September 20, 2026
Steve Roberts/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
DeVonta Smith balled out Sunday, with one of his most impressive performances as a pro.
Maybe the Eagles were just toying with a lesser Titans team Sunday?
Maybe they're just one of those teams that is good in close games and will make the postseason with a very close point differential.
Or maybe Jalen Hurts is an elite quarterback, bailing out a team with lesser talent.
Whatever the explanation is, the result Sunday was remarkable, as the Eagles drove 65 yards to score with nine seconds to go, en route to an epic comeback win, 24-20, to move to 2-0.
After two incredible and unlikely completions on the sidelines to toe-tapper DeVonta Smith, Hurts beat a blitz to find Darius Cooper wide open in the back of the end zone.
It's a typical Eagles win. No one is feeling great. But the vibes are still pretty good. Here's our weekly stock watch:
Who are these guys? And why can't they keep it going for 60 minutes?
The Eagles won in Week 1 despite a very, very shaky offense. Against a defensive unit expected to be pretty bad, the Birds had worse numbers than the Commanders in basically every category but they still won. It looked like Kevin Patullo had never left, with a slow, mostly unimaginative offense that was unable to create much momentum.
New OC Sean Mannion came to play in Week 2 — at least in the first half. The stark contrast was really hard to miss, and was by far the most reassuring and promising part of Philly's otherwise underwhelming trip to Tennessee. Here's their total stats last week compared to the first half this week.
| Category | Week 1 | First half |
| Scrimmage yards | 318 | 210 |
| Offensive plays | 53 | 40 |
| First downs | 10 | 15 |
| Three and outs | 5 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 26:40 | 21:10 |
| Points | 24 | 14 |
The Eagles had more first downs in 20 minutes against the Titans than they had in 60 against the Commanders. Just before halftime in Nashville, they had more points than the Titans had plays on offense.
But the second half was an ugly mess. Hurts threw his second interception with the game tied in the fourth, as the excess of negative plays in the second half put a lot of pressure on Hurts' arm to bail them out.
The second half was three-and-out city. And penalty city. It wasn't pretty.
Until Hurts stepped to the plate and made one jaw-dropping play after another:
WOWOWOWOW
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 20, 2026
(🎥 @NFL) pic.twitter.com/RYo4H8T1p9
The Eagles' defense has been hyped for months, and it was predicted all over the place that it would be even better than the top 5 unit they were in 2025.
The unit was really soft against Washington last week, collecting just one sack, and causing zero turnovers. Anyone not named Zack Baun was basically invisible as they were bend-not-break in a down to the wire 24-22 win.
A bounce back didn't surface in Week 2. The pass rush was still in the back field pretty often, but they struggled to get hands on Cam Ward, sacking him just twice. There were no turnovers. There weren't even near turnovers.
The numbers are not unimpressive. Ward only threw for 169 yards and for the second week in a row, the Eagles' opponents failed to gain 300 scrimmage yards.
The offense didn't help them with the early interception, giving them a pretty tough short field. The 3-and-outs in the second half didn't help much either (nor did a reported 150 degree field). But something is lacking situationally. The big play isn't there.
This doesn't happen to elite defenses.
ELIC AYOMANOR HURDLE ‼️
— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2026
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Later on that drive, with a third and 22, the defense gave up a 27-yard run to Tyjae Spears before Jalen Carter finally came through with a big sack as Ward took a snap inside the 10-yard line. His play helped the defense hold Tennessee to a chip shot field goal.
That sack proved to be key, as it allowed the Eagles to win with their ensuing touchdown. Of course, Carter left with an injury late. The Eagles need him desperately to be healthy in Week 3.
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