Eagles-Colts Leftovers: Boykin's hold; Chip's gamble; Sproles' work ethic

A day-after look at the Eagles' 30-27 win over the Colts: 

LOCKER ROOM LEFTOVERS

-- The Colts, their fans and Indianapolis media were howling about a possible no-call when Malcolm Jenkins intercepted Andrew Luck after T.Y. Hilton was apparently grabbed to the ground by Brandon Boykin. "It sure looked like it on the Jumbotron," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "We'll look at the tape."

The Colts were up 27-20 with 5 minutes and 15 seconds left and had the ball at the Eagles 22. They faced third and 9 and went to the air. Luck led Hilton with his throw, but the receiver was already on the ground by the time the ball reached the spot and Jenkins made the pick. Boykin made contact, but he said Hilton flopped.

Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis seemed to think karma was on the Eagles side.

"There were a couple holdings that I saw that they didn't call," Davis said. "It evens out."

-- Chip Kelly conceded he was settling for a field goal. The Eagles faced third and 15 at the Colts 31 late in the third quarter and the call was a handoff to LeSean McCoy. "I said, 'Screw it, let's run it' and get out of it," Kelly said.

But when the Eagles got to the line, the Colts had only three down linemen and were playing back in the secondary. "When I looked at their defense and what play we had called, I knew we were going to get at least ten yards," Eagles tackle Jason Peters said. "They were all back."

The play was a straight inside zone read. Center Jason Kelce sealed his man, and Peters and left guard Dennis Kelly took care of their responsibilities, and McCoy shot through a giant hole for 21 yards and a first down. Three plays later, Darren Sproles powered his way for a 19-yard touchdown.

-- The Colts deserve some blame for holding back their gun slinging quarterback  with a conservative game plan, but the Eagles secondary more than held its own against Luck. He completed 20 of 34 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns, but he averaged only 5.1 yards per attempt.

The Eagles pass rush moved Luck off his mark several times and hurried him several others, but they didn't record a sack. It was up to Jenkins, Boykin, cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher and safety Nate Allen to take away the Colts vertical passing game and they did with little support.

"The guys were just scraping," Davis said. "I was playing single-high [safety] so the corners were on their own."

Luck heated up in the second half, and picked up some yards on scrambles, as well. But with the score knotted late, the Eagles came up with a third down stop when corner Nolan Carroll blitzed off the edge and Luck threw errant to Reggie Wayne.

"He can make all of the throws and it was a challenge for us to go against him because he is just a talented guy, but I thought our defense came up big," Kelly said. "And then that third down stop to get us back on the field and give us a chance to kick the field goal to win it."

STAT SHEET

-- Jeremy Maclin has the lowest percentage of catches per target (8 of 21 for 38.1 pct.) among the 101 top receivers in the NFL through two games.

-- There have been 22 deep receptions (over 20 yards) by NFL tight ends through two games. Zach Ertz (5 catches) has 23 percent of them.

-- Nick Foles has thrown six or 50 percent more deep passes than the next quarterback. He is 6 of 18 for 191 yards and two touchdowns on those throws. He tossed one interception, but also had two receivers drops balls.

EXTRA POINT

I was dead wrong.

When the Eagles traded for the 31-year-old Sproles in March, I questioned whether they were getting a running back on the downslope of his career. I wondered if he would get enough touches behind McCoy to warrant giving a fifth round draft pick to the Saints.

What was I thinking?

Maybe rookie Ronald Powell, who New Orleans selected with that fifth rounder, develops into a perennial Pro Bowl linebacker. But I can't imagine Kelly and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman ever regretting the decision to acquire Sproles.

He was the sparkplug in the Eagles' season opening comeback win over the Jaguars. And on Monday night against the Colts he was the lynchpin. Maybe it was being back indoors on turf, but Sproles looked more explosive than he had last season with the Saints.

He already has three plays over 40 yards. Did he imagine he would be utilized so often by Kelly?

"When I was coming in they told me that I was going to get some," Sproles said. "But the way he uses me is perfect. I love it."

Kelly loves to insist that Sproles is first a running back, but the all-purpose back made his mark catching the ball out of the backfield against the Colts. All but four of his 152 receiving yards came after the catch as Sproles took full advantage of the Eagles' misdirection screen game.

On his 51-yard catch late in the fourth quarter that set up the tying score, Sproles waited behind Jason Kelce to pull and rode his blocker's back until the center knocked out another Colt.

"I knew he was right there," Kelce said. "His hand was right on my back. I knew I had to get going."

Kelly and several Eagles have said the thing that has surprised them most since Sproles came aboard has been his work and practice habits. It's translated to the games and the offense hums even when Sproles subs for McCoy.

"I don't think we miss a beat when LeSean is out for a play or two," Kelly said. "I think LeSean feels comfortable, if he has a big run, 'Hey I can go out for a play because 43 can go in and there is not a drop off.'"