PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles’ passing game didn’t look that different, but the team certainly did. And then there was the result, which looked night-and-day different.
In his first NFL start, rookie Jalen Hurts made his case as the Eagles’ starting quarterback, leading the way -- often with his legs -- to the team’s most impressive victory of the season, 24-21, over the New Orleans Saints, who came in 10-2, favored by a touchdown over the 3-8-1 Eagles.
Hurts and a courageous effort by a defense that kept losing key starters but still kept the pressure on Saints quarterback Taysom Hill, filling in for injured Drew Brees, gave the Eagles life, ending a four-game losing streak. Carson Wentz watched from the sideline, wearing a baseball cap.
The Eagles looked ready to blow a 17-10 lead when the Saints got within 17-14 late in the third quarter. But Josh Sweat’s strip sack -- Sweat later became one of the injured Eagles who had to leave the game -- resulted in a Javon Hargrave recovery, and Hurts led a 53-yard drive that ended with Miles Sanders’ second touchdown run of the game, from a yard out. At 24-14, the Eagles were back in charge.
The cushion became crucial when Hurts -- 17 for 30 for 167 yards and a pretty touchdown, plus 18 carries for 106 yards, including kneel-downs -- lost his first NFL fumble at a terrible time, the home team trying to run the clock out with a minute and 42 seconds remaining. The Saints scored three plays later, and salvaging the victory was left to Jalen Mills. He dug an onside kick out of the pile after Corey Clement inadvertently kicked it with his heel.
The Saints hadn’t allowed an opposing player to rush for 100 yards in 55 games, but both Hurts and Sanders (14 carries, 115 yards) passed that milestone on a day when the Eagles finally ran the ball, mixing in the rollouts and run-pass option plays that have been missing all season. Wentz, watching, probably wondered where they came from
Hurts’ first drive of the day got the Eagles within field goal range at one point, but back-to-back penalties led to a third-and-11. Hurts scrambled for nine yards, but a fourth-and-2 run by Miles Sanders was smothered for a loss by former Eagle Malcolm Jenkins. Hurts finished the series 4-for-5 passing, for just 23 yards, and with 20 years on four carries.
The Saints then managed a fits-and-starts drive of their own, which ended with Will Lutz missing a 45-yard field goal. So there was no score at the end of the first quarter, which this season counts as a win for the Eagles.
Hurts’ next series went much better. Seven plays, 65 yards, including a 39-yard catch-and-run by Jalen Reagor, then, fourth-and-2 from the Saints’ 15, the play that showed the rookie might be capable of truly delivering the goods. He rifled a back-shoulder pass to Alshon Jeffery at the left pylon, Jeffery posting up Marshon Lattimore. Hurts took a huge hit right after the threw, from linebacker Kwon Alexander, who was penalized for roughing, so he might not have seen the catch, Jeffery’s first touchdown of the season.
Taysom Hill bounced a blistering pass off Alvin Kamara’s hands, which volleyed into the air. It came down in the hands of Eagles linebacker Duke Riley, and Hurts had the ball again. He seemed to hit Zach Ertz at the right sideline for a first down on third-and-4 from the Saints’ 26, but the ruling on the field was incomplete, and it held up on review. The Eagles settled for a 44-yard Jake Elliott field goal, and their first double-digit first-half lead since the season opener.
Riley stopped a third-and-1 Hill run, and after a punt and a Hurts run for a first down, the Eagles had second-and-10 from their 18. Miles Sanders found a huge hole on the left side, thanks to cleanout blocks by Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo and a nice second-level block from Ertz.
Sanders stiff-armed Jenkins and raced to the end zone, 82 yards for a 17-0 lead, equal to what the Eagles had in the opener at Washington, so very long ago.
It could have been more. They got the ball at their 23 with 57 seconds remaining in the half, and moved all the way to the Saints’ 4 with two seconds left, thanks largely to Hurts’ legs. Doug Pederson opted for a 22-yard field goal and a 20-0 lead, except Elliott pulled the kick, bouncing it off the left upright.
Hurts was 12 for 21 for 129 yards and a touchdown in the first half. He ran seven times for 75 yards.
The Saints got a touchdown back on their first series of the second half, and along the way, the Eagles – already down starting corner Avonte Maddox because of a first-half knee injury – lost corner Darius Slay (head injury) and safety Rodney McLeod (knee). When the Saints scored on a 5-yard Kamara run, the Eagles’ nickel alignment was practice squad corner Kevon Seymour, safety Marcus Epps, rookie safety K’Von Wallace, corner/safety Jalen Mills and corner Nickell Robey-Coleman.
This mattered much more on the Saints’ next series, when they made it 17-14 on a 37-yard Hill pass to Emmanuel Sanders, who beat Seymour badly. It wasn’t a perfect throw, but it didn’t have to be.
