A Whiteout in Week 14

Photographer Al Tielemans didn’t bargain for a blizzard when he went to Philly to shoot Lions-Eagles. But poor conditions can sometimes offer rich results

Emily Kaplan | Dec 9, 2013

A Whiteout in Week 14 /

Photographs by Al Tielemans/Sports Illustrated

Photographer Al Tielemans was lucky his Sunday assignment was to take photos of Philadelphia quarterback Nick Foles, rather than Detroit’s Matt Stafford. And not just because the Eagles overcame a 14-point third quarter deficit to topple the Lions, 34-20.

Foles and company wore green uniforms. Stafford’s Lions wore white. “And there were some short screen passes from Stafford—actually a lot of passes—where you had no idea who he was throwing to,” Tielemans said.

Welcome to the Week 14 Whiteout—a photographer’s nightmare.

A driving snowstorm in a 20-degree windchill blanketed Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. Forecasters predicted only some snow, and not until later in the afternoon—they were a bit off; eight inches piled up at the Linc, according to the Eagles’ website—but Philly and Detroit plowed through their 1 p.m. game anyway. And it was messy.

Lions running back Reggie Bush slipped during warmups and did not play. Stafford fumbled three snaps in the first quarter alone. Neither team attempted a field goal—in fact, the teams opted for 2-point conversions on seven of the eight touchdowns.

A Whiteout in Week 14

Grounds crew worked frantically before the game to clear the field.

Swoop, the Eagles mascot, seemed eager to get going. Of course, he didn’t have to play.

Matt Stafford and Joique Bell found the ball tough to handle. Detroit fumbled seven times on the day and lost three of them.

Field judge Craig Wrolstad was subjected to the elements like everyone else.

The effort to keep the field clear was constant in the first half.

Photographer Tielemans got a head-on view as DeSean Jackson went face-first into the snow after a second-quarter reception.

Joique Bell was pressed into starting duties after Reggie Bush was injured on the slippery surface in warmups.

Tielemans said the Lions’ white uniforms made the players hard to pick out from the sideline.

Punting was option, but not placekicking.

One of the many pileups after a loose ball.

DeSean Jackson didn’t see conditions like these at Cal, where he played his college ball.

The official snowfall total at nearby Philadelphia Airport was 8.6 inches—more than fell all of last winter in Philly.

Nick Foles and the Eagles fumbled just once and recovered their own miscue.

Better to run than to throw: The teams combined for 79 rushing attempts.

Things weren’t much smoother on the sideline. Mostly because nobody could see the sideline, which created a chaotic jam among photographers, linesmen and camera crews who normally rely on white lines to regulate where they can and cannot go.

“Complete and utter chaos,” Tielemans said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

And he’s been shooting NFL games since 1986.

Tielemans said he wasn’t cold; he never even put on gloves. The biggest issue was keeping his camera dry. If snow landed on his lens, the photo would turn out distorted. If snow landed on the viewfinder on the back of the camera, that would distort what Tielemans saw.

It was a tricky balance, especially as snow swirled from every direction and grounds crews tried valiantly to clear the yard lines with blowers. “When they walked past us, the snow would blow right into us and freeze up the lens,” Tielemans said.

A Whiteout in Week 14

Only one placekick was attempted—a David Akers extra point try that was blocked by the Eagles.

Calvin Johnson had 49 yards on three receptions, tied for his lowest catch total of the season.

Once conditions began to clear, Tielemans got a better view of the game action.

Jeremy Ross returned a third-quarter punt 58 yards for a score to put the Lions up by two touchdowns.

LeSean McCoy took over in the second half, when he gained 166 of his 217 rushing yards.

With loose footing, leaping was at times a better way to avoid a defender than trying to go around.

McCoy really heated up in the fourth quarter, beginning with this 40-yard TD run.

Tielemans perfectly positioned himself for the two-point attempt after McCoy’s run, an incompletion to tight end Zach Ertz. A questionable Detroit penalty gave Philly a second chance, and Bryce Brown converted.

How special was Jeremy Ross’s day? After the Eagles had tied the game at 14, he ran the kickoff back 98 yards for his second return score of the game.

McCoy’s 217 yards broke Steve Van Buren’s Eagles single-game rushing mark of 205, which had stood since 1949.

Foles threw his first interception of the season but also added a touchdown pass to bring his total to 20.

Chris Polk closed out the scoring with a 38-yard TD run with 2:58 left. (The two-point try failed.)

Both sides gave thanks after the game—and maybe asked for better conditions next time.

On the technical side, Tielemans had to manually focus his camera the entire game. The autofocus (a preferred and more convenient setting) works on contrast, and there was no contrast on Sunday. And since he was locked in on Foles, he needed to stay as close as possible.

“Once they got to the 35-yard line, it became a lot harder,” Tielemans said. “But you just had to stay with him.”  Because if Tielemans was five yards—or even one—further back, there was no shot.

The weather cleared up after halftime, and the shooting conditions improved—to the point where Tielemans could actually see his subject. He wasn’t even sure if his photos from the first half would be usable. “Some of the pictures are just ridiculous,” he said. But sometimes ridiculous can be pretty fun.

Photographer at work: Al Tielemans (kneeling, in red) capturing the shots of DeSean Jackson and Zach Ertz that appeared in the above galleries. (NFL Rewind)

Published Dec 9, 2013

EMILY KAPLAN