Philly What Ifs: The Alshon Drop

Looking back at history and thinking about “What Ifs” can drive people crazy, but during a time in sports where there is no present and little future to talk about, it’s okay to dip our toes in that vast pool. So for the first in this series of “What Ifs”, lets look at a recent situation that was heartbreaking, but not as painful as others. This is: What If Alshon Jeffrey Didn’t Drop the Ball in the closing minutes against the New Orleans Saints?

After sneaking out of Chicago alive with the miraculous Double-Doink win, the Eagles Super Bowl title defense faced their toughest test as they entered the Superdome. Just a couple of months after their humiliating 48-7 loss in New Orleans, the Birds bounced back in December with clutch wins over the Rams in LA and the Texans at the Linc to sneak into the postseason at 9-7. Their gutsy and dramatic win against Chicago brought them back to the building that handed them their worst loss of the season.

After starting off hot with a 14-0 lead, the Eagles offense struggled in a grueling battle with the Saints that saw New Orleans score 20 unanswered points throughout the game. The Philly offense was heavily affected by Guard Brandon Brooks’ torn Achilles which had him carted off the field. Despite failing to score a point since their first two possessions, Nick Foles was given a chance to win the game when New Orleans missed what would have been a game-sealing field goal. Was B.D.N. about to pull off magic again?

Unfortunately that turned out not to be the case when Foles’ pass mindbogglingly went through the hands of Alshon Jeffrey and into the hands of Saints corner Marshon Lattimore for his second interception of the game. A first down conversion later and the Saints officially dethroned the Eagles and advanced to the NFC championship game (Little did they know that the Saints were about to suffer the worst loss in franchise history.)

The way that ill-fated play was set up was highly rushed and unusual. Instead of waiting for the 2-minute warning to stop the clock, Pederson and Foles rushed to take the play on 2nd down. That potentially could have confused Jeffrey and made him not focus on the ball as much as he usually would be. While Foles and Pederson thrive on being aggressive and taking risks, why not take the 2-minute warning to breathe and discuss their strategy?

While it’s a really hard pill to swallow for the Eagles magical ride to end on a mental error, the wounds it inflicted were nowhere near as deep as the playoff losses pre-2017. The ecstasy of their Super Bowl LII win was still present and most of the roster featured those same players. The team itself was beat-up and fought admirably to get back into the divisional round of the playoffs. But even then, it’s still interesting to think about how both the 2018 and 2019 Eagles would have turned out to be like if that one thing didn’t happen.

Realistically it’s not crazy to think that even if Alshon caught the ball or if they waited until the 2 minute warning that the Eagles still don’t score. Their offense had been scoreless after starting hot on their first two possessions. The already beat-up roster suffered another massive injury in the game when Brandon Brooks was carted off the field.

Now What-If they do drive down the field and score a touchdown? Hopefully they leave little time for Drew Brees to respond for a potential game winning field goal as he did at the Linc in the 2013 playoffs. A deep ball to Michael Thomas or Ted Ginn Jr. to put New Orleans in field goal range against a depleted Eagles secondary doesn’t sound that outlandish. So either the defense would have to make one last stand or the offense doesn’t score too quickly.

Had they survived New Orleans they would have advanced to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in the NFC championship game. While the Birds had beaten the Rams in Los Angeles in each of the past two regular seasons, the NFC title game creates a different atmosphere. Los Angeles had advanced in the playoffs that year by plucking C.J. Anderson from obscurity to team up with Todd Gurley and ran over the Dallas Cowboys in the Divisional round. That same Rams team went to the Superdome and obviously got the luckiest break in NFL history when the referees ignored a blatant pass interference that should have ended the game, but they still took advantage of their opportunities and pulled off the major upset. Brandon Brooks being unavailable also makes a big factor in the game.

But lets say they pull it off and defeat the Rams at the L.A. Colosseum for the third consecutive time. That means on the other side is a rematch with the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LIII. The media hype and circus for that game would be ridiculous, and it would be asking a lot out of Nick Foles and the offense to pull an Eli Manning and slay the Patriot dragon twice. This Patriot defense was far superior to the 2017 defense that gave up 41 points in the previous Super Bowl. Against the Rams they allowed 3 points and won 13-3.

But say Foles and company pull it off anyway and beat New England again and well . . . you’d have mass pandemonium on the streets of Philadelphia that makes their Super Bowl LII celebration look like kids on a playground. One of the NFL’s most remarkable stories would reach a whole new level of absurdity.

Had the Eagles advanced to the NFC championship game and beyond for the second straight season then it’s easy to assume that would have eaten up Carson Wentz. Nick Foles winning the Super Bowl when coming off the bench late in the regular season is a crazy story. Foles doing that exact same thing in back-to-back seasons is the football equivalent of capturing lightning in a bottle twice. But if he did, the B.D.N. would go from Philadelphia hero to Philadelphia god. His statue at the Linc would become the size of The Statue of Liberty. The incredible love and revenue he generates in the city would leave the Eagles organization no choice: They have to keep him.

Wentz gets traded to a new team looking for a quarterback (lets say . . . Jacksonville) and the already complicated relationship he has with Philadelphia becomes super-complicated. His performance throughout the 2017 regular season was the biggest reason why the Birds got home-field advantage in the playoffs. The entire 2017 team was built around Wentz being the franchise quarterback, but Nick Foles is the one who gets the glory.

Anyway, any further speculation about this What If will drive Philly fans further down the rabbit hole. But I can say for sure that if Alshon had caught the ball and the Eagles scored everyone wouldn’t have to witness the horrible non-call in the following NFC championship game and the consequences of it. Or that same non-call would’ve happened to the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia burns to the ground (or at least it would have if the Birds didn’t win the Super Bowl the previous year.)