When Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts wheeled in for an 18-yard touchdown with 9:25 left in the third quarter, the Eagles had a 22-point lead over the lifeless Jacksonville Jaguars.
Jacksonville had one first down and 36 yards on 21 offensive plays. Philadelphia had 14 first downs and 265 yards on 47 offensive plays.
But before the game was over, Hurts would have to lean on former Alabama teammate DeVonta Smith for the Eagles to come away with a 28-23 victory, including a catch by the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner that coach Nick Sirianni said would “live on in the sports world of Philadelphia for a long time.”
After the Jaguars scored 16 points in a 14-second span, the Hurts-to-Smith connection re-ignited Philadelphia. A 7-yard pass to Smith on third-and-6 picked up a first down before Hurts unloaded a long throw to Smith for a 46-yard gain, then ended the series with a 25-yard touchdown pass to the wide receiver known as the Slim Reaper.
“I didn’t have great vision on DeVonta,” Hurts said of the TD toss. “But I knew where he was going to be. I threw it to a spot where only he could get it, and that’s a hell of a play he made. I’ve seen him make that play in practice. I’ve seen him in the back of the end zone stick one hand out there and make that same very play, so that’s what I’m most excited about. …
“There’s a lot of things that we go out there and rep, and it’s off of feel, it’s off of timing and there’s sometimes where the vision isn’t there. Sometimes you have a tackle or a guard in your face or you have pressure or you don’t have the greatest vision on it.”
Smith made a one-handed catch at the end line to give the Eagles a 28-16 lead with 7:43 to play.
“In our catch circuit is making those one-handed, over-the-shoulder catches,” Smith said. “So I think that’s part of it. And I think just me having a good feel of where I’m at on the field, being aware when I’m close to the sidelines. Really just letting my legs go dead and get ready to drag. …
“(Hurts) does a great job of letting guys run under the ball and throwing a firm ball for us to just go and attack. It’s a trust thing. Even on the touchdown, he knew he had to get rid of the ball, he knew he had to throw it to a spot, and he trusted me to be there, and we made it work.”
The highlight-reel reception – and linebacker Nakobe Dean’s interception at the Philadelphia 20-yard line with 1:38 to play after the Eagles had missed a field-goal attempt – allowed Philadelphia to hold on for its fourth straight win.
Smith had four receptions for 87 yards for one touchdown after wide receiver AJ Brown left the game because of a knee injury with two minutes remaining in the first half.
“We missed him out there,” Sirianni said. “I thought DeVonta did an unbelievable job in his absence. We have two go-to guys. DeVonta got even more balls his way, and he made some unreal plays. …
“That’s two weeks in a row that Jalen has put a perfect ball on him in tight coverage, and Smitty has made a spectacular play.”
The Eagles failed on three 2-point conversion attempts while the Jaguars succeeded twice – after quarterback Trevor Lawrence capped Jacksonville’s first drive of any consequence with a 1-yard plunge with 5:26 left in the third quarter and defensive end Travon Walker’s 35-yard fumble return with 5:12 to play in the third quarter.
Walker’s touchdown came off a fumble by running back Saquon Barkley, who had 159 yards and one touchdown on 27 rushing attempts and 40 yards and one touchdown on three receptions.
Barkley scored the game’s first points on a 20-yard pass from Hurts with 10:22 left in the first quarter, then had a 19-yard run with 22 seconds remaining in the first half.
Hurts completed 18-of-24 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and ran 13 times for 67 yards and one touchdown.
Hurts became the first player in NFL history with a touchdown pass, a rushing touchdown and a passing-efficiency rating of 115 or higher in three consecutive games on Sunday.
The touchdown run gave Hurts six in the past three games, allowing him to join Cam Newton as the only quarterbacks with six rushing touchdowns in a three-game span during the NFL’s AFC/NFC era. (The former Auburn QB did so for the Carolina Panthers in Weeks 11 through 13 in the 2011 season.)
The Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys at 3:25 p.m. CST Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Philadelphia is 6-2 and Dallas is 3-5 entering the NFC East game.
