Philadelphia Eagles blow lead at buzzer, then Jalen Hurts 'woke up,' beat Commanders in OT

PHILADELPHIA − It's still coming in fits and starts, but the Eagles offense came to life midway through the game and again late.

That's when Jalen Hurts hit A.J. Brown on a 28-yard touchdown with 1:43 left to break a tie game.

Even then, the Eagles couldn't stop Washington's last-minute drive down to the Eagles' 10 yard line with 5 seconds left. The Commanders tied the game as time expired on Jahan Dotson's touchdown catch, forcing overtime.

After Washington punted, the Eagles slowly drove down the field, and won the game 34-31 on Jake Elliott's 54-yard field goal with 3:58 left in the extra session.

It was anything but easy as the Eagles did just enough to improve to 4-0. It's the first time the Eagles have won their first four games in two straight seasons since 1992-93.

As cornerback Darius Slay put it: "It's been an ugly 4-0 start, to be honest ... We aren’t playing our best ball. We’re showing that we need to be more dialed in, more locked in. But I’m always happy with a win because that’s what it’s all about. But for sure, we gotta be better."

The Eagles fell behind by 10 points late in the first half, then rallied to take a seven-point lead early in the fourth quarter.

But they couldn't hold it, and they couldn't hold it again after Hurts' 28-yard TD pass in overtime.

They finally did hold the Commanders on their first possession in overtime, when Reed Blankenship dove toward the sideline on third down, pushing receiver Terry McLaurin enough so he couldn't get his second foot in bounds.

The Eagles then marched, sort of, down the field. Even that was in jeopardy as Hurts was called for intentional grounding on second down, setting up a 3rd-and-17 from Washington's 45. Hurts completed a short pass to DeVonta Smith, setting up Elliott's field goal.

It was indicative of Hurts' day. He completed 25 of 37 passes for a season-high 319 yards with 2 touchdowns, both to Brown. But he again struggled to get his running game going. Yet when it mattered most, this is what Brown saw from him:

"That fire. He kind of woke up a little bit. And it gave everybody a boost."

There were several signs of trouble.

Hurts still has yet to break free as a runner. He had just 7 yards on 5 carries before he escaped pressure and ran to his left for 24 yards in the fourth quarter. That was his longest run of the season. But on other occasions, Hurts was bottled up after a short gain.

His passing also came in fits and starts. It took a while for Hurts to get the deep ball going. Hurts hit Brown for a 59-yard TD midway through the third quarter to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. They added a field goal to start the fourth quarter for a seven-point lead.

Then the offense struggled while Washington got the game-tying TD on Brian Robinson's 15-yard run with 8:01 left. The Eagles stalled again, giving the Commanders a chance to take the lead. But Haason Reddick's first sack of the season set up a 3rd-and-17 from the 23, and the Commanders ended up punting.

Britain Covey's 20-yard punt return set the Eagles up at their 43 with 3:20 left.

This time, Hurts came up clutch, completing a 3rd-and-8 pass to Olamide Zaccheaus at the 2-minute warning to get to Washington's 45. Two plays later, he found Brown down the right sideline, looping the pass over Emmanuel Forbes, Jr.

Brown finished with a season-high 175 yards on 9 catches and 2 TDs.

"It’s a unique feeling being in those situations because you work so hard and you prepare so hard, and you go through so much to put yourself in position where you’re comfortable in those moments," Hurts said about facing "being in different and unique and unprecedented moments, which you may call pressure."

Hurts delivered, and so did the defense, also in fits and starts.

The defense settled in after allowing two straight 75-yard touchdown drives on Washington's first two possessions. Linebacker Nicholas Morrow had 3 sacks. He was waived before the season started, re-signed to the practice squad, then promoted to replace Nakobe Dean, who's on injured reserve.

Morrow was asked the last time he had three sacks in a game. He responded: "Never."

It took the Eagles until the midway point of the second quarter to sack Washington quarterback Sam Howell after Howell was sacked 9 times and threw 4 interceptions last week against Buffalo.

Then they ambushed him, sacking him 5 times and coming close on several other occasions. Still, Howell had the Commanders deep in Eagles' territory late in the game, managing to tie the game. The second-year QB finished 29 of 41 for 290 yards and a touchdown.

It was like this all game.

On the first drive, the Eagles stopped Washington on 3rd-and-11, but Zach Cunningham was called for defensive holding. That led to a touchdown. Late in the first half, the Eagles stopped Washington on 3rd-and-8 as Howell threw the ball away into the end zone to avoid a sack.

But James Bradberry was called for pass interference, giving Washington a first down at the 10. Washington settled for a field goal, putting the Eagles behind 17-7.

The Eagles sandwiched two field goals to sandwich the end of the second quarter and start of the third.

NFL official hit hard: Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts has scary collision with line judge Maia Chaka

It took 2 1/2 quarters for the Eagles to take their first lead, but they finally did as Hurts connected with Brown for a 59-yard TD. Brown caught the ball at about Washington's 30 along the left sideline, then cut across the middle and headed up field.

The Eagles went for the 2-point conversion after Washington was called for roughing the passer on Hurts' pass to Brown. That set the Eagles up at the Washington 1, and Kenny Gainwell ran it in, giving the Eagles a 21-17 lead with 7:11 left in the third quarter.

It was Hurts' third long completion of the day. He hit Brown for 28 yards earlier in the third quarter, and DeVonta Smith for 37 yards late in the second quarter after Smith outleaped a Washington defender for the ball. Hurts also had Smith open deep in the first half but overthrew him.

Hurts was having trouble running, too.

The Eagles took over at midfield in the second quarter, but Hurts only gained 1 yard when it seemed like he had room to run. Then he was sacked, then he overthrew Smith who was open deep.

The Eagles punted.

Finally, Hurts and the Eagles woke up, and kept their undefeated season intact.

"We won in a different way than we've had to win so far this year," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. "I think that builds character. I think that builds a tighter team. I think that builds trust."

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles blow lead at buzzer, beat Commanders on long field goal in OT