When Grant Calcaterra calls it a career, he'll have plenty of stories he can share. Perhaps his best will be about how he enjoyed being able to make that decision on his own.
His first retirement was involuntary. A string of concussions led him to walk away from the game he loved after three seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners (He was actually one of Jalen Hurts' teammates there). He took a year off and returned with an acceptable final season with the SMU Mustangs.
Grant Calcaterra shines in an Eagles win fueled by unlikely heroes.
Philly drafted Grant Calcaterra with the 198th selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. He has started 12 of 43 in-game Eagles appearances. His first career TD came early in the fourth quarter of a dogfight with the Carolina Panthers.
This one was huge. It gave the Eagles the lead again.
Grant Calcaterra’s first career TD gives Philly the lead #FlyEaglesFly
— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2024
📺: #CARvsPHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/bN5EO8Ki18
Can we caption that and say 'the first of many' now? He finished this one with three catches. He was one of the unlikely heroes from this one.
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Darius Slay makes his impression felt.
It seems strange to call someone who's made several Pro Bowl rosters an unexpected hero. Darius Slay has battled injuries all season though.
With the emergence of two good rookie corners on this roster, Slay hasn't gotten mentioned as often as we have recently, but he came up with two huge pass breakups.
One followed a holding penalty. That helped extend a Panthers drive by giving them a first down, Slay checked in with a 'big play' to halt Carolina's drive on a fourth-down attempt five plays later.
THAT'S A BIG PLAY SLAY 🔥@bigplay24slay | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/VwUYLY8qnL
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 8, 2024
Philly's next drive lasted for ten plays and only took 5:37 off the clock. They punted and Avonte Maddox made a huge special teams play.
Wait! Avonte Maddox?
This won't be talked about this week, but this pin-job by Braden Mann and Avonte Maddox was huge! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/XXjhQEancg
— Inside The Iggles (@InsideIggles) December 8, 2024
That pinned Carolina back, and while the Panthers still had an opportunity to pull this one out, the long field slimmed their chances at doing so.
13 plays carried the Panthers to the Eagles' 47-yard line. Darius Slay helped end this one with ANOTHER 4th-down PBU. In total, he was targeted 11 times and allowed two receptions, Not bad for an old man, huh?
Everyone say thank you @bigplay24slay 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/VQwSWImYpn
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 8, 2024
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay had two big pass breaks up on fourth down, including the last one. pic.twitter.com/9CtnOA5vk8
— cayden steele (@cayden_steele19) December 8, 2024
Did you see Saly bait Bryce Young on that one? It looks like Slay captured some of the old magic. There appear to be some big plays left in him after all.
Philly wins their ninth straight. They improve to 11-2 on the season. This one was a total-team effort. The Pittsburgh Steelers are on the horizon.