Jalen Hurts walked off the Linc field with his arms extended in celebration as the Philadelphia Eagles crowd — which had booed the team off the field at halftime — went wild in appreciation for one more comeback, one more series of stupefying plays their franchise quarterback has made routine.
Consider one in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills, when Hurts rolled to his left and almost seemed out of options. He stopped, spotted Olamide Zaccheaus through a crowd of defenders and threw a pass on the money for a go-ahead score.
Or even the winner, a designed run from a quarterback who played through a bruised knee this season and yet still dashed virtually untouched for a touchdown — oh, only his fifth scoring play of the game.
Photo: AFP
“He made a lot of really clutch plays in that second half,” Philadelphia coach Nick Sirianni said. “Then the big one, obviously, at the end.”
Obviously, yes. It was Hurts, after all. He zipped into the end zone from 12 yards out with 2 minutes, 37 seconds left in overtime, and the Eagles beat the Bills 37-34 on a cold and rainy Sunday.
Hurts threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, outdueling Buffalo’s Josh Allen while rallying the Eagles from a 17-7 halftime deficit for the second straight game.
“You know he’s clutch,” Sirianni said. “He’s been clutch for us, clutch for this city and clutch for this team for the last three years now. He just kept going, put his head down and worked.”
However, Hurts needed some help,. Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott tied the game with a 59-yard field goal in swirling wind with 20 seconds remaining.
“Given the conditions, that was probably the toughest one I had to hit,” Elliott said.
The Bills (6-6) still had 20 seconds left and a chance to at least try a desperation heave or a quick play to set up a field goal try.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott instead elected to have Allen take a knee.
After the Bills went ahead with a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Hurts scooted for the score that made the Eagles the only 10-1 team in the NFL.
He hit DeVonta Smith for 17 and 11-yard receptions in overtime, and D’Andre Swift had a 16-yard run to help set up the walk-off touchdown.
“As far as the standard I’d like to play, enough is never enough,” Hurts said.
The Eagles trailed by 10 at the half, 10 in the third quarter and by three points late in regulation and early in overtine.
“We found a way at the end 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 are in danger of missing the playoffs after winning the American Football Conference East the past three years.
Hurts finished 18 of 31 for 200 yards with an interception in a matchup of two of the NFL’s most dynamic quarterback. He also rushed 14 times for 65 yards.
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