The Eagles put together a perfect second half to take down Joe Burrow and the Bengals 37-17.
As of Saturday, Cincinnati and Baltimore were the only two current NFL markets in which the Eagles have never won a game. The Eagles came into Sunday’s game in Cincinnati 0-3-1 all-time in Paycor stadium but left with their first-ever win following a 37-17 rout of the Bengals. They’ll also have a chance at wiping Baltimore off that list as they’ll play on the road against the Ravens on December 1st.
The game looked like it could get away from the early following the Bengals opening drive that lasted over 10 minutes and ended with a 2-yard JaMarr Chase touchdown reception. The Eagles defense looked like it had no answers for the Bengals offense, and the slow methodical drive led by Joe Burrow put them in an early hole.
With the Bengals’ drive lasting until the 4:56 mark in the first quarter, it didn’t give the Eagles much time to break their streak of scoreless first quarters. The Eagles did manage to get a field goal on their first drive, but they are still the only team in the NFL without a single first-quarter point.
Jalen Hurts was masterful on Sunday, having arguably his best game of the season and once again looking like the MVP runner-up he was in the NFC champion 2022 season. Hurts went 16/20 on the day for 236 yards and a touchdown for a 132.5 passer rating and his third straight week without a turnover. He also added 3 more touchdowns on the ground and became the first quarterback in NFL history to record his 3rd game with 3+ rushing touchdowns.
He also added the longest completion of his career on a beautiful deep ball touchdown throw to DeVonta Smith in the third quarter.
The Eagles’ defense, outside of the first drive, was excellent again on Sunday. As a whole, the Eagles’ defense held the high-powered Bengals offense to just 7 points in the second half, including 0 in the 4th quarter. They also only missed two tackles throughout the entire game and forced two turnovers including this fantastic tip-drill play by backup cornerback Isiah Rodgers for an interception.
After a shaky start to the season, the Eagles are 5-2 and sit just a half-game out of the division lead behind the Washington Commanders. The Eagles will look to continue their winning ways with a home bout against the Jacksonville Jaguars next Sunday in former head coach Doug Pederson’s return to the Linc.