The Eagles kept it rolling Sunday. 

Jalen Hurts rushed for three touchdowns and threw for another score to lead the Eagles to a dominant 37–17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. 

The Eagles executed well, managed the clock down the stretch in the second half and played great defense against a very talented Bengals offense. The Eagles were just as strong on offense.

The win also changed history. 

Over the last two-plus decades, the Eagles have played some ugly games with the Bengals. Before Sunday, the last time the Eagles defeated them was in 2000. Since then, the Eagles were 0-3-2 against Cincinnati (now 4-9-2 in the all-time series that dates back to 1971). It was also the first time the Eagles defeated the Bengals in Cincinnati. 

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It was the Eagles’ third straight victory. It was the second consecutive week the Eagles won by two or more possessions. It was also the third straight week that Hurts did not have a turnover (fourth straight game he did not throw an interception). 

He was great in the win. Hurts went 16 for 20 with 236 yards and a 132.5 passer rating. He had one bad throw that could have been picked, but that was his only poor decision this game. Hurts played great again, something that’s comforting going forward. Hopefully Hurts keeps riding this momentum. He looked great. He has been getting better each game over the last four weeks.

The defense really showed up, especially late in the game. In the fourth quarter, Isiah Rodgers made a phenomenal play defending a pass to Ja’Marr Chase, which he broke up, leading to CJ Gardner-Johnson’s unbelievable interception. Zack Braun forced a fumble and Nakobe Dean recovered it. Both turnovers led to points, but the interception was arguably the bigger play as it was 27–17. The Bengals could have made that a three-point game, but Vic Fangio’s unit made sure that did not happen. Cooper DeJean made a tremendous tackle on fourth-and-1 when Cincinnati had the ball at its own 39-yard-line and trailed 24-17. That was a huge play in the game, and definitely a momentum changer. Brandon Graham making the tackle on third-and-1 before that was equally as important. 

Joe Burrow is no pushover, and he has one of the league’s top receivers in Ja’Marr Chase. He threw for 234 yards with a 74.7 passer rating. The Bengals only scored seven points in the second half. Chase was held to just 54 receiving yards. Burrow did not complete a pass longer than 13 yards in the second half.

What a great overall performance! Everything was encouraging. The offense and defense looked terrific. Remember, the defense is one of the youngest units in the league. They are going to get better, and that is very comforting after how elite they looked Sunday.

The hope now is the Birds keep rolling, especially next week against a vulnerable Jackson Jaguars team.

Let’s break Sunday’s win down… 

For the ninth straight week, the Eagles did not score in the first quarter, the only team this season to not score in the opening quarter. But a lot of that had to do with the defense on the first drive of the game. The Bengals converted five third downs and chewed up 10 minutes to start the game, resulting in a Chase TD. 

Jake Elliott kicked a 39-yard field goal just 60 seconds into the second quarter, too. Still, the streak continues for the Eagles. Off that, the Eagles possibly could have scored a TD in their first possession after Hurts rushed to the Bengals’ 9-yard line, but a holding penalty took that away and they had to settle the Elliott FG. 

On the Bengals’ next offensive drive, they converted a third-and-22, which was a total blown coverage, and a third-and-7 before finally being stopped on third-and-3 and forcing a field goal. But the Bengals were a perfect 7 for 7 on third downs before that. That’s inexcusable!! And it was a little scary. It was, like, ‘Here we go… the Eagles stopped the lowly Giants and Browns but when they get a real team they can’t stop them.’

Well, that was wrong… really wrong…  

With 5 minutes, 18 seconds left in the second quarter, the Eagles made a crucial stop on third-and-7, forcing a 54-yard FG attempt, which Evan McPherson missed. That was huge as the Eagles got the ball back and Brotherly-Shoved their way to the end zone to tie the game at 10-10. The Eagles covered a third-and-16 on that drive thanks to a beautiful pass from Hurts to Brown.

The Eagles could not stop the Bengals for most of the first half, and Cincinnati controlled most of the time of possession to start the game. But things got better as the first half went on.

And it got even better in the second half. 

The Eagles scored on their first two second-half drives, including a 45-yard TD pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith. Not only was the throw perfect, but the catch was just as amazing. Smith had a defender right on him and he made the leading grab to give the Eagles a 24-17 lead. 

The Eagles then made huge stops on third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 thanks to Graham and DeJean making great tackles. DeJean read the fourth down play perfectly. The Eagles went three-and-out, but the turnover still led to an Elliott FG to extend the lead to 27-24.

After the Gardner-Johnson pick, the Eagles put together an 85-yard, 12-yard play scoring drive that  chewed up almost eight minutes. Saquon Barkley, who rushed for 108 yards, had some big runs on that drive, including a 17-yard run that put an explanation point on the win. But on that, the main takeaway is the Eagles scored AND took their time, using up the clock.

It really was a perfectly executed drive.

It was a perfectly executed win.

It’s time to keep this thing moving next week at home against the Jaguars