By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 
Going Deep
This probably isn't a popular opinion. As people shuffle into work on another dreary Monday, they won't exactly be enthralled with Doug Pederson and his decision at the end of yesterday's game, and that's fine. They lost, as fans you should be upset about the final result. But Pederson's decision to go for two should not be the scapegoat for this heartbreaking loss.
After Carson Wentz ran the ball into the end zone with four seconds remaining, the Eagles trailed by just one point and Pederson had to decide whether he should play for the tie and send the game into overtime, or go for two points and the win. He chose the latter and a few different factors played into that decision, although he claimed to have his mind made up from the beginning.
"I had my mind made up that if we had a chance to go for it and win it," the coach explained. "We were going to [try to] win it."
You have to applaud the rookie coach for being aggressive, but he left a lot to be desired when he tried to explain the process during his press conference.
"Our chances in overtime were less than 50 percent to win this game," Pederson said. "So as an underdog going in, I wanted to win this game in regulation."
That's not exactly an answer that will satisfy most critics. So allow me to fill in the blanks for the coach.
First, the numbers he's referencing in that quote are true, although they seem incredibly arbitrary. According to Pro Football Reference's win probability, the Eagles would've had just a 41.9 percent chance of winning the football game, should it have gone into overtime. If you add in other factors such as the Ravens having the greatest kicker on the planet, the offense's issues moving the ball all day and the weather conditions, that number would probably be even lower.
Speaking of the weather, it is also worth noting the Eagles went for two earlier in the game on that same side of the field because Pederson didn't feel comfortable asking his kicker to kick into the howling wind.
So with the numbers and elements working against him, Pederson dialed up an interesting play call. A play that looked something like this:
With the Ravens stacking the box with eight defenders, Pederson reasoned that a quick pass would be the way to go, sending his receivers on quick in-routes in hopes they beat their one-on-one, man coverage.
"We knew and anticipated zero-coverage, zero blitz," he explained. "And it was just a one-on-one with Carson and Jordan [Matthews]. The ball just got tipped at the line of scrimmage."
Indeed, the pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage and a lot of credit goes to the Ravens' defensive front anticipating the quick pass and getting their hands up to disrupt Wentz's passing lanes. But what about rolling Wentz out or giving the ball to Ryan Mathews, who had been rather dominant all day? According to Pederson, the defense took away both of those options.
"Play-action in that situation, with the style of defense that came, it's going to be hard to get the ball off," Pederson said. "So it's better with just your one-on-one matchups. Listen, the play call, the play design, everything was built for that coverage."
The Ravens did have eight potential rushers lined up against the Eagles' six blockers, so it would have taken some ingenious blocking scheme or a herculean effort from the ball carrier in order to pick up the yards needed, but if Pederson had come out in a power formation, instead of having his team line up in shotgun, those would have been viable options.
However, Mathews wasn't even on the field for the final drive or the two-point conversion attempt. He does struggle as a pass-catcher, so him not being on the field on a two-minute drive is reasonable, even on a day in which he dominated. But him not being on the field for a short yardage situation is questionable.
Mathews said he was healthy at the end of the game, so him not being on the field was a coaching decision. For his part, Pederson said the Ravens blitzing nullified any difference Mathews would've made over Byron Marshall.
So, in short, the finish comes down to execution. A decision with such high stakes will lead to criticism and debate, but this wasn't Pederson getting too cute or too gutsy. He used the information he had and made the best decision he could. His team was desperate for a win and he had nothing to lose.
"Credit them; they got a hand up and tipped the ball."
Injury Report
Did Not Play: Allen Barbre (hamstring), Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee), Darren Sproles (concussion)
Kenjon Barner: Barner was well on his way to having a good day, but what looked to be a hamstring injury sidelined him at the end of the first half and he never returned. With the Eagles already thin at running back, Byron Marshall, who was recently called up from the practice squad, was the team's lone backup running back. With a short week, it will be interesting to see if Sproles or Barner can get healthy in time, or else the Eagles will need to find a third running back to add to their roster.
