EAGLES SQUEAK BY LIONS, BUT DEFENSE NEVER SHOWED UP!
By Max Harper
Jalen Hurts totaled 333 yards and a touchdown and A.J. Brown had a career-high-tying 155 yards receiving in his Eagles debut, helping the Birds hold on for a 38-35 win over the Detroit Lions.
The Eagles scored 24 points in the second quarter and had a 17-point lead in the fourth that was cut to three when Jared Goff threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to DJ Chark with 3:51 left.
Philadelphia sealed the win with Miles Sanders’ 24-yard run on third-and-2 from the Eagles 27 just before the two-minute warning and Hurts’ sneak that converted a fourth-and-1 from the Detroit 40 with 50 seconds left.
Sanders finished with 96 yards rushing and was one of three Philadelphia running backs to score.
The Lions started strong, opening the game with a nine-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and forcing Philadelphia to turn it over on downs.
Hurts, though, proved to be too tough to stop on the ground and through the air.
He ran 17 times, one short of his career high, for 90 yards and a 1-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. The third-year quarterback was 18 of 32 for 243 yards, including a 54-yard pass to Brown that set up Jake Elliott’s 23-yard field goal that gave Philadelphia a 24-14 lead at halftime.
Brown made a quick return on the team’s investment. The Eagles traded the No. 18 pick and a third-round choice to Tennessee for Brown and signed him to a four-year contract worth at least $57 million.
Goff, who was inconsistent, was 21 of 37 for 215 yards with two touchdowns and an interception that James Bradberry returned 27 yards for a score that put the Eagles ahead 21-7 in the second quarter.
Detroit’s D’Andre Swift, who is from Philadelphia, had a career-high 144 yards rushing and a touchdown on 15 carries.
