For the fourth straight week, the Philadelphia Eagles did not play a complete game, but they got a win for the fourth consecutive week; however, it took an extra quarter to get it done.
Jake Elliott converted a 54-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 34-31 victory over the Commanders(2-2) to move to 4-0 on Sunday.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had his best game of the season. He completed 25-of-37 (67.6%) attempts for a season-high 319 yards, two touchdowns, and a 112.3 passer rating; he recorded six completions of 20-plus yards in today’s win, including 59-yard and 28-yard touchdowns to A.J. Brown in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.
Hurts was happy he had no turnovers, but the team had four field goals; Hurts wanted to score more touchdowns.
“Growing, every time I step on the field, that is my goal,” he said. “I want to get better every opportunity that I have. It’s always good to protect the ball, but we have to finish in the red zone. If we finish in the red zone today it’s a totally different game. We had multiple opportunities to do that, but that pressure builds a ton of character. When you put yourself in those positions, it’s about how you respond. That will pay dividends for us in the future.”
In the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 24, Hurts connected with Brown on a 28-yard touchdown pass, which put the Eagles up 31-24. In OT, on Philly’s first possession, Hurts led the Eagles on the game-winning drive, which ended with an Elliott field goal.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was impressed by Hurts in the fourth quarter and OT.
“I thought he played clutch,” Sirianni said. “Just clutch. I think that’s the best way to say it. Whether it was the overtime drive, whether it was the drive where we scored with about a minute plus left. We didn’t have a lot of possessions in the first half, and we needed that end-of-half drive to get going. Clutch. I think that is the best way to say it.”
According to Sirianni, this was Hurts best game of the season.
“I think it was his best game this year,” he said. I have to watch it and see everything. But I thought it was his best game this year. I thought he was clutch. And sometimes in quarterback stats and all these different things you can override anything that’s going on with a quarterback when they make plays when the play’s needed, right?”
Defensively, the Eagles struggled on Sunday. Washington moved the ball effectively down the field for most of the game. Philly will have to clean that part up going forward. Offensively, things are starting to pick up, and that unit will continue to improve.
Notes:
A.J. Brown hauled in 9 passes for 175 yards (19.4 avg.) and 2 TDs, including a season-long, 59-yard TD reception that made it a 21-17 score during the third quarter. His 175 yards marked the 2nd-most of his career (181 yards on 12/18/22 vs. Chicago).
Brown is the first Eagle to produce 175+ receiving yards and 2 TDs in a game since Jeremy Maclin on 10/26/14 at Arizona (187 yards, 2 TDs). He is the first to do so at home since Kevin Curtis on 9/23/07 vs. Detroit (221 yards, 3 TDs).
Nicholas Morrow finished the game with a career-high-tying 11 tackles (10 solo), a career-high 3.0 sacks, 3 TFLs, 3 QB hits and 1 FF. Morrow is the first Eagle to record 10+ tackles, 3.0+ sacks and 1+ FF in a game.
Jason Kelce started his 143rd consecutive regular-season game, which marks the 2nd-longest active streak among all NFL players, trailing only Atlanta’s Jake Matthews (146). Kelce’s streak is the longest by an NFL center since Casey Wiegmannfrom 2001-11 (175). It is the 2nd-longest in team history, behind Jon Runyan (144, 2000-08).
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