Thursday, October 1, 2026
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For the second week in a row, the Philadelphia Eagles won in nail biting fashion, with the most recent thriller highlighted by a late-game touchdown drive manufactured by Jalen Hurts and the offense to earn the 24-20 win against the Tennessee Titans.
Despite dominating the Titans in the first half statistically, they held only a four-point lead at halftime and struggled on both sides of the ball in the second half deserving to lose the game. However, they found a way to get the win and move to 2-0.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from the victory.
The Eagles quarterback once again delivered with a clutch performance to lead the team to a win. There were a few impressive moments from Hurts in the win.
First, his ability to overcome the interceptions he threw. On the first drive of the game for the Eagles, the offense was methodically marching down the field, only to have the possession flip on a dime when Hurts forced a throw in the endzone to DeVonta Smith which was then intercepted by Amani Hooker who returned in 92 yards to set the Titans up on the Eagles’ 10-yard line. The Titans ultimately scored, making it a 14-point swing essentially.
Hurts took the field on the ensuing drive and delivered accurate throws to get the Eagles in the red zone and the drive was capped off by a Tank Bigsby touchdown.
In the fourth, Hurts was hit by Jeffery Simmons on his release, forcing him to underthrow Smith who had his man beat down the sideline. That turnover ultimately allowed the Titans to kick the go-ahead field goal to make it 20-17.
Hurts once again remained composed and didn’t press on the final drive of the game. He completed six of his eight passes for 61 yards with a 135.9 rating, finding an open Darius Cooper in the back of the endzone for the last second score.
On that final drive, he also delivered strikes to Tay Wicks and Smith who were his favorite targets as he completed passes to nine different receivers in the game.
Hurts finished with 264 yards passing with a pair of touchdowns.
With Landon Dickerson on the IR, the Eagles made the decision to start Drew Kendall at center, the position he played throughout college, and move Cam Jurgens from center to left guard. Jurgens had some guard experience in the past, breaking into the Eagles’ starting lineup as a guard originally but moved to center once Jason Kelce retired.
Jurgens struggled throughout the game at the new spot, but did have a tough task in trying to limit Simmons with an inexperienced Kendall on his right flank.
It will be interesting to see if the Eagles continue with this combination up front. Having two changing components instead of just one certainly makes it messier. However, Jordan Mailata had high praise for Kendall and how he handled all the responsibilities that come with playing center.
It’s still early and I’m not here clamoring that Tay Wicks is the equivalent of A.J. Brown, but in the first two weeks of the season, the Eagles seem to have a very solid 1-2 punch with Smith and Wicks.
The duo combined for 15 catches on 19 targets for 191 yards and a touchdown. After a relatively quiet first week, Smith led the way with 10 receptions for 117 yards and the score on 13 targets while Wicks had hauled in five passes for 74 yards, averaging 14.8 yards per reception. Not only that, but each catch was responsible for key conversions in the game.
Hurts has had good success targeting Wicks so far this season and it’s becoming more evident why the Eagles traded for the wideout and signed him to a one-year extension, complimenting DeVonta Smith and forcing DB's to account for his presence, opening up other areas of the field.
Heading into the season, the belief was that the Eagles would get back on track with being a run-first offense like they were in 2024 when Saquon Barkley had his historic 2,000-yard season.
Through the first two weeks, the rushing attack has been anything but productive.
On Sunday, Saquon Barkley injured his neck (stinger) on the first carry of the game. He missed the entire first half, returned for a few plays in the second half before exiting again. He finished with 4 carries for just 9 yards. Tank Bigsby filled in for Barkley and didn’t have much success either, although he did show some bursts here and there, finishing the game with a 2.5 yards per carry average, rushing for just 33 yards on 13 carries.
With the combination of the offensive line struggling and Barkley banged up on Sunday, success was always going to be tough to attain. However, if the trend continues over the next week or two while Hurts and the passing game continues to thrive, the philosophy may need to change.
In the first two games, the Eagles are averaging 112.5 yards per game on the ground which is 15th in the NFL.
The Eagles get ready for their Monday Night clash in Chicago against the Bears who fell to the Minnesota Vikings 9-3 on Sunday and might be without starting quarterback Caleb Williams, who suffered a hamstring injury in the loss.
MORE: Jalen Hurts leads Eagles to huge combeack win
