PHILADELPHIA – Despite a sloppy first half in which the Eagles committed five false start penalties, the offense moved the ball well enough to grab the first-half lead, 21-10, against the Tennessee Titans at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts was on target for two long touchdowns throws and added another rushing, this one from two yards out with 51 seconds to play in the second quarter.
The Eagles QB now has 19 passing touchdowns and nine rushing to surpass his total TDs from last year. He now has 28 touchdowns after putting up 26 in 2021.
He hit DeVonta Smith from 34 yards away in the first quarter then, early in the second, he connected with AJ Brown from 40 yards out to take a 14-7 lead with 13:55 to play in the second quarter.
Brown’s TD came one play after a TD throw to Brown was overturned after it had ruled a touchdown. It was the right call with one of Brown’s feet out by just inches near the goal line.
It was the receiver’s first game against the Titans, who was drafted in the second round in 2109 and traded him to Philly on the first night of last spring’s NFL draft.
He ended the half with 61 yards and a TD on three receptions.
Smith had four catches for 93 yards and a TD. He is bidding for his first 100-yard receiving game since Week 4 vs. Washington when he had a career-high of 169.
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Hurts completed 18 of 25 throws for 268 yards and a passer rating of 133.4.
Derrick Henry, who was held to 39 yards on the ground by the Bengals last week, had just 21 yards on seven carries.
In a statistical anomaly, Tennessee QB Ryan Tannehill had three runs for 34 yards, including an 8-yard run on fourth-and-seven at the Eagles 40 that kept alive their touchdown march that ended with a 25-yard throw to rookie WR Treylon Burks.
The Eagles scored first taking their opening drive and sticking it in the end zone on the throw to Smith. It marked the fifth time in the last six games the Eagles scored on their first possession
Brown’s TD gave Philly a 14-7 lead with 13:55 to go in the second quarter.
Defensively, the Eagles sacked Tannehill three times, with Javon Hargrave notching his eighth. That is a new career high for the defensive tackle, which led the fans to vote for his position in the NFC in the first batch of Pro Bowl ballots released last week.
Hargrave became the first Eagles DT to notch seven-plus sacks in back-to-back seasons since Corey Simon did it in 2000 and 2001.
Fletcher Cox had his fifth of the season and Josh Sweat now has 5.5 this year after bringing Tannehill down to force a 36-yard field goal that cut the Titans’ deficit to 14-10 with 3:28 to play in the first half.
The Eagles were penalized nine times for 60 yards.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.