DeVonta Smith’s best games of his brilliant 1,000-yard Eagles season

The loss hurt, but DeVonta Smith showed us a ton and surpassed 1,000 receiving yards versus the Cowboys.

DeVonta Smith’s first three 100-yard receiving performances of 2022 saw Number 6 start quickly. In Week 16’s game versus the Dallas Cowboys, things started slowly before he began to heat up.

DeVonta racked up two catches for ten yards in the first half of this meeting of long-time NFC East rivals. It was a different story during the final two quarters as this barn-burner turned into a shootout late. Smith added an additional six receptions and 103 receiving yards in the second half. Most importantly, he found his way into the end zone twice.

His first touchdown came on a fourth-down attempt from the Cowboys’ 14-yard line. Gardner Minshew escaped Dallas’ rush, moved left, and found Number 6 to give the Birds a 27-17 lead at the time.

Later on, with Philly’s ten-point lead now evaporated and with a little over ten minutes remaining, Minshew again found Smith, this time for a nine-yard score that expanded the Eagles’ advantage back to seven points (34-27).

There isn’t an Eagles fan that doesn’t know how this ended. Dallas rallied to take the lead. Philly needed to do the same, but eventually, a last-ditch effort to win late fell short.

Philadelphia wound up wasting Smith’s brilliant effort, but a 113-yard performance ensured him the first 1,000-yard receiving campaign of his career. He’ll look to continue adding to his total with the New Orleans Saints being Philly’s next test in Week 17. A win in that one gives the Birds the NFC East’s crown and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Let’s hope that DeVonta Smith is locked in and delivers another big-time performance in that one.