EAGLES WIDE RECEIVER ALSHON JEFFERY TOOK THE BLAME FOR THE LOSS (photo by Jesse Garber)

NEW ORLEANS – In their NFC Divisional Playoff game against the New Orleans Saints, the Philadelphia Eagles – for one quarter – were able to flip the script from their previous visit to the Superdome (a 48-7 loss on November 18) but Drew Brees and the Saints did a rewrite of their own and advanced to the NFC Championship game with a 20-14 win over the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Saints sealed the win when Marshon Lattimore intercepted a Nick Foles pass on a play that started at the New Orleans 27 with 2:01 left in the game. The ball was intended for Alshon Jeffery but went through his hands and Lattimore was there for the deflection.

“Nick threw me a catchable ball, I gotta make that play” said an inconsolable Jeffery. “That’s on me, I’ll take that loss, that’s on me. I let all my teammates down. The city of Philadelphia, that’s on me, I’ll take that.”

“Every game kind of stood alone,” said Brees, “but many of them came down to where it took everybody. They were all great team victories, looks like that carried over into the playoffs.”

The game started out much differently for the Eagles. On the first play from scrimmage, Brees threw an interception on a deep ball that Cre’Von LeBlanc came down with at the Eagles 24-yard line. The Eagles would capitalize, as Foles threw a ball deep down the left side of the field which Jordan Matthews hauled in for a 37-yard touchdown.

The Saints didn’t do much better with their second series, they went three-and-out without gaining a yard. Again, the Eagles moved down the field with seeming ease. Like their first possession, they only faced one third down on the drive and on this one – a third-and-seven at the New Orleans 34 – Foles hit Jeffery for a 30-yard gain. Two plays later, the Eagles quarterback dove in from a yard out, it was 14-0 just over 10 minutes into the game and the Saints had yet to gain a yard let alone a first down.

The Saints third possession nearly ended in disaster, Brandon Graham strip sacked Brees and almost came up with the ball but Ryan Ramczyk covered it and head coach Sean Payton was happy to send his punt team out.

In two series, the Eagles had not been stopped but then they stopped themselves with turnover.

“We had a lot of confidence at that point, we were moving the ball,” said Eagles head coach Doug Pederson of the interception which was also by Lattimore. “It kind of changed after that point.”

The pick occurred on the third play of the second quarter and after the Birds had rolled up 153 yards of offense in the first quarter; they would finish with 250 yards for the game. Foles started seven for seven and was nine-of-10 at the time of the interception. He finished 18-of-31 for 201 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.

The Saints received a lift from the Foles interception, that came on a deep pass intended for Zach Ertz, but needed to execute a fake punt to keep the ensuing drive going. Temple grad Keith Kirkwood would cap the drive with the Saints first touchdown – a two-yard pass on fourth down from Brees. Will Lutz added a 45-yard field goal just before halftime.

After the Eagles punted to open the third quarter, the Saints went on an epic 18-play, 92-yard drive converting three third downs along the way including a third-and-16 at the Eagles 32. Michael Thomas made the catch then ran for first down yardage. After an Alvin Kamara run gave them a first-and-goal, Thomas was on the receiving end of a second Brees two-yard touchdown pass.

Early in the fourth quarter, Lutz kicked a 39-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-14 but he missed a 52 yarder which gave Philadelphia hope. With just under three minutes left, Foles and the offense, which had gained just 81 yards since the first quarter, only needed to go 58 yards for a touchdown that would give them the lead and very likely a return trip to the NFC title game but it slipped through their hands.

“We had an opportunity at the end,” Foles said, “it’s tough. [You] love playing this game with your teammates and that is the toughest part about it, it stops.”