Not much went wrong for Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in a 37-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Hurts completed 16-of-20 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions and ran 10 times for 37 yards and three touchdowns.
The Eagles scored on seven of their eight possessions as Hurts became the 13th player in NFL history with at least three touchdowns runs and one TD pass in the same game – a list that started when Johnny Lujack turned the trick in the Chicago Bears’ 45-21 victory over the New York Yankees on Dec. 9, 1951. The former Alabama QB joined ex-Auburn stars Ronnie Brown and Cam Newton among the 13 players.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hurts’ right shoe came off, and because the knot couldn’t be untied, Philadelphia used a timeout while Hurts got another shoe. He returned to the field in unmatched shoes while the equipment staff worked on the knotty problem.
“That was a first,” Hurts said. “I hate that we had to burn the timeout on that one. I had a double knot. Usually when I wear a low-top Air Jordan, I got them tied up real tight so I can have good ankle support. I tied it up so tight, I could not take the knot off, so I had to go Jalen Two-Shoes for a bit. Got some points, so that was cool.”
The Eagles got a field goal on that series as they pulled away from the Bengals by scoring the final 20 points of the game.
Philadelphia got the lead when Hurts hit former Crimson Tide teammate DeVonta Smith in the end zone for a 45-yard touchdown with 2:43 left in the third quarter.
The Eagles entered their bye week with a 2-2 record. But Philadelphia has a 3-0 record since its break, and on Sunday, the Eagles produced their high-point output of the season.
“I think we’re slowly finding it and trying to piece things together,” Hurts said. “Ultimately, it comes down to cadence and rhythm and how we play. And then in the end, optimizing all of the talent that we have.”
In the first four games of the season, Hurts completed 90-of-132 passes for 930 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions, ran for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 42 carries and lost three fumbles. In the three games since the bye, Hurts has completed 42-of-59 passes for 614 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and run for 92 yards and five touchdowns on 31 carries. He has not lost a fumble in the past three games.
“Jalen puts the work in,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “That’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough for Jalen Hurts – how much he loves football and how much time he puts into this game. And that’s how you want your leaders on your team to be is the time he puts into this game. So we were able to look at some of the things we were inefficient on and things that we were good on, and he just put so much work into it.
“You’re a product of how you practice, and I know you guys only get to see a little portion of practice, but he’s been practicing his butt off. During our long practice on Thursday, I’m not sure if the ball hit the ground. It’s the work. There is no secret to success. It’s your habits, it’s your work ethic. The same things it took to win this game are going to be the same things next game. Success takes what it takes.”
Hurts’ 1-yard quarterback sneak with 22 seconds left in the second quarter allowed Philadelphia to go into halftime in a 10-10 tie. Hurts’ 7-yard touchdown run with 10:35 left in the third quarter put the Eagles in front for the first time at 17-10. Hurts scored on another quarterback sneak from 1 yard out with 4:39 left to play. That drive covered 85 yards and took 7:37 off the fourth-quarter clock.
“I’m excited and pleased with how we played as a team, how we played as an offense,” Hurts said. “And I think (offensive coordinator) Kellen (Moore) did a really good job today. And, you know, we’re just all in it together, all in it together, sticking together and communicating and going out there and trying to play efficient ball.”
The game was the third of Hurts’ career in which he had at least three rushing touchdowns. No other quarterback in NFL history has had more than two. Hurts had shared the QB record for games with three or more touchdowns with Lujack, Tobin Rote and Daunte Culpepper before Sunday.
The Eagles play the Jacksonville Jaguars at 3:05 p.m. CST Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in their next game.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
