The Philadelphia Eagles star receiver reached 1,000 yards in the first quarter and finished as the teams's leading receiver on the season.
PHILADELPHIA – With starters resting all around him, including his quarterback Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith took the field on the Eagles first possession of their regular-season finale against the Commanders at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The Eagles elected to play their star receiver because he needed 44 yards to reach 1,000 for the third time in his five-year career. Mission accomplished. The catch that pushed him over that magical mark came on the final play of the first quarter, and it was achieved in typical Smith fashion. He needed to rise above two defenders to haul down a nifty throw from backup quarterback Tanner McKee for a 27-yard gain. The Eagles wasted little time trying to get Smith to 1,000. He was targeted on the very first play of the game, which went for 17 yards. He was targeted again three plays later, but the pass fell incomplete.Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith | Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI His next two targets found their mark – one for eight yards, then the 27-yard strike. He took a seat with three catches for 52 yards to give him 1,008 for the season, which was more than the 1,003 A.J. Brown had this year. Still, the Eagles’ duo went over 1,000 yards together for the first time since 2022, which was the first time that had ever happened in franchise history. Smith’s final catch helped set up the Eagles’ first touchdown of the game, which came on a third-down, 15-yard toss from McKee to tight end Grant Calcaterra as the Eagles took a 7-0 lead with 13:37 left in the second quarter. Washington possessed the ball for a good portion of the first quarter, but a 17-play drive that spanned 74 yards ended when Jake Moody doinked a field goal try from 24 yards way off the right upright. The drive lasted more than seven minutes and reached Philly’s 6. Instead of going for it on fourth-and five, Commanders coach Dan Quinn, whose team has four wins and nothing to play for, attempted the field goal. That’s when the Eagles took over at their 20 and went 80 yards in nine plays and 3 minutes, 56 seconds to take the early lead. The Eagles’ defense was populated with backups, including Michael Carter in the slot with Kelee Ringo at Jakorian Bennett at cornerback. Josh Uche made his first appearance after being inactive for five straight games. The only regulars to see time were defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo, with linebacker Jihaad Campbell starting as well alongside Jeremiah Trotter, Jr.Ed Kracz has been covering the Eagles full-time for over a decade and has written about Philadelphia sports since 1996. He wrote about the Phillies in the 2008 and 2009 World Series, the Flyers in their 2010 Stanely Cup playoff run to the finals, and was in Minnesota when the Eagles secured their first-ever Super Bowl win in 2017. Ed has received multiple writing awards as a sports journalist, including several top-five finishes in the Associated Press Sports Editors awards.
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