Leodis McKelvin overcomes ‘flat tire' to deliver game-sealing pick for Eagles

Share

As Leodis McKelvin warmed up before Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against the Falcons, the veteran cornerback didn’t really feel well enough to play. 

The hamstring injury that had been bothering him since training camp flared up again, so he told head coach Doug Pederson before the game. The plan became to hold McKelvin out of the game, but keep him active as an “emergency player.” 

An emergency came in the second quarter. 

The Eagles’ best corner, Nolan Carroll, exited the game with a concussion and instead of going with an untested rookie corner — either C.J. Smith or Aaron Grymes — McKelvin entered the game. 

What was he thinking when Carroll went down? 

“It’s time to go to work,” McKelvin said after the 24-15 win (see Instant Replay)

Pederson said he intended to play McKelvin until the corner told him he wasn’t feeling well before the game. Then, Pederson decided to rest him and not risk further injury unless they needed him. 

McKelvin said he felt his hamstring “tugging” almost as soon as he entered the game, but he was able to finish the afternoon. 

“I leave it up to God and just go out there and play ball,” he said. “Not worry about my injury, don’t worry about what’s going on or what could happen. Go out there and try to be the player I know I could be and no matter what my injury may be, just put myself in the right situation to make plays.”

The game was an up-and-down one for McKelvin after he entered. He made some plays, but he also gave up the only Atlanta touchdown of the game (see standout plays)

He bit hard on a double move from Taylor Gabriel, who caught a 76-yard pass for a touchdown. That put the Falcons up 15-13 until the Eagles drove back down the field to take the lead back (see Roob's 10 observations from the win)

“S---. Got greedy,” McKelvin said. “Y’all see it? S---. I was in his coverage and whatnot and s--- opened up so wide, I was like man, I was like he’s finna sit this b---- down. It’s a curl. Man, I’m finna jump this b---- and make a play. 

“Oh s---! Wrong time! Wrong timing, man. It was wrong timing, me doing that. Luckily the offense was doing a great job going downfield and putting us in a great position to get a field goal. We played great defense. I kept my head, stayed into the game. And as a defense, we made plays as a team.” 

McKelvin finished the game with three passes defensed. But his day could have been better. He had a couple chances to pick off a pass, but wasn’t able to catch balls that hit him in the hands. 

Eventually, though, McKelvin came up in a huge spot, when he picked off a Matt Ryan pass with under two minutes left to seal the game (see report card)

A little redemption. 

“Hell, yeah, man,” he said. “Third time’s a charm. Y’all seen it. The first one, I was trying to make a secure catch and everything. The second one, it surprised the [heck] out of me. I got my head around, the ball was like right there. I tried to tip it up to (Rodney McLeod), it didn’t happen. They came back with this same play. They actually ran the same play back to back. Like, don’t do that. That was just a bad mistake. They ran the same play back to back. I jumped it and made a play.”

Following the game, McKelvin said his hamstring was causing some pain but he’s going to prepare to play next week in Seattle. 

Watching McKelvin tough it out on Sunday, with a “flat tire,” as Malcolm Jenkins called it, meant a lot to his teammates. 

“Man, it means a lot man,” McLeod said. “It shows guy’s character, even though he was down a little bit, he was locked into the game, ready, prepared at any moment. Obviously, we needed him, called on him and showed up on a lot of plays. Should have had three picks, you know we’re going to tease him about that on Tuesday when we watch film. But he did a good job out there, considering his health.”

Contact Us