PHILADELPHIA − A.J. Brown was so dominant that he couldn’t believe it when he was tripped up from behind 11 yards short of his fourth touchdown of the game.
So Brown flipped over onto his back and lay there for a few seconds before getting up.
“I was upset,” Brown said. “I think that’s the first time I got caught in the NFL. My teams gave me a hard time about that.”
Then Brown mentioned a few other plays he didn’t make, such as another deep ball that he lost in the sun and another that would’ve been called back by a penalty.
But really, that was nitpicking. Brown had a career day, catching 6 passes for a career-high 156 yards. He also had a career-high three touchdowns − from 39, 27 and 29 yards out − as the Eagles cruised to a 35-13 win over the Steelers on Sunday.
The Eagles improved to 7-0, tying the franchise record for most consecutive wins to start a season set in 2004. It’s a record the Eagles can set Thursday night against the Houston Texans.
And they did it in so many different ways, whether it was Brown easily beating his defender in single coverage, or the defense completely confounding Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, sacking him six times and intercepting him once.
It was so easy that Eagles center Jason Kelce was seen on the sidelines wearing a Batman mask.
“I think I enjoy it the most − being in single coverage,” Brown said. “My eyes light up because I know I have a possibility to get the ball. It’s my ball or nobody’s ball.”
Jalen Hurts orchestrated all of it. He threw a career-high 4 touchdown passes, all from at least 27 yards out (Zach Pascal caught the other one, from 34 yards away). He completed 19 of 28 passes for 285 yards, with a passer rating of 140.6, not far off a perfect score of 158.3.
“I have fun with it because I’ve seen all of these guys do amazing things,” Hurts said about his receivers. “So when I see them make those plays in the game … I’m like, I got my popcorn ready after I throw them the ball.”
That began on the Eagles’ first TD, on the opening drive. The Eagles faced a 2nd-and-10 from the Steelers’ 39 when Hurts found Brown deep over the middle. Brown outleaped Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and took the ball away.
After the game, Brown revealed that he wasn’t even the intended target.
“I was not supposed to get that ball,” Brown said. “I was just trying to clear it out for (DeVonta Smith), get the safety out of the way. I looked up and the ball was in the air, and I’m like, ‘Oh, (expletive). I at least gotta try to do something.’”
The only negative for the Eagles was that rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis left late in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.
By then, Brown and the Eagles were well on their way to a relatively easy victory.
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Brown had 5 catches for 113 yards in the first half alone as the three touchdowns set his career high.
Brown is the first Eagle with 3 receiving touchdowns in a game since Riley Cooper in 2013 against the Raiders. He’s the first NFL player with 3 or more receiving TDs of 25 yards or more in a game since 2019 when Tampa Bay’s Breshad Perriman did it.
The last NFL player to do it in the first half was Tennessee’s Drew Bennett in 2004.
The Eagles kept going to Brown, and he kept producing.
Tied at 7-7, the Eagles faced a 3rd-and-8 from the Steelers’ 27 when Hurts threw deep down the right sideline to Brown. He caught the ball over the shoulder with a defender draped on him.
The two teamed up again midway through the second quarter. The Eagles started on their 40 yard line. Hurts hit Dallas Goedert on a 17-yard play, then Smith for 14 yards. Then Hurts threw deep to Brown for 29 yards. Three plays, 60 yards, and just like that, the Eagles were up 21-7 with 6:13 left in the half.
The Eagles put the game away on their first drive in the third quarter, when Hurts threw deep again, this time to Zach Pascal, for a 34-yard TD. It was Pascal’s first touchdown as an Eagle.
The Steelers came back with a field goal before Brown’s final catch of the game. That was a short pass over the middle, when Brown pivoted, then took off down the left side speeding past Steelers defenders. But Fitzpatrick dove at his heels and tripped Brown up at the 11. Miles Sanders scored on the very next play.
“We felt like we fixed some tendencies,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “We were able to … create some explosive plays off some tendencies that we had. That’s what the bye week is for. Very important part of the process.”
With that, Hurts and most of the offensive line got the rest of the day off.
Jordan Davis hurt
Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis injured his ankle late in the first half and had to be helped off the field before getting carted into the locker room. He didn’t return.
The NFL Network reported that Davis is believed to have suffered a high ankle sprain that could keep him out for 4-6 weeks. Davis will have an MRI on Monday. That timetable would mean a return possibly on Nov. 27 against Green Bay, against Tennessee on Dec. 4 or the Giants on Dec. 11.
Davis had played 35% of the snaps this season, and he has been especially effective on running downs.
“He’s a big part of what we’re doing up front, especially in certain packages,” defensive end Brandon Graham said. “I’m hoping that it’s not too serious because I know we’re going to need him down the line.”
Another fake punt works
For the second time this season, the Eagles fell victim to a fake punt. Marcus Allen, the upback, took the snap and ran up the middle for 4 yards. The Arizona Cardinals also converted a fake punt against the Eagles, back on Oct. 9.
2nd quarter dominance
The Eagles kept up their second-quarter dominance. They came into the game with a scoring edge of 112-27. The Eagles added 14 points, increasing their margin to 126-30. The Steelers, in seven games, have scored 120 points combined in every quarter.
Eagles give up strange TD
The Steelers faced a 4th-and-goal from the 2 and lined up for a field goal. That’s when Graham was called for delay of game for making a non-football move. Apparently, he simulated a snap. That moved the ball to the 1, so the Steelers decided to go for a touchdown.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool took the handoff from Kenny Pickett, then threw into the end zone to Derek Watt, tying the game with 1:57 left in the first quarter.
“I just twitched,” Graham said. “It was one of those situations where I just wanted to get them to jump offsides. They got me for it … I’m going to just own it and move on. That was all me.”
Quinn makes Eagles’ debut early
The Eagles made it official, putting defensive end Robert Quinn on the game-day roster. And Quinn made his Eagles debut midway through the first quarter. Quinn was playing 68% of the snaps in Chicago, but he won’t play that much with the Eagles as they’ll rotate him in with Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat.
“How many sacks did we have?” Quinn said. When told six, he responded: “That’s a dang-good day to me. I think we played great. Everyone had their chance to make plays. And I think we dominated up front.”
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
