On a chilly night in South Philly, the Philadelphia Eagles (12-2) pulled away in the second half to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) 27-13 in the battle of the Keystone State at Lincoln Financial Field Sunday night. The win sets a new franchise record for the longest winning streak by any Eagles’ team at ten games. A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith each had a touchdown while Jalen Hurts ran for one in the victory.
The Eagles’ defense set the tone on the opening drive in a battle between two teams who take pride in being physical, forcing a quick three and out. Jalen Hurts and the offense came out slinging the football. Hurts connected to tight end Grant Calcaterra on a beautiful pass for a 22-yard gain then followed that with a quick pass to Brown for seven yards. Smith then hauled in a pass for 21-yards to put the Eagles inside the red zone. However, the drive stalled at Pittsburgh’s 16-yard-line and Jake Elliott would connect on a 34-yard field goal to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter.
Philadelphia’s defense continued to swarm on defense and forced another three and out. After a nice play by Kenneth Gainwell where he spun around a defender to pick up the first down on 3rd and 4, a few plays later, Hurts scrambled looking to convert on third down and T.J. Watt knocked the ball loose for a turnover.
The Steelers were unable to cash in, having to punt after just three plays, but Cooper DeJean fumbled on the punt return to set the Steelers up on the Eagles’ 11-yard-line. The Eagles’ defense bent but did not break and allowed a 37-yard field goal from Chris Boswell to tie the game 3-3 with 3:42 left in opening quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Hurts and Brown silenced any doubters that may still be out there regarding if they have any type of issue. Hurts connected with the star wideout on three passes during the drive for 20 and 16 yards before finding Brown at the back of the endzone from five yards out to make it a 10-3 Eagles lead after an Elliott extra point with 1:13 left in the opening quarter to cap off a dominant six-play, 70-yard drive that took just 2:29 off the clock.
Despite the two fumbles, the Eagles dominated the opening quarter, outgaining the Steelers 148-2 while converting seven first downs to the Steelers’ zero.
The second quarter started like the first for Wilson and the Steelers’ offense. Three plays and a punt. Philadelphia wasted no time once again, marching down the field with great success through the air as Hurts connected with Brown for a 17-yard gain and then found Gainwell on a crossing route on 3rd and 13 for a first down with the running back being brought down at the two-yard line. Two plays later, on a 4th and 2, Hurts zipped a pass to DeVonta Smith to make it 17-3 after another Elliott extra point with 9:07 left in the second quarter.
Pittsburgh put together a methodical touchdown drive to answer. Wilson found tight end Pat Freiermuth in the endzone to cap off an 11-play, 70-yard drive that took 6:33 to make it 17-10 Philadelphia with 2:34 left in the first half.
A Boswell 49-yard field goal with 37 seconds left cut into the Eagles’ lead 17-13 at halftime.
The Eagles started the third quarter with the ball and after a drive that looked like it would be marred by penalties, Hurts made some big throws to get the team in field goal range. Philadelphia went to settle for an Elliott 48-yard field goal which was good, but Pittsburgh was called for a personal foul to extend the drive. The Eagles were unable to capitalize, only moving the ball seven yards to ultimately lead to an Elliott 41-yard field goal to make it 20-13 with 7:52 remaining in the quarter.
The back-and-forth battle continued with the Steelers driving on the ensuing drive, highlighted by a flea-flicker from Wilson to Austin III for 31-yards to get deep into Eagles’ territory. After a pair of runs picked up 13 more yards, Najee Harris fumbled a toss from Wilson and Dairus Slay fell on the loose football for the Eagles first turnover of the game.
Hurts and company capitalized, marching down the field on 13 plays for 74 yards highlighted by a 23-yard scramble from Hurts and another big third down conversion by Gainwell on 3rd and 9 with a 14-yard reception before Hurts scored on a “Brotherly Shove” to make it 27-13 with 14:17 left in regulation.
Philadelphia would go on a big game ending drive as they drained the clock and closed the curtains on the Steelers’ hopes for a comeback. It may have came at the cost of a possible A.J. Brown injury as he was brought down awkwardly due to a hip drop tackle. Nonetheless he was able to walk on his own as the offense continued to do their thing in closing out the Steelers. Philadelphia has now won 10 games in a row and has improved their record to 12-2.
The Eagles will hit the road to take on the Washington Commanders next Sunday with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
Eagles Quick Hitters
-Hurts threw for 250 yards for the first time since Week 6 when he tossed for 264 yards in the win against Cleveland, which was the start of this historic 10-game winning streak.
-The Eagles have yet to lose to Pittsburgh at home since 1965.
-With Brown and Smith scoring a touchdown, it marked the first time the dynamic duo found the endzone in the same game since the Browns game in Week 6.
–Eagles beat Russell Wilson for the first time in his career.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
