Last night the Philadelphia Eagles (4-1) went on the road for their Thursday night match-up to take on the Carolina Panthers, who sported the same record. This game would see history be made by veteran Julius Peppers, the Panthers lose a star player in Luke Kuechly and the ending of being a nailbiter for Eagles fans as Carolina had multiple chances to win the game.
How the first half went down
The first drive of the game ended with Julius Peppers strip sacking quarterback Carson Wentz, with the Panthers recovering the fumble but doing nothing with it on offense. This gave the 37-year-old his 150th career sacks, making him only the fifth player ever to reach that mark. The first quarter ended without much action, as both teams traded field goals.
Both teams then traded punts but Carolina scored the first touchdown early in the second on a 16-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cam Newton. The Eagles then punted after this, and the Panthers had a chance to blow open the game.
However, Newton got hit when throwing on third down, and the Eagles capitalize by intercepting the wayward attempt to set up their offense at the 12-yard line. They would score on third and goal on a one-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz to tie the game at 10-10 late in the quarter. The play before this saw the Panthers lose their best defensive player in Luke Kechly for the rest of the game.
What happened in the second half
The Panthers opened the second half with Newton throwing a second interception on a bizarre play that once again set up the Eagles in prime field position. Philadelphia scored quickly, with Ertz catching his second touchdown of the night, a 17-yarder. The Eagles then went for two, making it an 18-10 game.
The rest of the third quarter consisted of one punt by each team and three field goals, two by the Panthers and one by the Eagles. It was 21-16 Philadelphia at the end of the quarter, but the Eagles scored right at the start of the fourth on a 24-yard pass to Nelson Agholor to make it 28-16.
Carolina then countered with a 13 play, 75-yard drive that took 6:51 to make it a one-score game again, 28-23. They capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to rookie running back Christain McCaffrey. The Eagles then went three and out, giving the Panthers a chance to take the lead.
However, the Panthers 10 play, 36-yard drive ended with Newton throwing his third interception of the night on third down at the Eagles 41-yard line.
The Eagles then went three and out, again giving the Panthers one final chance. They drove to the Eagles 48-yard line but failed to convert on fourth and one, as Philadelphia escaped with the victory.