The Philadelphia Eagles had to settle for a tie against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, but they are left wondering what could have been because of a costly penalty in overtime.
The Eagles were set to attempt a 59-yard field goal with the game tied 23-23 and 19 seconds remaining in overtime. However, right guard Matt Pryor committed a false start penalty that pushed Philly back five yards.
Eagles coach Doug Pederson decided that a 64-yard field goal would have been out of kicker Jake Elliott’s range, so he essentially accepted the tie. Philadelphia punted the ball away and the Bengals ran out the clock.
Some will question the decision from Pederson, as Elliott’s career-long field goal is 61 yards. However, the Eagles coach was obviously afraid of missing the kick and giving the ball back to the Bengals inside Philadelphia territory. The probability of Elliott making a 64-yard kick was not good, and the Bengals would have only needed one play to get into field-goal range if they got the ball back at that spot on the field.
You can’t assume Elliott would have converted the 59-yard field goal, but Pryor cost the Eagles a shot at it. As a result, they are off to a 0-2-1 start on the year.
