Jalen Hurts didn’t need a long speech to set the tone for the Eagles’ final march in Nashville. He stepped to the offensive linemen on the sideline and said, “It’s time.”
That was the message before Philadelphia took over with 1:47 left, down three, no timeouts, and the game hanging in the balance against the Titans at Nissan Stadium. The Eagles had spent much of the afternoon looking out of sync, uneasy and underwhelming, even with a big crowd of their own fans in the building. For a stretch, it looked very possible they were going to let a game slip away to a Titans team that went 3-14 last year and lost to the Jets last week.
Instead, Hurts took control.
“There was no hesitation,” offensive tackle Lane Johnson said after Sunday’s 24-20 win. “Backs against the wall.”
The quarterback didn’t say anything in the huddle to start the drive. The message, according to DeVonta Smith, didn’t need to be repeated.
“Nothing needed to be said,” Smith noted. “Let’s go and take this home.”
That final drive had to be a group effort, and the Eagles got it. Smith delivered two huge sideline grabs, giving Hurts the kind of help a quarterback needs when the field shrinks and every snap gets heavier. The offensive line, with Landon Dickerson out and Drew Kendall making his first real start, steadied itself enough to keep Hurts upright and give him a clean enough picture to work with.
“We’re going to fight,” Kendall said. “We’re going to march down there, protect Jalen, and we know he’s going to make some plays. ... We always want to fight for him.”
Hurts handled the rest, and he did it after already throwing an interception on the previous possession - his second of the game. He had every reason to tighten up. Instead, he stayed on schedule, stayed calm, and kept pushing the Eagles 65 yards to the finish.
That response fits the way Hurts has built his reputation. When doubt shows up, he usually answers it. Days after Titans star Jeffery Simmons seemed to take a shot at him, Hurts was the one steering Philadelphia to the win.
Smith said it plainly afterward: “He didn’t flinch.”
And Hurts didn’t. He completed 6 of 8 passes for 61 yards and the touchdown that decided the game.
First came a 20-yard strike to Dontayvion Wicks on third-and-6. Then Hurts layered a 19-yard throw to Smith to get the Eagles down to the Titans’ 3-yard line.
From there, he found Darius Cooper in the back of the end zone with nine seconds left.
Cooper was supposed to be running a pick for Smith, who was breaking toward the pylon. But Smith slipped, the Titans lost track of the play, and Cooper ended up wide open.
“I was on the ground, watching the ball float,” Smith said with a laugh. “It looked like it was going out of bounds, but (Cooper) came out of nowhere.”
“We went out there, and we made the play,” Cooper said. “Now we can celebrate.”
Jordan Mailata summed up Hurts’ finish with his own blunt assessment.
“That motherf***** balled out,” Mailata said with a smile.
The Eagles left Nashville with a 24-20 win, a flight home to Philadelphia, and a drive that showed exactly why Hurts is trusted when the game turns into a test of nerve.
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