The Eagles answered concerns about their passing offense in a big way on Sunday in their 35-10 win over the Tennessee Titans, with Jalen Hurts throwing for 380 yards while moving the ball whenever and wherever he wanted through the air in a dominating win.
Everyone on offense deserves credit for the big day, especially Hurts, but the dominating showing on the offensive line in pass protection might have been the biggest reason. Hurts had a clean pocket to work with throughout the game, something he hasn’t had over the last few weeks.
AJ Brown dominated his former team, pulling in two touchdowns, including a spectacular catch that pretty much ended any chance the Titans had of coming back.
There will be plenty to discuss from this one, but for now, here are some observations from the game:
4th Quarter: Eagles 35, Titans 10
This game was over before the start of the fourth, but that didn’t stop the Eagles from piling on, as they scored at the start of the quarter on a three-yard touchdown run to extend their lead to 25 points, 35-10.
A big reason the Eagles were able to dominate the Titans was the play at the line of scrimmage. The Eagles won their matchups convincingly on both lines of scrimmage, giving Jalen Hurts a clean pocket to work with and got in the face of Ryan Tannehill throughout the game. It was clear that the Eagles heard the talk about the Titans being a physical team and came in wanting to show not only could they handle it, but they could be the enforcers.
The special teams had their best game of the season in nearly every phase. The kickoff coverage delivered their two biggest hits of the season. Britain Covey had his best game as a returner, breaking free for a season-long 27-yard return. The improved special teams play was encouraging after the unit really struggled last week against the Packers.
3rd Quarter: Eagles 28, Titans 10
The Eagles came out of the locker room and immediately added to their lead, going down the field on their first possession for a 4-play, 50 yard drive that ended in an insane AJ Brown 29-yard touchdown catch. Brown came down with the ball despite having a Titans defender all over him, the kind of catch that made it clear why the Eagles paid a premium for the No. 1 WR this offseason. The touchdown put the Eagles up 28-10.
2nd Quarter: Eagles 21, Titans 10
A poor throw by Jalen Hurts at the start of the second quarter cost the Eagles a touchdown, as he had AJ Brown open down the right sideline from 40-yards out, but he lead Brown out of bounds with his throw. The Eagles got Brown his touchdown on the very next play, however, when Brown bullied Kristian Fulton at the top of the route, causing Fulton to fall, and Brown got wide open down the left sideline for a 40-yard touchdown. After the touchdown Hurts was 9/13 for 176 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT and a 151.4 passer rating.
A dominating showing by the Eagles’ offensive line in pass protection was a big reason the passing game got off to a great start. Hurts had plenty of time in the pocket to work with and as a result was able to sit back and pick apart the Titans’ bad secondary.
The story of the first half for the Eagles was unfortunately the penalties. Despite pretty much dominating once the ball was snapped, they were called for 9 penalties in the first half (most before the snap) which kept the Titans in the game.
The Eagles added on a touchdown right before the end of the first half, putting some much-needed space between them and the Titans, 21-10.
1st Quarter: Eagles 7, Titans 7
Eagles got off to a sloppy start on offense, having to burn a time out and getting two false starts in the first four plays. Once they got going, however, they went right down the field against the Titans, ending with a 34-yard pass from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith. Considering the struggles in the passing game recently it was encouraging to see the Eagles’ passing attack get off to a quick start.
The Titans tied the game with just under three minutes to play in the quarter when Treylon Burks made an unbelievable catch in the end zone from 25-yards out. Burks was hit hard by Epps while making the catch and seemed to be knocked out for a few minutes before eventually walking off with trainers.
Eagles finished the quarter with six penalties, one of the sloppiest starts they have had under Sirianni since he became head coach.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!