Titans Let A Winnable Home Opener Slip Away In Brutal Fashion

In an electrifying finale, Darius Cooper's clutch touchdown reception capped off a dramatic Eagles rally over the Titans.

Darius Cooper gave the Eagles the finish they needed, snagging a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts with nine seconds left to cap Philadelphia’s 24-20 comeback win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville.

The winning drive had to be exact, and Hurts delivered. After Joey Slye pushed Tennessee in front 20-17 with a 33-yard field goal and 1:56 left, Philadelphia answered with a 65-yard march. The biggest snap came when Hurts found DeVonta Smith for 19 yards to reach the 3-yard line with 14 seconds remaining, setting up Cooper’s game-winner.

Tennessee had taken control late in the third quarter behind Cam Ward, who scored twice on the ground and finished 13 of 20 for 183 yards passing. His 1-yard run around the left side with 57 seconds left in the third tied the game at 17 and completed a 69-yard drive that took 7:11.

Philadelphia’s day got shaky almost immediately. Saquon Barkley left after the opening play from scrimmage with a stinger after being tackled by Jeffery Simmons, though he returned in the third quarter. The Eagles also lost Dallas Goedert in the first half to a knee injury, and he did not come back.

The first major turn came when Hurts tried to squeeze a throw into double coverage and Amani Hooker made him pay. Hooker intercepted it and returned it 92 yards to the 10, setting up Ward’s 1-yard sneak with 4:22 left in the first quarter.

From there, Philadelphia settled in and strung together two straight touchdown drives. Tank Bigsby finished one by powering in from the 2 with 12:49 left in the half, and Hurts followed with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Smith with 1:49 remaining.

Tennessee managed one last push before halftime, with Ward connecting on passes of 28 and 27 yards to move into range for Slye’s 37-yard field goal as time expired, trimming the Eagles’ lead to 14-10.

Jake Elliott added a 58-yard field goal early in the third quarter to extend Philadelphia’s lead to 17-10 at 8:08, but the Titans kept answering until the final minute. In the end, Hurts and the Eagles had just enough time to steal it.

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Jeffery Simmons Gave Titans Fans A Painful Postgame Debate

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