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Eagles show perseverance by forging ahead after Carson Wentz's injury

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After the MVP candidate went down, Philadelphia showed it can forge ahead.
LOS ANGELES – Carson Wentz wasn’t finished contributing to the cause of the Philadelphia Eagles after he was knocked out of the huge showdown in crunch time at the Coliseum with a knee injury.
When the Eagles filed into the locker room following their resilient 43-35 victory against the Los Angeles Rams, Wentz was there to greet his teammates.
He passed out the fresh hats commemorating the NFC East title the Eagles clinched after rallying to make up for the loss of their star quarterback, whose left knee injury – the worst fear is that it is a torn anterior cruciate ligament that will end Wentz’s season – represented the less-filling aspect of winning big.
“Carson was there waiting on everybody when they came in,” Nick Foles, Wentz’s backup, told reporters. “He was congratulating everybody, celebrating with everybody else.”
How fitting.
Wentz, whose spectacular season put him in the conversation for NFL MVP honors, did so much to help the Eagles get to the point where they have re-established themselves as a Super Bowl favorite.
He deserves this celebration, which the Eagles (11-2) hope leads a bigger festivity down the road.
Yet the manner in which Eagles closed out the Rams exhibited something else that has suddenly become even more relevant as they brace for the possibility of making their playoff push with Foles.
This is not a one-man team. Never was. Surely isn’t now.
Certainly, the Eagles will miss Wentz’s magic, which was displayed again in the first head-to-head matchup against Jared Goff, the quarterback chosen one slot ahead of him atop the NFL draft last year.
On his final throw of the day, he connected with Alshon Jeffery for a magnificent 2-yard touchdown – the throw, as Wentz was boxed in by rushers, was threaded into a tiny window in the middle of the end zone, which the receiver snagged about two inches from the turf before pinning it to his hip – that illustrated his value.
It was the type of play Goff couldn’t deliver when his team needed it most.
Unfortunately, the play that caused the injury was also a reminder of the gutsy nature in Wentz that can lead to the misfortune the Eagles now face. He was hurt when he collided in the end zone with Mark Barron and Morgan Fox near the end of the third quarter, completing a two-yard scramble that wound up not counting as it was wiped out by a penalty.
Then again, the play counted because of the toll on Wentz.
Still, the Eagles collectively picked up the slack like the best teams are prone to do.
“I just think that people did a good job of not flinching,” said defensive end Chris Long.
Strikingly, Long and Foles are both former Rams who delivered key moments in spoiling the moment for their former team.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Long beat fill-in tackle Darrell Williams to barrel around left end and strip-sack Goff, with Rodney McLeod’s recovery setting up what was ultimately Jake Elliott’s game-winning, 33-yard field goal.
That’s what not flinching looks like.
No, the Rams wound up flinching when it mattered most, hurting themselves with silly penalties and blown execution. With the game on the line in the final four minutes, the Rams went three-and-out.
No doubt, they faced a tall order against an Eagles defense, led by a dominating front that includes the presence of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
The Rams stung Philadelphia by seizing the momentum with two quick scores early in the second half that reflected the ebb and flow of a much-hyped matchup that lived up to its billing.
Said Cox, “We knew we had to go and win the game.”
Now they could pressed to keep winning with Foles.
No team wants to lose its starting quarterback, but the Eagles – as consistent and balanced as any team in the league this season – are probably the most equipped of any playoff contender to make up for the loss.
It’s not a good problem to have. But it’s life in the NFL.
Foles in no Wentz, but he completed a huge, clock-killing third down completion to Nelson Agholor and never turned the ball over on Sunday. Ready or not?
“I’m absolutely ready,” Foles said.
Time will tell. But with a great defense and running game behind him, he’ll have a chance to prove there is no need to panic.
And the Eagles have something else going for them that helped them get by on Sunday.
“We’re a mature team,” Cox said.
Complete and mature. Even if the Wentz injury is a long-tern condition, these Eagles are hardly flinching.
Follow Jarrett Bell on Twitter @JarrettBell .
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