Jalen Hurts, Eagles Win vs. Browns as NFL Fans Credit A.J. Brown, DeVonta Returns
October 13, 2024
Welcome back A.J. Brown.
The Philadelphia Eagles star receiver missed the last three games with a hamstring injury but returned in dramatic fashion Sunday and led his team to a 20-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field.
NFL @NFLHURTS DEEP TO BROWN. <br><br>Clutch deep ball connection.<br><br>📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CLEvsPHI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CLEvsPHI</a> on FOX<br>📱: <a href="https://t.co/waVpO909ge">https://t.co/waVpO909ge</a> <a href="https://t.co/zMI5ASMBmH">pic.twitter.com/zMI5ASMBmH</a>
Brown finished with six catches for 116 yards and one touchdown and fittingly hauled in a deep ball to clinch the win in the final two minutes. He wasn't the only receiver who made a difference upon return from injury, as DeVonta Smith had three catches for 64 yards and the game-winning touchdown after missing the last game with a concussion.
Philadelphia is now 3-2 on the campaign, and social media had plenty of love for the two receivers:
The Eagles had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season, and an opening win over the Green Bay Packers did nothing to change that. However, they dropped two of the next three and came into Sunday's matchup against a struggling Browns team with the hope it would be a get-right game.
The return of Brown, Smith and Lane Johnson (concussion) suggested it would be, so it made sense it was the former who got things started for the home team following a slow offensive start.
While Philadelphia went scoreless in the first quarter, Brown broke free for the game's first touchdown on a deep ball in the second quarter. It was the type of vertical play from Jalen Hurts that was largely missing for stretches when Brown was sidelined, although those positive vibes quickly disappeared.
That is because Myles Garrett blocked a field goal that Rodney McLeod Jr. returned for a touchdown, which had Eagles fans booing their team into the locker room with the halftime score tied at 10.
Booing was appropriate for a rather ugly game, as the second-half offense included the Browns missing a field goal, both sides trading punts and then both sides stalling for field goals. Watson struggling was not surprising, as it's his new reality, but Philadelphia also missed multiple chances to seize control.
But it finally seized one of those chances when Smith broke wide open on an underneath crossing route and took it the rest of the way for a 45-yard go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Cleveland had a chance to answer but settled for a field goal in the red zone after multiple false starts, and it never got the ball back thanks to another clutch connection between Hurts and Brown.
That gives the Eagles some momentum heading into an important road divisional game against the New York Giants.