Torrey Smith makes immaculate-ish reception after pass bounces off DB's knee

All right, the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t score a touchdown off their immaculate-ish reception, and Frenchy Fuqua was not involved at all. Still, the Eagles got a heck of a break right before halftime in their divisional-round playoff game.

Nick Foles threw a terrible pass to the middle of the field that Atlanta Falcons safety Keanu Neal probably could have made a fair catch on. Neal jumped to catch the ball, and somehow the ball caromed off of his knee and into the air. Much like Franco Harris’ famous “Immaculate Reception” about 45 years ago, Torrey Smith was following the play and must have been surprised to catch the deflected pass for a 20-yard gain to midfield.

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The Eagles completed one more pass with a second left in the half — the Falcons must not have thought the Eagles could complete a pass in the remaining time, because they basically gave the Eagles that catch to get them into field-goal range — and rookie Jake Elliott kicked a 53-yard field goal as the half expired. That cut the Falcons’ lead to 10-9.

Foles was shaky in the first half, completing only safe short throws while missing wildly on anything downfield. Had Neal had better hands, Foles’ mistake late in the half might have set up a Falcons field-goal attempt before the half ended. Instead, the ball bounced off his knee and Smith had a really strange reception.

Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith made a crazy catch against the Falcons in Philadelphia's playoff opener. (AP)
Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith made a crazy catch against the Falcons in Philadelphia’s playoff opener. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!