Jalen Hurts threw three first-half touchdown passes to A.J. Brown and the unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles matched the best start in franchise history with a 35-13 victory Sunday over the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Eagles (7-0) tied the 2004 squad that won its first seven contests en route to a Super Bowl appearance, while the cross-state rival Steelers (2-6) are off to their worst start since 2013.
Looking sharp after a bye week, Hurts completed 19 of 28 passes for 285 yards and a career-high four touchdowns — after throwing six in the first six games combined. Brown had six catches for a career-high 156 yards.
Steelers rookie Kenny Pickett was 25 of 38 for 191 yards with an interception and a fumble. He was sacked six times.
Hurts capped Philadelphia’s first possession of the game with a 39-yard strike to Brown in the end zone between two Pittsburgh defenders.
An Eagles penalty on fourth-and-goal and some trickery helped the Steelers knot the game at 7-7 on wide receiver Chase Claypool’s 1-yard TD toss to Derek Watt with 1:57 left in the first quarter.
Pittsburgh had lined up for a short field-goal try by newly signed Nick Sciba, but Philadelphia’s Brandon Graham was flagged for delay of game. The half-the-distance penalty moved the Steelers close enough to bring their offense back on the field.
Brown’s second score came on a perfectly placed 27-yard pass from Hurts with 12:48 left in the second quarter.
TD No. 3 for Brown was another well-thrown ball by Hurts, a 29-yarder with 6:13 left in the half to make it 21-7.
Sciba, signed Saturday to replace the injured Chris Boswell (groin), made his first NFL field goal from 38 yards to trim the deficit at halftime to 21-10.
Hurts opened the second half with his fourth touchdown pass, a 34-yard connection with a wide-open Zach Pascal for a 28-10 lead.
Pittsburgh trailed 28-13 entering the fourth quarter after Sciba’s 29-yard field goal.
But two plays after a fumble by Pickett, forced by Javon Hargrave and recovered by Avonte Maddox, Miles Sanders capped the scoring with an 11-yard run.
–Field Level Media