The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28–23 thanks to a performance by quarterback Jalen Hurts, who overcame a direct hit to his injured left knee and threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns in addition to running for another tush push score.
Jalen Hurts pretended to be confused. When a helmet struck his already injured left knee and forced him hobbling toward the sideline, what went through his mind? It also caused a few nervous moments for tense Eagles supporters.
“I can’t recall,” Hurts stated with a stony expression.
Watch it again for a refresher. Everyone in the Eagles’ locker room, even Hurts, was impressed by the toughness on display as he took more brutal hits and then tore through a stunned Dallas defense.
Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 28-23 thanks to Hurts’ heroics in the face of a direct blow to his injured left knee. He also ran for a second touchdown.
The only 8-1 team in the NFL is the Eagles.
During Dallas’ last drive, the Eagles used every effort to win the game. For a chance to win, Dak Prescott’s Cowboys had to cover 86 yards in 46 seconds. However, he was met with 56 yards of penalties from the Eagles before he could get to the 6-yard line.
Instead, Josh Sweat sacked Prescott for an 11-yard loss just as he was about to pull off a spectacular comeback.
The Cowboys (5-3) were on the 27 after a penalty, and Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for 22 yards, but Darius Slay tackled the wideout at the 5, ending the game.
Prescott completed 374 yards of passing for three touchdowns. Lamb got 191 yards and 11 catches.
“We feel great about our team,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “We need to learn from these mistakes. That’s what these games come down to. You get into these types of games and even more so if you get into playoff football.”
The NFC champion Eagles appear to be a squad capable of making a deep postseason run again, but a serious loss to Hurts could easily cause the team to falter.
Hurts has minimized the seriousness of his knee’s condition and laughed off inquiries about when he was injured. He hasn’t even been listed on the injury report yet.
Hurts declared, “I’d do anything for my city, my teammates.” “Whatever it takes, it takes.”
In the last moments of the first half, Hurts had a fright. DeMarcus Lawrence, a defensive lineman, hit him, and linebacker Micah Parsons wrapped him up for a sack. Hurts staggered off the field, stumbling as he stood up and looking like he was in pain. When the Eagles called a timeout, Hurts took a moment to gather himself on the sidelines. Hurts, the NFL MVP runner-up in 2022, stayed in the game to assist with a handoff.
Hurts’ tenacity is still respected by his teammates.
“If he can get up and walk off, he’s OK,” wide receiver A.J. Brown said. “He said a couple of words then right after, he’s all laughing and joking.”
Hurts appeared to be motivated only by the score and his injured knee to show that he was just as dangerous with one bad knee as he was with two healthy ones on the first drive of the third. Hurts scrambled for four yards and a first down on the first possession of the third quarter. After an 11-yard reception, he hit DeVonta Smith with a precise pass in the end zone’s corner for a 29-yard touchdown and a 21-17 lead.
Towards the end of the fourth, Hurts found Brown for a 4-yard touchdown pass, giving the team a 28-17 lead. With at least 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games, Brown had already set an NFL record. To break the streak, he needed 66 yards.
From there, Philadelphia’s defense took over. Zach Cunningham, a linebacker with the Eagles, stopped Prescott from scoring by flipping him to the 1-yard line. Prescott’s ball to tight end Luke Schoonmaker on fourth down was initially ruled a touchdown. However, a review of the footage revealed that Schoonmaker’s left knee was bent at the inch mark, overturning the touchdown.
Cheers broke out in the Linc, a sound that Phillies slugger Bryce Harper, who was watching from a luxury, was familiar with.
After Jalen Tolbert scored from 7 yards out for a touchdown, the score was 28–23, and the quarterback fumbled to convert a 2-point play. That is, he believed. Once more, replay overturned a crucial play for the Cowboys, as Prescott’s scramble was inadmissible. The Eagles continued to lead by five points.
“An inch here, an inch there, and we’ll find a way to gain that,” Prescott said.
The Eagles would have to falter in order for the Cowboys or any other NFC East team to overtake them for the top spot.
Dallas made a strong run at it. Owner of the team Jerry Jones said he didn’t want to “poke the bear,” but he remained silent this week to prevent any quotes on the bulletin board.
Precott responded, “Pour honey on me. If you see me and a bear in a fight, pour honey on me.”
Perhaps bears. Not so much for birds.
The Eagles led 1-0 after Kenneth Gainwell performed a somersault into the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Then, for a 14-7 lead, Prescott delivered back-to-back touchdown passes: a 4-yard connection to Jake Ferguson to tie the score, then a 5-yard pass to KaVontae Turpin in the second.
With his now-famous and incredibly successful tush push, Hurts knotted the game. With six on the tush push, it was his eighth rushing touchdown of the year. With 33 career touchdowns, he also set a QB rushing record for the Eagles.
Hurts is motivated to continue adding to that record even with one healthy knee.
“As long as he can do it, and it’s safe to go back out there, there ain’t nothing that’s going to keep him off the field,” center Jason Kelce said.