PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts raised his hands as the Eagles crowd, which had booed the team from the field at halftime, went wild in appreciation of another comeback and another series of incredible plays. He spread it out, blessed it, and left Link’s field. Franchise QBs have become routine.
Consider one in the fourth quarter. That’s when Hearts rolled to the left and looked as if they had little choice. He stopped, found Olamide Zakaius through a group of defenders and threw a pass into the goal for the winning goal.
Or even a planned run by a QB who dashed nearly unscathed and scored a TD this season while playing with a bruised knee turned out to be a game-winner. Oh, it was just the fifth point play of the game.
“He made a lot of really clutch plays in the second half,” Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni said. “And obviously there’s going to be something big happening at the end.”
Obviously, yes. After all, it was Hearts. With 2 minutes and 37 seconds left in overtime, he dove into the end zone from 12 yards left, giving the Eagles a 37-34 victory over the Buffalo Bills on a cold, rainy Sunday.
Hurts threw three touchdowns and scored two more, outscoring Buffalo’s Josh Allen to lead the Eagles back from a 17-7 halftime deficit for the second straight game.
“You know, he’s an important guy,” Sirianni said. “He’s done so much for us, for this city, for this team the last three years. He just keeps moving forward and keeping his head above water.” I lowered my standards and continued working,” he said.
However, I needed help with the pain. Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott tied the game with a 59-yard field goal in a swirling wind with 20 seconds left.
“That was probably the toughest ball I’ve had to hit considering the conditions,” Elliott said.
The Bills (6-6) still had 20 seconds left and at least had a chance to set up a field goal try with a desperate heave or a quick play. Instead, manager Sean McDermott opted to force Allen to take a knee.
After the Bills took the lead with a field goal on their first possession of OT, Hurts scooted and scored, making the Eagles the only team in the NFL to go 10-1.
He set up receptions for DeVonta Smith of 17 and 11 yards in OT and D’Andre Swift’s 16-yard run to set up the walk-off TD.
“As far as the standard I want to play, it’s not good enough,” Hurts said.
The Eagles trailed by 10 points in the first half, trailed by 10 points in the third quarter, and trailed by three points late in regulation and early in OT.
“We finally found a way and made it happen,” Hurts said.
Allen threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and two scores for the Bills, who have won the AFC East the past three years and are on the verge of making the playoffs. However, an interception by James Bradbury in the fourth quarter set up a 29-yard TD pass from Hurts to Zacchaeus, giving Philadelphia a 28-24 lead.
Allen used a 15-yard scramble and a 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on the first drive of OT to put the Bills in position for victory. Tyler Bass, who had missed two field goals, made the go-ahead kick from 40 yards with 5:52 left in overtime.
In a matchup between two of the NFL’s most dynamic QBs, Hurts went 18 of 31 for 200 yards with one interception. He also rushed 14 times for 65 yards.
Hurts had a miserable first half, throwing for 33 yards while the Eagles gained 99 yards overall.
“We couldn’t have had a worse game than the first half,” Sirianni said. “We had an offensive explosion in the second half. It had to be that way.”
The MVP candidate rallied his team just like he did a week ago against Kansas City. Hurts connected with AJ Brown from 3 yards out and Smith connected with him from 10 yards out to put Philadelphia back in the game.
“I think the difference is the mindset,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “It’s not like, ‘Oh, Jalen threw a pick.’ We don’t feel it. Whatever it is, don’t complain, do something about it.”
Given a short field after selecting Allen, the Eagles faced third-and-15. Hurts rolled to his left and connected with Zacchaeus, who used his hands to cradle the ball to his chest as he fell into the back of the end zone.
“We closed our eyes a little bit,” Zacchaeus said. “As I scrambled, I saw him looking in the direction I was supposed to run.”
Smith had seven catches for 106 yards and Swift ran for 80 yards on 14 carries. For Buffalo, Gabe Davis had six receptions for 105 yards and one TD.
The Bills finished with 505 total yards and 13 third down conversions.
“There’s a reason they’re defending the NFC champions,” Allen said. “They made plays tonight and they played well enough to win the game.”
injury
Eagles: RT Lane Johnson is inactive with a groin injury. …DE Fletcher Cox also suffered a groin injury.
kickers blues
Bass had a field goal attempt blocked late in the first half and missed a 48-yard shot early in the third.
record setter
Graham played in 189 career regular season games, setting a team record. Kicker David Akers held the record with 188 games.
next
The Bills will receive a bye before playing Kansas City on Dec. 10.
The Eagles will host San Francisco next Sunday for a rematch of the NFC Championship Game.
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