Eagles' shot at massive playoff upset slips through Alshon Jeffery's hands
The Nick Foles playoff magic officially expired in New Orleans on Sunday.
And it slipped through the hands of one of his favorite targets.
A late Wil Lutz field-goal miss set the Philadelphia Eagles up with a chance to win their divisional round matchup, trailing the New Orleans Saints 20-14 with the ball and 2:58 remaining.
Eagles get ball back trailing by six
Philadelphia took over possession at its own 42-yard line, and Foles immediately completed a pass to Zach Ertz and drew a roughing-the-passer call that moved the Eagles to the Saints 27.
On second-and-10 with 2:02 remaining, Foles looked to a wide-open Alshon Jeffery, who found a soft spot in the middle of the Saints’ zone defense.
Foles hit Jeffery with a perfect pass that would have gained a handful of yards and likely set Philadelphia up with third-and-short on the other side of the two-minute warning.
But the ball went right through Jeffery’s hands and into the waiting arms of Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who secured his second interception of the game.
Foles, Pederson console Jeffery
Jeffery was visibly distraught after the play as Foles and Eagles coach Doug Pederson looked to console him.
Gotta respect Nick Foles for consoling Alshon after the ball slipped through Jeffery's hands pic.twitter.com/ujwuPrgToI
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) January 14, 2019
But it was to no avail, as Jeffery and the Eagles watched the Saints run out the clock and secure a berth in next week’s NFC championship game against the Los Angeles Rams with a 20-14 victory.
Jeffery was injured
Jeffery was playing with pain throughout the game, according to Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson. Johnson told reporters that Jeffery was playing with cracked ribs, which the team was aware of after an MRI earlier in the week.
He led the Eagles with five catches for 63 yards.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Robinson: Tough questions ahead for Cowboys in the offseason
• Brown: Rams winning the heart of Los Angeles
• Report: Gronk will consider retirement after the season
• Report: Sarkisian heading to Alabama, passing over NFL