How third-and-30 against Dallas reset the Eagles secondary en route to Super Bowl LVII

A dominant defensive season in a town that worships defense is, at the moment, best remembered for one bad play — a play that reset the defense for a Super Bowl run.

It wasn’t a touchdown. It didn’t involve a frontline player. It happened in a game in which the offense committed four turnovers.

But giving up third-and-30 in a loss to the Cowboys ...

“You’d have thought we lost the Super Bowl,” said Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, who, that night, blamed backup Josiah Scott, who blew the coverage.

It wasn’t the reason the Eagles lost the game, and it didn’t ruin the team’s good vibe. In fact, it might have been a good thing.

In the four games since third-and-30, three of them against playoff teams, the Eagles are giving up 12.5 points per game. They’re allowing 132.8 passing yards. They’ve allowed one touchdown pass and made two interceptions.

Third-and-30 was a wake-up call.

“I feel like we honed in on the details,” Scott said.

How?

“The group got stronger,” explained corner James Bradberry. “We made sure that we over-communicated. You’ve got to over-communicate, sometimes.”

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ James Bradberry has gone from Samford to Super Bowl LVII. Now he’s going to get P-A-I-D.

The Eagles admit they’d been riding high.

“I’d say it was good for us to have adversity,” Slay said. “We took it to the next week, and the next week, and kept building on it. Tough times define you as a player.”

Those were tough times, indeed. Philadelphia was outraged. Why?

Because it happened at Dallas, which magnifies the moment for Eagles fans. Because, until third-and-30, the Birds looked like they would beat the Cowboys and clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC, all without injured quarterback and MVP favorite Jalen Hurts; it would have been an unforgettable Christmas present. Because Slay, the Eagles’ best cornerback since Troy Vincent, was close by. Because it happened to Jonathan Gannon’s defense, and Eagles fans have despised Gannon’s toothless approach since he arrived last year.

» READ MORE: Troy Vincent is an Eagles Hall of Famer. He knows this team is getting a precious Super Bowl opportunity.

If the play itself wasn’t bad enough, things got worse after the game. Slay lay blame at the feet of Scott.

It’s incredible. Of all the spectacular plays that led to the Eagles finishing No. 2 in overall defense and No. 1 against the pass, collecting a team-record 70 sacks, and snagging 17 interceptions, all of which led them to the No. 1 seed in the NFC and the Super Bowl on Sunday, third-and-30 is the signature moment for the defense of 2022.

Only in Philly.

On third-and-30 midway through the fourth quarter on Christmas Eve, with the Eagles leading by a touchdown in a game that they could have clinched the No. 1 seed, Dak Prescott threw down the left sideline at T.Y. Hilton as Hilton ran past Slay. Josiah Scott, a backup playing in place of Avonte Maddox, was supposed to be behind Slay, but Scott was out of position. Hilton hauled in a 52-yard completion at the Eagles’ 19. The Cowboys still needed four more plays to tie the game at 34. They then turned an interception and a fumble into the two fields goals that won it.

“That one play didn’t define the whole game,” defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson told me Wednesday. It did, however, resonate.

» READ MORE: Eagles QB guru Brian Johnson’s time is now. Is the sky really the limit for him in the NFL coaching pipeline?

After the game, the locker room was like a tomb. The Eagles had won five in a row and entered 13-1, but lost Hurts the previous week, and Gardner Minshew was the culprit on three of the giveaways.

“Morale was kinda low,” Bradberry said. “We lost the game, and that was a big play in the game.”

Slay made things worse when, in the moment, he upbraided Scott on the field. Later, he made things worse still when asked about the play. Slay replied, with candor:

“People just gotta do their job, really, man,” he said, referring to Scott. “Good throw by Dak, good catch by [Hilton]. But if everybody just do their job, that play would have been stopped easily. That [stuff] there, that was mind-blowing.”

It could have blown the season, too. Instead, it made the secondary even stronger.

Wilson and his DBs reviewed the mistake immediately on the sideline.

“We got past that soon as we got to the locker room,” Slay said Wednesday.

Well, yes and no.

Slay hadn’t said what he said until they got to the locker room. By the time the team boarded their flight home, Slay’s comments had blown up, and the coaches realized that Slay needed to speak to Scott.

“We talked about it. Then, obviously, Slay made the comment,” Wilson said. “He pulled back. It was in the heat of the moment.”

Wilson’s in his ninth NFL season. He’s coached for the Bears, Rams, and Jets before he landed in Philly in 2021. Slay is an outspoken star in his 10th season. Scott is trying to hold on to an NFL career, in his third season. Slay’s words cut the kid.

“Obviously, Josiah was hurt,” Wilson said. “From the moment, too. Giving up the big play, We had to reel him back in. It’s all family.”

And Wilson’s the disciplinarian.

”I’m not going to put up with anybody being individual,” Wilson said.

Slay made sure Scott understood his comments were purely clinical.

» READ MORE: After a decade of waiting, Darius Slay finally gets his big chance: ‘Time to go finish it’

“There’s never going to be any disrespect,” Slay said. “It’s more like, ‘Hey, man, we have to be better. Collectively.’ Josiah understands. We’re brothers. There’s never been an issue.”

Scott seems unfazed now.

“Nothing’s ever personal,” he said. “Off the field, we’re all super cool. I know I messed up.”

Nevertheless, it was an uneasy flight from Dallas.

“Things were said,” acknowledged Bradberry. “As soon as we got off the plane, [we] slept on it, [and] it was over. By Monday, it was time for another week.”

And?

“The next week, Josiah answered back with a pick,” Slay said.

It was the biggest play for a secondary that had found its second wind.

The Eagles are one win away from their second championship. Join Inquirer Eagles writers EJ Smith, Josh Tolentino, Jeff McLane, Marcus Hayes and Mike Sielski on Gameday Central Sunday at 5 p.m. as they preview the game at inquirer.com/Eaglesgameday