NFL Game Summary - Philadelphia at Indianapolis
Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Cody Parkey hit a 36-yard field goal as time expired as the Philadelphia Eagles rallied for a 30-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.
Darren Sproles had a huge game, catching seven passes for 152 yards while adding four carries for 26 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles (2-0), who have opened the season with consecutive second-half rallies.
"First and foremost, Darren is a receiver and I've said that since day one," said Eagles head coach Chip Kelly. "He's just a special football player and we knew the first day we had him it was 'how many different ways can we find to get him the football'."
Nick Foles went 21-for-37 for 331 yards with one touchdown and one interception, while LeSean McCoy added a touchdown on 20 carries for 79 yards for Philadelphia, which won in Indianapolis for the first time since 1993.
"I think it was just a great team win," said Foles. "Facing adversity, we've definitely faced our fair share these past two weeks, and the guys stuck together."
Andrew Luck was 20-for-34 for 172 yards with three touchdowns and a costly fourth quarter interception for the Colts (0-2), who have lost consecutive games for the first time with Luck under center.
"Obviously very disappointing to say the least," said Indianapolis head coach Chuck Pagano. "They made the plays they had to down the stretch. It was just we didn't play a 60-minute ball game."
Trailing by seven and with the Colts nearing their red zone, the Eagles came up with a big play on defense as Malcolm Jenkins picked off a Luck pass and the team got the ball back at its 24.
"Had the opportunities, didn't take advantage of them," said Luck. "When you're up on a good team, you better stay up. You can't turn the ball over in the red zone when you're about to make it a two-score game."
After a horse collar tackle on McCoy gave the team a fresh set of downs, Sproles took a screen pass 51 yards down to the Colts' 6-yard line. The next snap saw Foles hit Jeremy Maclin for a tie game with 3:25 to play.
The Colts then quickly went three-and-out and Philly got the ball back at its 40. Passes of 24 yards to Zach Ertz and 17 yards to Sproles set up Parkey, who calmly hit the field goal, after the Colts called a timeout, for the win.
It was a quick three-and-out from the Colts on the first touch of the game, and the Eagles quickly moved 69 yards to set up a 31-yard field goal from Parkey. Ertz caught passes of 27 and 14 yards on the 11-play drive.
Quickly facing a 3rd-and-1, Ahmad Bradshaw went around the left end for 29 yards down to the Philly 34. A 15-yard run from Trent Richardson set up a 1st- and-goal at the 6-yard line. The next three plays failed to find the end zone, but the team went for it on fourth down and Luck tossed a short pass to the right where Bradshaw had the easy catch for a 1-yard score and a 7-3 lead with 5:18 left in the first.
The first play of Philadelphia's ensuing possession saw Sproles take a short pass over the middle and race for 57 yards down to the Colts' 23. The drive stalled, though, and Parkey missed a 38-yard attempt to the left.
The Colts took advantage of the miscue and moved the ball 44 yards over 11 plays, setting up a 46-yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri for a 10-3 lead early in the second.
After an exchange of punts, the Eagles drove the ball down to the red zone and had a 1st-and-goal at the Indy 6, but were unable to punch it in and had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Parkey to cut the deficit to 10-6.
The Colts converted a 3rd-and-13 on their next series when Luck hit Reggie Wayne for a 19-yard pass, and Richardson followed with a 15-yard run. An encroachment penalty on Philly, its third of the first half, on 3rd-and-2 gave the Colts a fresh set of downs and Luck eventually hit Jack Doyle on a short pass and he stretched the ball over the line for a 2-yard score and a 17-6 lead with 1:13 left in the half.
Foles was picked off on a deep pass by Greg Toler and Luck took a knee to end the half.
The Colts built on their advantage in the third on a 27-yard field goal from Vinatieri for a 20-6 lead with 6:43 left in the third. The big play of the drive was a nine-yard catch by Wayne that saw a 15-yard face mask called to Philly on the play.
The Eagles came right back to put together their first touchdown drive of the game. McCoy had a 16-yard run and Ertz added a 21-yard catch to get the ball down to the Indy 36. The next play saw a pass interference call on the Colts put the ball at the one, and McCoy plunged in two plays later for his 50th career touchdown and a 20-13 game with 4:32 to play in the third.
Richardson fumbled a handoff on the first play of the next drive and Philly recovered at the Colts' 26. On the fifth play, Sproles took a handoff around the right side, broke a couple of tackles and barreled his way in on a 19-yard score to tie the game with 2:44 left in the third.
The Colts answered with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that saw Luck and Bradshaw connect again on a 7-yard score and a 27-20 lead with 11:49 left in the game.