Eagles hold off Panthers for ninth straight win

Oddsmakers made the Eagles heavy favorites at home against the Panthers on Sunday, but things wound up being much tighter than expected.

The Panthers had the ball on the Eagles' 32-yard-line in the final minute when quarterback Bryce Young floated a pass to wide receiver Xavier Legette near the end zone. Legette dove for the pass and appeared to catch it, but the pass was ruled incomplete and replays made it clear that he was not able to hold onto the ball.

Young threw an incompletion on the next two play and cornerback Darius Slay knocked away a fourth down pass to allow the Eagles to survive for a 22-16 win. That makes it nine wins in a row for the Eagles, who remain on the Lions' heels in the race for the top seed in the NFC.

It's tied for the longest winning streak in franchise history and the Eagles could end the weekend with a playoff berth depending on how other games play out. It also made the guy who bet $3.1 million on the Eagles winning a happier man than it appeared he might be as Legette made his way to the turf.

Saquon Barkley ran 20 times for 124 yards and set the Eagles' single-season record for rushing yards during the game. He did not score a touchdown, but did have a two-point conversion after tight end Grant Calcaterra's touchdown catch put them in front for good in the fourth quarter.

The Eagles may have been able to put the game away with a little less drama had the officials done their job on a catch by Calcaterra around the three-minute mark. Calcaterra was clearly wrestled down by his facemask, but no flag was thrown and the NFL's replay assist is not used to correct obvious missed penalty calls.

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts also had a touchdown pass to wide receiver DeVonta Smith and a touchdown run on Sunday afternoon, but the Eagles offense moved in fits and starts and kicker Jake Elliott missed his fifth field goal of at least 50 yards on the season.

Young was 19-of-34 for 191 yards and a touchdown while also picking up 29 yards on the ground, but he threw an interception late in the first half that helped the Eagles take a lead into halftime. The effort was another strong one for the Panthers overall, however, and the defense's four sacks of Hurts helped keep Carolina in the game.

The Panthers will move on to a home game against the Cowboys next Sunday and the Eagles will try to run their winning streak to 10 games against the Steelers in what will be a marquee Week 15 matchup.