How a secret weapon helped the Eagles topple the Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
He was the Eagles’ secret weapon on Sunday, and he made no attempts or rushing catches, made no tackles, and if you weren’t paying close attention, you wouldn’t have even heard his name at the show. .
Braden Mann was brilliant.
Mann, the Eagles punter, turned in a historic performance for the Eagles when they needed it most.
There aren’t many ways to slow down the NFL’s biggest offense, but forcing them to play drive after drive on a long field is one.
And Mann did it perfectly.
Mann threw six times for a net average of 51.2 with five punts in the 20s, two in the 10s and no touchdowns.
He helped the Eagles control their field position throughout one of their biggest regular season wins under Nick Sirianni. The Eagles beat the Ravens 24-19 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, improving to 10-2 with their eighth straight victory.
“Great work by Braden,” said Nick Sirianni. “It’s huge. These are things that excite you so much as a football coach because they are important in the battle for position on the field. It won’t be talked about much, but I’m really excited and we talked about it after the game.
The Ravens entered the game averaging 6.97 yards per offensive play, the 2sd-highest number in NFL history behind the 2000 Rams’ 6.98.
Thanks to Mann, their average drive started at their own 24-yard line, and in the second half, when the Eagles took command, their average drive was 22.
They moved the ball much of the game, but they had drives of 14, 10, 8, 7 and 7 that resulted in either a field goal attempt or a punt. It didn’t hurt that Justin Tucker continued to miss field goals. But if Mann didn’t continue to pin the Ravens deep, maybe these field goal attempts are shorter and he makes them.
The last Eagles punter with five kicks inside the 20 and no touchdowns in a game was Donnie Jones against the Jaguars in the 2014 season opener at the Linc. Jones set a franchise record with seven punts inside the 20 – also without touchbacks – against the Cards in Week 12 of the 2013 season.
Ravens returner Tylan Wallace returned only two of Mann’s six punts for five and 11 yards.
Mann’s best moment came early in the second quarter. With the Ravens already leading 9-0, he launched a 58-yard field goal that took a few bounces before Sydney Brown knocked it down at the 1-yard line. The Ravens scored five yards on three plays before punting, giving the Eagles a short field leading to their first touchdown.
“Coming back to it, you only have a limited amount of time to make a decision whether you’re going to catch it or not,” Wallace said. “You have seconds to make that decision, and you just have to make it quickly and stick to it, whatever it is. I think I was going to go up and get it – I was a little undecided. At the last second, I decided against it.
This was a real turning point in the game.
The Eagles outscored the Ravens 24-3 until three seconds remained in the game.
“We spend so much time punting at plus-50,” Nick Sirianni said. “We show it. We talk about it so much. We show everyone from college during the week. We show everyone in the NFL, because we know how critical it is. If you can back a team and get a save, that usually equates to points.
“Braden, they didn’t catch their balls, and we caught ours. It’s a big problem. It’s like high school football. It’s something I learned from my brother so long ago: just catch the punt. Our guys caught the punt. (Great Britain) Covey did a great job taking short punts and catching them. Covey comes in and catches a punt that’s pretty short and saves us. One of them I thought was about 14 yards field position and another one was about 26 yards field position.
“Then they let some punts hit. Now why did they let certain punts hit? Because we had such a good run at the Sydney and Kelee (Ringo) field where it was a little tricky there, so they let them hit and we stuck them inside of it. To me, that’s a really good breakdown of our special teams and what they were doing. »
Mann is another little-known discovery of Howie Roseman.
He spent a few years with the Jets, then was released by the Steelers at the end of last year’s training camp. With Arryn Siposs struggling, the Eagles turned to Mann and he was the best punter in Eagles history, averaging 50.3 yards per punt and a net of 43.7. Previous records were held by Cameron Johnston at 47.0 and 41.8.
Mann’s career average of 46.8 yards per punt is 12th-the highest in NFL history. His 50.3 since joining the Eagles is 3rd-the best in the NFL.
“I think we really won the game on the kicks, going against special teams,” Zach Baun said. “I know how much it can affect games. We fielded all our punts, they didn’t, and it cost them.
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