Numbers Game
16: In the first half, the Eagles had just one drive travel further than 16 yards. It lasted 13 plays and a field goal capped off the 79-yard endeavor. However, this drive set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Eagles found their stride in the second half. In the second half, every single one of the Eagles drive went for at least 20 yards and picked up multiple first downs.
38: The Eagles ran the ball 38 times yesterday. They hadn't run the ball that much since the game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10. While some eyebrows might be raised at the fact that Wentz threw the ball 42 times, that number is a bit inflated by the final drive when he was trying to lead the Eagles on a comeback. With Mathews looking as healthy as ever and the Eagles getting their best offensive lineman back today, maybe Pederson will continue to lessen the burden on his rookie quarterback.
1: How bad were the Eagles' wide receivers yesterday? They combined for just one catch that went for 10 yards or more. One. It was a slant to Dorial Green-Beckham that picked up 11 yards. Even the Los Angeles Rams, who put up just three points in Seattle on Thursday night had three different receivers catch balls that went longer than that. This situation has become laughable and it will be interesting to see how Howie Roseman and Pederson decide to proceed with this group in the offseason.
Quotables
In their situation with the playoffs no longer at stake, going for two was absolutely the right decision. It was time to be aggressive.
— Merrill Reese (@mreeseeagles) December 19, 2016
No more proof necessary. Merrill is the ultimate authority.
Wentz on 2: “I loved it. It showed coach’s aggression and his belief in us. I thought we had it. They made a good play."
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 18, 2016
It is good to see the players on the same page as their coach. There have been times where Wentz and Pederson may have not seen eye-to-eye, but yesterday it seemed like everyone was in agreement about what occurred. The Ravens were clearly the better team on the field, but the Eagles ability to battle back into the game and be two yards away from victory shows how much potential this team has, if they can fill their glaring holes.
Three-Step Drop
1. Lane Johnson will be eligible to return to the NovaCare Complex for the first time in 10 weeks on Monday as his suspension officially ends. After going 3-1 with Johnson at right tackle, the Eagles have won just two of their last 10 games in his absence and the right tackle spot has been a black hole. Vaitai, Barbre, Matt Tobin and Isaac Seumalo have all filled in at right tackle to varying degrees of success. With Johnson returning, the Eagles have a better shot at keeping Wentz healthy over these final two games.
2. The Eagles defensive front had a huge game yesterday, sacking Joe Flacco three times and only allowing him to throw for 206 yards on 30 pass attempts. Jim Schwartz decided to dial-up the pressure a bit this week, calling more blitzes and more exotic rush packages and the team responded by getting in Flacco's face consistently. Fletcher Cox especially benefited from seeing more one-on-one blocking, picking up a sack and a tackle for loss. Hopefully this is a sign for things to come, because this unit is making too much money to not produce at a high level.
3. The effort Rodney McLeod has shown in recent weeks has absolutely shocked me. He made a name for himself in St. Louis by being a deep safety who ran around the field, making plays, and dishing out huge hits. But he no longer seems like the scrappy player who went undrafted, instead settling for safe tackles or half-hearted efforts way down the field. Something has changed within this guy, because the guy the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed McLeod hasn't shown up yet. Maybe he's too busy counting all of his money.
Who's Next
The Eagles will have a short week, returning home to play the red-hot New York Giants on Thursday Night Football. Since losing three games early in the year, the Giants have ripped off eight wins in their last nine games, included yesterday's win over the Detroit Lions.
If there is one silver lining fans can hold on to, it's this: the Giants really struggle on the road. New York is just 3-3 away from home and two of those wins have come in Cleveland against the 0-14 Browns and in LA against the 4-10 Rams. The Eagles haven't been as dominant at home as they were earlier in the year, but they're still searching for their first divisional win of the season. After being so close to victory yesterday, the team will be desperate to stick it to their rivals and pull themselves out of the funk they've been in over the past five weeks.
