PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Hurts soaked up shots when the Eagles’ recently feeble passing attack was suffocated by his own star receivers. After Hurts and AJ Brown, one of the receivers who prompted the complaints, had their relationship dissected and exposed by teammates, it’s the kind of locker-room criticism that can unravel a team.
Or maybe sensitive internal evaluation is just the incentive Philadelphia needs to showcase its superiority in a cross-state showdown with its playoff rivals.
“You take advantage of every opportunity to get better,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I’m not saying for one minute that all the turmoil outside is a good thing. We want to make sure we stay focused on what we’re doing, and that’s how I feel.”
Hurts threw touchdown passes to Brown and DeVonta Smith to take the spotlight off the Eagles offense and Philadelphia beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-13 on Sunday to win its 10th straight game .
“So this is what you all want to see?” Hurts said.
Philadelphia’s latest friction isn’t fan or media driven at all – it’s like a horror movie with the sound coming from inside the house.
A week later, both Smith and Brown complained about the lack of receiving opportunities in a win over Carolina in which Hurts and the Eagles’ offense made big plays. Later in the week, injured defensive end Brandon Graham appeared on Philadelphia Sports Radio and hinted at personal issues between Hurts and Brown.
Hurts, who hasn’t topped 200 yards in any of the last three games but has thrown for 290 yards, tried to eliminate any apparent internal dissent in the opening game. He connected with Smith twice and once with Brown, which led to a 34-yard field goal by Jake Elliott.
“The scrutiny never ends. This is nothing new,” Hertz said. “That’s what excites me. I’m glad someone told me I can’t, we can’t. I know I’m leading this team and it takes a lot from me. It demands a lot of you.”
Brown was tiptoeing around the sidelines late in the game, catching eight passes for 110 yards and Smith finishing the week with 11 catches for 109 yards, while they combined for just eight catches for 80 yards.
“We discussed this behind closed doors,” Brown said. “We yelled at each other. It was very uncomfortable because we didn’t want to feel like we were being attacked.”
Hurts hit Brown for a 5-yard touchdown late in the first quarter, the two celebrated with a Kid ‘N Play dance, and connected with Smith for a 2-yard score in the second quarter to take a 17-3 lead.
“That was the moment we told everyone to shut up,” Brown said.
Eagles running back Saquon Barkey ran for just 65 yards on 19 carries, slowing his pursuit of the NFL season rushing record. Barkley, who still leads the NFL with 1,688 yards, was hit low by Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and missed much of the second quarter. Barkley said his right knee is in good condition and was not injured by Fitzpatrick’s hit.
Hurts also rushed for a touchdown for the Eagles (12-2), whose chance to clinch the NFC East was denied when Washington beat New Orleans earlier in the day. AFC North-leading Pittsburgh (10-4) lost for the second time in nine games but clinched a playoff spot with losses to Miami and Indianapolis.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said a playoff spot isn’t that important in this scenario.
“It’s not like I’m standing here today. We had a game to play today. We wanted to win it, but we didn’t,” he said. “Some of the other stuff is less relevant to us.”
The Steelers lost star linebacker T.J. Watt to an ankle injury after chasing Hurts in the fourth quarter. Watt, who leads the Steelers with 11 1/2 sacks, said he is in a “wait-and-see” mode regarding next week’s divisional showdown in Baltimore. The 30-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year left with a sprained ankle, which he did not consider to be a serious injury.
Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson was stymied by the Eagles defense and threw for a season-low 128 yards. He threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth against the Eagles, who finished with a 6-1 record.
Clearly, the Steelers are missing wide receiver George Pickens, who leads the team in catches (55) and receiving yards (850). He missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury.
The Steelers haven’t won in Philadelphia since Oct. 24, 1965.
Wilson fumbled a throw to Najee Harris in the third quarter and the Eagles recovered. Hurts scored on a one-yard score to take a 27-13 lead.
This was the first meeting between the two teams (among the original eight teams in the NFL), and both teams had double-digit winning percentages at the time. But the competition isn’t as fierce this time around.
Chris Boswell kicked field goals of 37 and 49 yards and became Pittsburgh’s season field goal leader with 38 yards.
Barkley needs 418 yards over the final three games to break Eric Dickerson’s 40-year-old NFL record. In 1984, Dickerson rushed for 2,105 yards for the Los Angeles Rams. His rushing total was his second-worst of the season.
Steelers: CB Donte Jackson suffered a back injury. … Backup quarterback Justin Fields suffered an abdominal injury.
Eagles: S Sydney Brown suffered a concussion on a hit on the opening kickoff. … LG Landon Dickerson suffered a knee injury.
Steelers: At Baltimore on Saturday in a key AFC North game.
Eagles: At Washington next Sunday.
