Thanks to another clutch effort from quarterback Jalen Hurts, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Buffalo Bills in overtime and became the first team to clinch a spot in the NFL Postseason.
By Chris Murray
For the Philadelphia Sunday SUN
ABOVE PHOTO: Eagles fans celebrate the 10-1 victory. Photo by Webster Riddick
The Philadelphia Eagles became the first team in the NFL to get to double-digit wins and the first to clinch a spot in the NFL Postseason with a double-overtime win against the Buffalo Bills, 37-34.
But the roar of jubilation from the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field as quarterback Jalen Hurts ended the game with a 12-yard touchdown run was a sharp contrast from the boos you heard at halftime.
Trailing 17-7 at the intermission, Eagles fans had endured an awful first half of football in pouring rain. With the exception of a 73-yard scoring drive that culminated in one of the team’s trademark “Brotherly Shove” touchdowns from Hurts, the Eagles offense, minus right tackle Lane Johnson, did absolutely nothing.
In the second quarter, the Eagles’ offense gained only 32 yards, committed two turnovers — an interception from Hurts and a fumble — that led to Bills touchdowns and finished the first half 0-for-4 on third-down conversions. Hurts only completed four of his 11 passing attempts for 33 yards.
The team’s trademark “Brotherly Shove” touchdowns from Hurts, the Eagles offense. Photo by Webster Riddick
On the defensive end, the Eagles had trouble stopping Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who picked the Birds defense apart with his arm and legs in the first half. The Bills outgained the Eagles 276-98 in that first half. For the game, the Bills had 505 yards of total offense. That’s usually the recipe for a win.
But as they have for the last four games, the 10-1 Eagles found a way to win, with Hurts rallying his teammates to put on a clutch performance.
After doing next to nothing in the first half, Hurts completed 14 of his 20 passing attempts in the second half including three touchdown passes. For the game, Hurts was 18-of-31 for 200 yards and gained 65 yards rushing. He had five touchdowns total.
“Hurts really made some big time plays when it mattered most,” said Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni. “He made a lot of really clutch plays in that second half and the big one at the ending. We did a great job of blocking up front and Jalen got himself through there for a touchdown in a clutch moment. …He’s been clutch for us and clutch for this city for the past year.”
One of those plays was spurred by a little redemption from the defense. One of the biggest plays Hurts made in the game came following a huge interception by cornerback James Bradbury in Bills territory. Facing a third and 15 from the Buffalo 29, the Bills defense forced Hurts to scramble to his left. He threw the ball between two Bills defenders and hit Olamide Zaccheaus for the touchdown that gave the Eagles their first lead of the game.
Eagles’ Olamide Zaccheaus catches a game-changing touchdown.
Hurts brought the Birds back from two 10-point deficits in the second half, drove his team to the game-tying 59-yard field goal by Jake Elliott, a clutch performer in his own right and eventually that game-winning touchdown.
This isn’t the first time Hurts has brought the Eagles back. Hurts has eight straight victories when trailing by double digits at any point in the game, an NFL record (no other quarterback has more than four). He has 14 consecutive wins against teams with winning records, also an NFL record.
Of course, Hurts is never one to take all the credit for any Eagles win. He is always the first one to give his teammates credit for the team’s success. He said his individual performance was reflective of his teammate’s mental toughness.
“We just continue to find ways to win,” Hurts said. “We play together. We’ve shown our resilience day in and day out, game in and game out. We’ve been challenged in a number of different ways, but we always find a way. … We found a way to win, and we made it happen.”
But the Eagles face their biggest test of the season next week when they take on the San Francisco 49ers at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The game is a rematch of the NFC Championship and there is still a lot of bad blood from last year’s 31-7 Eagles win, which led to the institution of a rule requiring teams to have three quarterbacks on their roster.
Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m., and you can catch the game on Fox-29 or listen to it on WIP-94.1.
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