With the game on the line, Carson Wentz went to Boston Scott for the game-winning touchdown on Thursday night.
Of course he did.
Who better than the shortest guy on the field to slay the Giants yet again in a come-from-behind 22-21 win on Thursday Night Football?
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Scott wasn’t even the primary read on the game-winner but the franchise quarterback was able to make a beautiful touch pass over Jabrill Peppers in coverage and Scott was able to haul in the pass for the first touchdown catch in his career. It was the play that gave the Eagles an improbable win on a wild night at Lincoln Financial Field.
But when he released the ball, Wentz was worried he overthrew the 5-foot-6 running back.
There’s not much room for error there.
NFL
“[Scott] plays bigger than whatever he is — 5-foot-7 — he plays bigger than that,” Wentz said. “He made a great play. I was pretty surprised when we pulled it off. When I threw it I thought it was a little high, but like I said, he plays bigger than he is.”
Wentz doesn’t have to tell the Giants that Scott plays bigger than his stature.
By now, they’re well aware.
Because it was just last year when Scott had two huge games against the Giants, including a three-touchdown performance in Week 17 that got him named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. With Miles Sanders (knee) out of the lineup on Thursday, Scott came through with another really good performance against the G-men.
In the win, Scott had 12 carries for 46 yards and three catches for 46 yards and another touchdown. It wasn’t a super flashy performance but he ended up with 92 scrimmage yards and a game-winning trip into the end zone.
In his career, Scott has a total of 656 scrimmage yards and 358 of them have come against the Giants. He has also scored five of his six career touchdowns against the Giants too.
So that means 54.6% of his career yards and 83.3% of his career touchdowns have come against the Eagles’ division rival.
What is it about playing the Giants that gets him going?
“I mean, it’s just the next game,” Scott said, diplomatically. “I love playing football. So it doesn’t really matter who it is. I just like going out there and being able to contribute to the team.”
Really, it seems like Scott has performed so well against the Giants in large part because of opportunity. Before this game, Scott has struggled to make much of a positive impact as the Eagles’ No. 2 running back. But with the full workload, he has played better. Now, that might not be a great sign in the long-term because when Sanders is back, he’s obviously the No. 1. But on Thursday, the Eagles needed Scott and he came through again.
It seems like there’s a good chance Sanders will be back by the time the Eagles play the Giants in Week 10 after the bye, but if he isn’t, Scott will be ready to go again.
After all, taking down the Giants is his specialty.
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