Six openers, six wins
Four straight punts. That was Philadelphia’s first half hour of the season, in front of its own crowd, against a division rival. The Eagles still found a way, beating Washington 24-22 at home last night.
The number that matters sits outside the box score. Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts have now won six straight season openers, one in every year since they were first paired up in 2021.
Hurts finished 14-of-25 for 203 yards and three touchdowns, and added 46 yards on the ground. Dallas Goedert caught four passes for 77 yards and two scores. Saquon Barkley carried 15 times for 83 yards, a modest return that said plenty about an offensive line that never imposed itself in the run game.
Try it for $0.99.
Third-and-18, and a 22-yard run nobody saw coming
Hurts had just been jeered by his own fans after an incomplete pass. Third-and-18 at his own 31. He spotted a lane up the middle and ran 22 yards to move the chains. Two plays later, on third-and-6, his short throw to Goedert turned into a 43-yard touchdown.
Jake Elliott had earlier stretched the lead to 17-9 with a 35-yard field goal. Dontayvion Wicks got Washington on the board with a 9-yard catch in the first half and finished with 73 receiving yards. Hurts took three sacks along the way.
Washington kept swinging and still lost
The Commanders put up 13 points in the final quarter. Jayden Daniels, largely shackled with 18 completions on 34 attempts for 164 yards, first found Stefon Diggs isolated against safety Cooper DeJean. Diggs was then flagged for his celebration, forcing Washington to kick for one instead of going for two. 17-16.
With 2:04 left, on fourth-and-2 near the Eagles’ 10, Daniels hit Terry McLaurin to keep the drive alive. Rookie Antonio Williams then scooped a low ball off the turf, and the touchdown stood after review. 24-22. One shot left on the two-point try. Moro Ojomo read the shovel pass to John Bates and stuffed it at the line.
DeVonta Smith recovered the onside kick. Washington slips to 0-1, left wondering how it lost a game it was never behind in by more than eight.
Discover more NFL news on our mathodds site and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply