Eagles, Jalen Hurts channel Michael Jackson vs Bengals: They didn't stop till they had enough
CINCINNATI − The music blared in the locker room, some old school Earth, Wind and Fire, along with Michael Jackson, as the Eagles danced and celebrated.
They were grooving to the music, much like the offense has been grooving behind quarterback Jalen Hurts. Look no further than Hurts to see why the Eagles have turned around their season after their humiliating loss to Tampa Bay on Sept. 29.
Since then, Hurts has not committed a single turnover. Hurts was simply masterful in the Eagles' 37-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday as the Eagles (5-2) won their third straight. They also won for the first time ever in Cincinnati. They came into the game 0-4-1 going back to 1971.
Hurts completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown. Hurts' passer rating was 132.5, his third straight game of at least 119. Hurts also ran for 37 yards and 3 TDs.
And really, the Eagles' offense had played to the theme of the Jackson song blaring in the locker room, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough."
That's because the Eagles didn't stop until the Bengals were soundly beaten.
"We're getting there," wide receiver DeVonta Smith said. "I think it just comes down to us going out there and executing. When you don’t execute, a lot of (bad stuff) is gonna happen. You’re bound to turn the ball over and things like that when you’re not executing.
"When you’re executing at a high level, it takes a lot of that away."
Hurts said none of this is new even though the Eagles have outscored the Bengals and Giants 65-20 over the past two games.
"I've seen it already," Hurts said. "I've seen it in training camp. I've seen it with all the work and all the time we have put in. It's just a matter of going out there and doing it ... We're just all in it together, sticking together, communicating, and going out there and playing efficient ball."
And it was far from a one-man show.
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Saquon Barkley ran for 108 yards on 22 carries. Smith had a 45-yard TD reception among his 85 yards receiving, after having just 1 catch for minus-2 yards against the Giants.
In fact, Smith's first catch Sunday went for minus-2 yards.
What was he thinking?
"We're not doing that again," Smith said with a laugh.
A.J. Brown added 84 yards receiving, including a crucial 3rd-and-16 conversion near the end of the first half that led to a touchdown. Even tight end Grant Calcaterra, filling in for Dallas Goedert, had a big day with 3 catches for 58 yards.
"I think the identity of this team is physical," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "When you say physical, that doesn't mean you have to run it every time. You run it, you pass it. You can be physical in both aspects."
And that extended to the defense, which clamped down on Bengals QB Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati offense after they had rammed the ball down the Eagles' throats on a game-opening touchdown drive that lasted 10 minutes, 4 seconds.
Burrow went 11-for-12 passing on that drive, and the Bengals had converted their first seven third-down opportunities.
But Burrow only threw the ball for 65 yards in the second half. The Eagles made a critical stop on fourth down in the third quarter as Cooper DeJean threw Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase for a 2-yard loss from the Bengals' 39.
The Eagles, who had just taken a 24-17 lead on Smith's long TD, got a field goal after DeJean's stop.
Later, CJ Gardner-Johnson intercepted Burrow as Isaiah Rodgers, replacing Darius Slay, who left with a groin injury, tipped the ball away from Chase on a deep pass. The deflection went to Gardner-Johnson. Then Nakobe Dean recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
The two takeaways matched the Eagles' total in takeaways from the first six games.
"That was big, just because we’ve been harping on takeaways," Dean said. Then he added for emphasis: "I mean, harping on takeaways − turnover drills, punching at the ball out, getting interceptions."
It wasn't all perfect.
Hurts lost his shoe as he was pushed out of bounds to start the fourth quarter. But he couldn't get it back on, and the equipment staff couldn't get the double knot out. So the Eagles called a timeout, and Hurts put on a mismatched shoe on a 3rd-and-10 play. Hurts completed a 6-yard pass to Brown that set up a field goal for a 10-point Eagles lead.
That was nothing compared to the Eagles going scoreless in the first quarter for the seventh straight time. But while that drought continued, another ended.
That's because the Eagles did score on their opening drive for the first time this season. It's just that the Bengals' opening drive was so long that the Eagles didn't touch the ball on offense until 4:51 remained. Jake Elliott ended the drive with a 39-yard field goal − with 14:10 left in the second quarter.
Then the Eagles showed their physicality, getting the ball back, trailing 10-3 with 5:08 left in the second quarter. The Eagles slowly and methodically worked their way down the field, trying to drain as much time as possible so Burrow wouldn't get the ball back before the half ended.
The Bengals used all three of their timeouts during that drive, trying to preserve the clock. Hurts eventually scored on a tush push with 22 seconds left. Then the Eagles opened the third quarter with another TD on Hurts' 7-yard run for a 17-10 lead.
"I think when you’re able to run the ball effectively, it opens so much," right tackle Lane Johnson said. "First of all, it wears down the interior defenders, weakens the pass rush, puts the backers in a predicament. The more we can effectively run-block, set up play-action, it opens up everything."
The Bengals answered with Chase Brown's 4-yard TD. But the Eagles took control from there, started by Smith's 45-yard TD catch.
And as Jackson's song blared in the locker room, the Eagles didn't stop until they had (more than) enough.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.