Jalen Hurts throws 2 TD passes as the Eagles hold off the Browns 20-16
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Jalen Hurts threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, including a go-ahead 45-yard toss to DeVonta Smith in the fourth quarter, and the ragged Philadelphia Eagles held off the Cleveland Browns 20-16 on Sunday.
Hurts also threw a 22-yard TD to A.J. Brown, who returned along with Smith after both wide receivers missed time with injuries. The Eagles can't afford to lose either for any more lengthy stretches if they want to make a deep postseason run.
Coming off a bye, the already maddening Eagles (3-2) had to tough one out against the Browns (1-5) in front of a mostly listless crowd. Before Smith's TD, Eagles fans only showed some fire when they chanted for coach Nick Sirianni to get fired.
Trailing 20-13, the Browns moved into Eagles territory late in the game, only to settle for Dustin Hopkins' 31-yard field goal. Deshaun Watson was pushed out of bounds at the 2-yard line on a scramble, and he threw incomplete on third down.
The Eagles took over with 3:54 remaining and didn't let Cleveland get the ball back, with Hurts finding Brown for a 40-yard gain to put the game away.
Sirianni promised changes coming out of the bye week and he delivered -- the fourth-year coach shaved his head.
On the field, it was mostly the same old Eagles, who turned running back Saquon Barkley into a bystander, couldn't get Hurts to consistently connect with his star receivers, and had shoddy execution -- notable on special teams.
The saving grace? They played the Browns.
Watson's dismal play did not nothing to quiet the calls that the team's $230 million quarterback should be benched. He finished 16 of 23 for 168 yards, and the Browns failed to score an offensive touchdown - they still haven't scored 20 points in a game this season.
Cleveland got its only touchdown on a blocked field goal by All-Pro Myles Garrett that Rodney McLeod Jr. scooped and returned untouched to the end zone. Watson was sacked three times and threw for just 49 yards in the first half.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who decided last week he'll hang on to play-calling duties, has been steadfast in his commitment to Watson, who is in the third season of a fully guaranteed, five-year contract.
Brown had six catches for 116 yards and the score after he missed the last three games with a hamstring injury. Smith had three catches for 64 yards after he sat out a game with a concussion.
Jake Elliot kicked a 44-yarder in the third quarter for the Eagles and Hopkins hit a 49-yarder in the fourth that made it 13-13.
After a scoreless first quarter for the fifth game this season, Elliott broke through with a 49-yarder. The Eagles found a rare offensive spark on their second drive of the quarter: Hurts to Grant Calcaterra for 34 yards, Hurts to Brown for 16 yards, and Hurts to Brown for a 22-yard strike that made it 10-0.
Hopkins kicked a 43-yarder for a Browns, making it 10-3.
The Eagles seemed poised to nurse a small lead headed into halftime when Elliott lined up for a 57-yard attempt. Garrett got his hand on the ball when he jumped over Tyler Steen - a nice effort for a 6-foot-4, 272-pounder - for the block. Former Eagles safety McLeod scooped the loose ball and ran 50 yards for the score, topped with a somersault into the end zone, to tie it 10-all with 14 seconds left in the half.
Eagles fans, fed up with Sirianni since last season's late collapse, booed the team off the field. The real angry ones started a "Fire Nick!" chant, while those at home mused on social media if a coach could get fired at halftime.
Injuries
Browns: C Nick Harris was carted off the field with an ankle injury on the opening drive. Third-stringer Michael Dunn replaced Harris. RB Jerome Ford suffered a hamstring injury. Harris only got the start because starter Ethan Pocic was inactive with a knee injury. Pocic was out along with safeties Grant Delpit (concussion) and Ronnie Hickman (ankle).
Eagles: TE Dallas Goedert suffered a hamstring injury. CB Darius Slay left with a knee injury. OT Jordan Mailata left in the fourth, also with a hamstring injury.
Up next
Browns: Host Cincinnati next Sunday.
Eagles: At the New York Giants next Sunday.
Fan reactions to Eagles win
As the Eagles got their third win of the season fresh off a bye week, fans were grateful for a victory.
Despite defeating the one-win Cleveland Browns, many told Action News it was a close call.
"We squeaked by on a bad team. So, we're going to have to do better to beat anybody else," noted Mike Knowles from Mullica Hills.
"Just a lot of drives that should've ended in touchdowns. Can't be kicking field goals against good teams," added Brian Walsh from Bryn Mawr.
Though it may not have been a "pretty" win, some fans say any victory is a step in the right direction.
"It's what the fans needed. It was difficult. It was painful to watch at some points, but we brought it home," said Angel Luviano from Doylestown.
Heading into the Eagles' next game against the New York Giants, Birds fans say they want to see someone New York knows well to carry the ball.
"Stick with the run. We got Saquon, use him," said John Kortue from Southwest Philadelphia.
"They got to run the ball. Feed the ball to Saquon. Feed the ball to Saquon. Take a shot down to AJ or Devonte. That's the recipe," added Walsh.
Jason Kelce enjoys meat and greet at pregame party
Jason Kelce promised he would be an honest food critic before he chomped on a hog wing - essentially a pork shank coated in a dry rub, dipped in barbecue sauce - as Eagles fans swarmed the grill to catch a glimpse of the pied piper of pregame parties.
Kelce weaved through a throng of Eagles fans from one parking lot spot to the next, chugging beers, stopping for selfies, high-fiving squealing kids, before the retired Philadelphia Eagles center made a pit stop outside Danny McCormick's RV.
Among a smorgasbord of delectable chow, Kelce went hard on the hog.
"What's the best way to attack this," Kelce asked, holding a shank slightly smaller than a Thanksgiving turkey leg.
One Eagles fan yelled, "you've got to tear that thing apart!"
Kelce - biding time in retirement as a podcaster and pitchman - bit the meat right off the bone.
"Wow! Did you invent this?" Kelce said. "I've never heard of it. But this is great."
Kelce was tailed Sunday ahead of the Eagles' game against Cleveland by a camera crew and a buddy handing out beers from the company he co-owns with his brother, Kansas Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Kelce led fans in singing the Eagles fight song, "Fly, Eagles, Fly" and chants of "No one likes us, we don't care," popularized by Kelce in Philadelphia's 2017 Super Bowl championship season.
Kelce, who turns 37 next month, retired in March after a 13-year career spent entirely with Philadelphia. He was one of the great centers and personalities of his era, and played a key role in the franchise's lone Super Bowl championship.
McCormick, of Washington Township, New Jersey, is part of a generation of Eagles' season-ticket holders that goes back to 1940.
Kelce left McCormick with a collectible a bit more rare than an autograph or picture - how about a discarded pork shank bone?
"I'm going to save this and it's going to be in my motorhome in a frame," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
