Reigning Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts led the Eagles to a Week 1 win over the Cowboys, despite a far-from-perfect night.
"Just finding ways to win, that's what it comes down to," Hurts said after the 24-20 victory. "It doesn't matter how it looks, it doesn't matter how it goes, it's just about finding ways to win."
The season opener got off to a wobbly start for the defending champs. Eagles fullback Ben VanSumeren suffered a non-contact knee injury on the opening kickoff. Before the first play from scrimmage, defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected for spitting on Dak Prescott. The Philly defense couldn't get a stop for much of the night. And the offense, which started very hot, sputtered late, unable to figure out the Cowboys' second-half blitzes.
But the Eagles did enough to best the Micah Parsons-less Cowboys thanks to Hurts, who used his legs to torture Jerry Jones' club. The QB finished 19-of-23 for 152 yards and a 94.2 passer rating. He led Philly with 62 rushing yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns. It marked Hurts' third career game with 2-plus rush TDs and an 80.0-plus completion percent, most by a QB since 1950 (no other QB has more than one such game in career).
"I think Jalen played a really efficient game," coach Nick Sirriani said. "He made a lot of plays with his feet when things weren't particularly there. That's such an advantage that-- Jalen, there was a third-down, they took away his first read, he resituated his feet and put the ball to Dallas. To say I know exactly how he played yet would be hard because I want to watch the tape.
"I thought he played really efficient and I thought he played really well, and he's a big reason why we won that football game tonight, the game that he played. Again, I know that it'll say that we threw for 152 yards. 'What's going on? Why didn't we throw [more]?' But, Jalen played really efficiently and really [well] from what I saw and made plays with his legs, his mind, and with his arm."
Hurts' ability to make the Cowboys pay for losing contain was the story of the first half. The QB recorded touchdown runs of 8 yards and 4 yards. While it marked the QB's 16th game with 2-plus rushing TDs in his career (an NFL record), it's just his second game with multiple rush TDs of 4-plus yards (Week 17 2020).
Thursday night's biggest plays for Philly weren't designed QB runs, they were about Hurts making winning moments when plays broke down. Hurts confirmed that even the final QB draw to secure a first down to salt away the win wasn't a called play.
Last year, the Eagles started the season finding their legs, going 2-2 for the first month before rolling over the league en route to a Super Bowl trounce. Thursday night, they were far from that dominant club we saw in February, but they found a way to win thanks to a QB who wouldn't let them lose.
"Coming out of a first game, you're like, 'Man, I'm thankful that you can correct off of a win,'" Sirianni said. "Because there's a lot to correct."