Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown delivered again and the Philadelphia Eagles denied another upset bid by quarterback Sam Howell and the Washington Commanders in a 38-31 shootout Sunday in Landover, Md.
Howell staked the Commanders to a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter with touchdown passes to Jahan Dotson and Terry McLaurin, but Hurts owned the second half. Hurts finished with four touchdown passes and 319 yards, including Brown’s eight receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Howell, who had two fourth-quarter turnovers, lost the ball on 4th and 5 at the Washington 25 when Haason Reddick recorded a strip-sack off the left edge with 2:13 left in the game. After D’Andre Swift pushed the Philadelphia advantage to 38-24 on a 7-yard score with 1:50 remaining, Howell connected with Jamison Crowder for a 26-yard touchdown, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 38-31 with 1:01 to play.
Howell completed 39 of 52 passes for 397 yards and four touchdowns and Dotson had a team-high eight catches for 108 yards. Crowder caught seven passes for 95 yards and tight end Logan Thomas had six receptions for 44 yards.
DeVonta Smith caught seven passes for 99 yards and a TD for the Eagles.
Howell was intercepted in Eagles’ territory with 8:02 left in the game and Hurts ended his third consecutive drive with a TD pass to take the lead, 31-24. Hurt split two defenders for an 8-yard TD pass to newly signed wide receiver Julio Jones, who was lined up to the left in the slot.
On third-and-goal with 12:03 left, Howell zipped a 7-yard dart to tight end Logan Thomas on an in-cutting route to beat man coverage and the Commanders climbed back in front 24-17.
The Eagles struck back with a 38-yard TD pass from Hurts to Smith to tie the game at 24. Smith sprinted down the left sideline virtually unchecked for an easy score with just under nine minutes to play.
Hurts lost a fumble at the goal line on the opening drive of the second half, the Eagles’ second fumble inside the 5 in the game. But on Philadelphia’s next drive, Hurts hung on the pocket to deliver a 17-yard completion to Smith on 4th and 4 at the Washington 45 two plays before a second TD pass to Brown. Brown’s 25-yard catch tied the game with 4:17 remaining the third quarter.
Brown pulled down a one-handed grab for a 16-yard TD with 34 seconds left in the first half, leaping and holding off tight coverage from Commanders cornerback Benjamin St-Juste to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 14-10. On the ensuring possession, Joey Slye’s 61-yard field goal gave the Commanders a 17-10 lead at half.
Brown is the first player in NFL history with at least 125 receiving yards in six consecutive games.
Washington built the 11-point lead behind Howell’s two early TDs, then curbed an Eagles’ threat by forcing Kenneth Gainwell to fumble on second-and-goal from the 3 with 6:52 on the clock in the first half.
Howell completed 14 of his first 15 passes and set a franchise record with 24 completions (26 attempts) in the first half.
–Field Level Media