The Philadelphia Eagles bounced back in a big way on Sunday night, defeating the Miami Dolphins 31-17 to improve to 6-1 on the year.
After a dispiriting loss against the New York Jets last week, the Eagles needed a performance like this one to get back in their groove. The Eagles seemingly set the tone on their opening drive by marching 71 yards on 12 plays and taking 7:54 off the clock, but that drive stalled out in the red zone and ended in a field goal.
Philly's second drive ended almost as soon as it started with Jalen Hurts (23-31, 279 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT; 8 carries, 25 yards, TD) hanging onto the ball too long and taking a strip-sack from Bradley Chubb. Miami tied the game on its next drive. But the Eagles answered, scoring back-to-back touchdowns on their final two possessions of the first half to open up a two-score lead.
But the Dolphins did not go down easily. After struggling for much of the first half, Miami put together its best drive of the evening and screamed down the field for a touchdown to make it a one-score game at the half. It remained that way late into the third quarter, when Hurts turned the ball over for the second time in the game. He had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage and then picked off and returned for a touchdown by Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker.
All of a sudden, the game was tied again. And then the Eagles did what they do best. They controlled the ball and moved down the field in methodical fashion, with Hurts spreading the ball around to the various playmakers the team has assembled around him. A.J. Brown (10-137-1) found his way into the end zone to give the Eagles a lead they would never relinquish.
The Dolphins did have one more chance to get back into it, but pressure on Tua Tagovailoa forced him to throw early and with too much loft, which allowed Darius Slay to fall off his man and make an interception near the goal line. Philly then once again put its foot down, ripping off a 13-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that included two fourth-down conversions and a gorgeous 42-yard deep ball from Hurts to Brown.
In the end, the Eagles prevailed thanks to their ability to bounce back from mistakes. Here are a few more things to know about the game.
Why the Eagles won
They made just enough plays at the exact right times. Both times Jalen Hurts turned the ball over, the Eagles drove right back down the field for a touchdown. Philadelphia went 4-for-4 on fourth downs. All of the tush-pushes worked. When they reached the red zone, the Eagles scored a touchdown on four of their five trips. When Miami had a chance to tie the game in the fourth quarter, Darius Slay came up with a huge interception. Every time there was a play to be made, the Eagles made that play.
Why the Dolphins lost
Miami committed 10 penalties against zero for the Eagles. The Dolphins' league-leading running game was completely shut down as Raheem Mostert carried four times for -7 yards in the first half, and pretty much the entirety of his production on the night came on two carries. Tua Tagovailoa was held to a season-low 6.8 yards per attempt, and the demoralizing deep touchdowns the Dolphins have typically demolished teams with were not there for the taking for most of the night. Basically, the Dolphins offense just did not look like itself.
Turning point
Twice during this game, Jalen Hurts committed a turnover. Twice during this game, that turnover led to the Dolphins getting a game-tying score. And twice during this game, Philadelphia immediately drove right back down the field for a long touchdown drive to retake the lead.
The second of those two drives saw Jalen Hurts connect with all three of his top targets at different times, and ended with A.J. Brown powering his way through two Dolphins defenders at the catch point to break into the end zone for a 14-yard score.
Miami had a chance to tie the game on its ensuing drive, but Darius Slay picked off a Tua Tagovailoa pass intended for Raheem Mostert and kept the Eagles in the lead.
Highlight play
There were plenty of highlights in this game, but we have to go with the ridiculous, pressured throw-and-catch from Hurts to Brown that essentially sealed the game and gave Brown at least 125 receiving yards for the fifth consecutive contest.
The throw could not possibly have been better, and the catch might have been even better than that.
What's next
The Eagles are 6-1 after the win, and remain in first place in the NFC East. They play back-to-back divisional games over the next two weeks, taking a trip to Washington and then hosting the Cowboys before taking their bye in Week 10.
The Dolphins are now 5-2 with the loss, but they remain in first place in the AFC East. They host the Patriots next week, then travel to Germany to take on the Chiefs as part of the NFL's International Series before going on their bye in Week 10.