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Eagles Takeaways: Jalen Hurts and Company Make Statement in Throttling of Bengals

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) runs for a first down in the second quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024.

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All four On Pattison staffers polled predicted that the Eagles would lose to the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Paycor Stadium. 

All four On Pattison staffers were wrong, fortunately for the Eagles. 

For the first time ever, the Eagles earned a victory in Cincinnati, outscoring the Bengals 27-7 in the second half to earn a 37-17 victory. 

Here are four takeaways as the Eagles move to 5-2. 

1. DeVonta Smith Gets Going 

In his first two games after returning from a concussion, Smith recorded just four catches for 62 yards. The former Heisman Trophy winner actually finished last week's 28-3 victory over the New York Giants with -2 receiving yards. 

Suffice to say, the Eagles needed Smith — who they rewarded in the offseason with a three-year/$75 million extension that guaranteed hime $51 million — to get going. 

He did just that Sunday afternoon in the Jungle, recording six catches for a team-high 85 yards. Smith's biggest play of the day came in the form of a 46-yard touchdown reception from Jalen Hurts late in the third quarter: 

For as impressive as A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley have been this season, Smith had underwhelmed coming into the day. The Eagles have major resources invested in Smith, though, and Sunday was perhaps the start of him reminding everyone why that's the case. 

2. Jalen Hurts Finds His Groove

It looked early in the game like Joe Burrow might carve up the Eagles. Instead, it was Hurts who had the bigger day of the two star quarterbacks. 

Hurts threw the aforementioned touchdown pass to Smith, completing 16 of 20 pass attempts on the day for 236 yards. 

On the ground, Hurts found the end zone three times. Two came courtesy of the tush push, but he kept the ball on a read-option early in the third quarter, getting to the edge and rushing for a seven-yard touchdown: 

The shoelaces on his Jordan 5 cleats were the only thing that didn't work well for Hurts today: 

3. The Streak Continues

For the seventh time in seven games, the Eagles finished the first quarter with a zero on the scoreboard. 

There is some context worth mentioning in this case, though. 

First of all, the Eagles won the opening toss and deferred to the second half. The Bengals then went on a 17-play, 70-yard drive that took 10:04 seconds off the clock. It was, as Ian Eagle noted on the CBS telecast, the longest drive in the NFL this season. 

The Eagles got the ball for the first time with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter, so this wasn't like prior weeks where the Eagles had multiple drives in the first stanza and didn't score. When time expired on the first quarter, the Eagles hadn't even completed their first drive. 

What is problematic is that the Bengals capped off a lengthy first drive with a touchdown. A 10-play drive for the Eagles ended in a 39-yard field goal from Jake Elliott, rather than a touchdown. 

Not scoring in the first quarter can be excused to a degree Sunday, though nearly two months of being held scoreless to open the game is an inexcusable trend overall. This is becoming one of the defining themes of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's first season in Philadelphia. 

4. What's Next? 

The Eagles will host the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 9. It will be Doug Pederson's second time returning to Philadelphia as a visiting head coach. 

This game was initially supposed to be on Sunday Night Football, but was flexed out in favor of Indianapolis Colts and Minnesota Vikings. Jags-Eagles will instead be a 4:05 ET start time on CBS

At the very least, there's going to be plenty of intrigue surrounding the aesthetics of next Sunday's game, as the Eagles will wear their popular Kelly Green throwback uniforms for the first of two times this season.

author

Tim Kelly

Tim Kelly is the Managing Editor for On Pattison. He's been on the Phillies beat since 2020. Kelly is also on Bleacher Report's MLB staff. Previously, Kelly has worked for Audacy Sports, SportsRadio 94 WIP, Just Baseball, FanSided, Locked On and Sports Illustrated/FanNation. Kelly is a graduate of Bloomsburg University with a major in Mass Communications and minor in Political Science.

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