PHILADELPHIA -- Sam Bradford didn’t want to see the Philadelphia Eagles' season go down the toilet.
The 1-3 Eagles returned to the locker room after pregame warm-ups. Bradford summoned his offensive teammates into the shower area. It was the only place available for a closed meeting.
Bradford’s message?
“He brought the whole offense together and told us to play like the way he knows we can play,” wide receiver Josh Huff said. “Because he has confidence in us.”
“He pulled us aside and said it’s on us,” right tackle Lane Johnson said. “We have the ability and it’s time to show it. It was kind of a come to Jesus thing. We have the ability and we know what to do. We just have to go out there and get it done.”
Johnson said it was the first time in his memory that a meeting was called in the bathroom section of the locker room.
“We pray in the shower before every game,” Johnson said. “But that’s the first meeting we’ve had in the shower.”
Bradford picked the right moment. The Eagles were 1-3, same as their opponent on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints. To fall to 1-4 would be to put themselves in a deep hole as far as reaching the playoffs. In their three losses, the Eagles' offense was simply dreadful in the the first half. They had scored a total of three points in the first half of those three losses.
“We had to win a football game,” coach Chip Kelly said. “In our mindset as a team, we had to come out and we had to play in all three phases and win a football game. That’s what we were trying to do.”
In the first half, the Eagles amassed over 300 yards of total offense. They had only 10 points to show for it, thanks largely to two interceptions Bradford threw in the red zone. Those turnovers could have buried the Eagles, but their offense just kept plugging away and adding points in the second half.
“Early in the game, we have to get first downs so that we can wear down opponents,” tight end Zach Ertz said. “I’m not saying that we wore them down, but I thought we played extremely well early in the game and I think that sets the tempo for the entire game.”
Bradford bounced back from the two early interceptions to throw two touchdown passes.
“Obviously, you don’t like to throw interceptions, but when you do, you just have to forget about it and move on,” Bradford said. “I thought our guys did a great job at just continuing to battle. It would be easy to fold up and say, 'Oh, man, Sam’s throwing interceptions, we’re done, we can’t do anything.’ But that’s really not how it went at all today.”
Bradford led the Eagles on an 80-yard touchdown drive to open the second half. After defensive end Fletcher Cox forced a fumble and recovered it to give his offense the ball at the Saints’ 13-yard line, Bradford fired a touchdown pass to Brent Celek on the next play.
Those 13 points in 13 seconds gave the Eagles a 23-10 lead. They never looked back, adding to the lead with three field goals and another touchdown.
“After what we were able to do in the preseason, I think everyone had kind of been waiting for this,” Bradford said. “It's obviously a great feeling to go out there and be able to do that today. And now it’s just something that we have to build on.”
The Eagles face the New York Giants next Monday night. A win would get them to 3-3 and place them right back in the thick of the NFC East race. If the season turns around, it all began on Sunday, in the showers.
