in a third straight game against an NFC South opponent, and second straight on the road.
Saints: Visit Atlanta on Sunday.
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