By Brooks Kubena, Paul Dehner Jr. and Amos Morale III
Saquon Barkley ran for 108 yards and quarterback Jalen Hurts rushed for three touchdowns, including two in a dominant second half, as the Philadelphia Eagles picked up a 37-17 win against the Bengals on Sunday in Cincinnati.
In addition to his three touchdowns on the ground, Hurts threw a touchdown pass to receiver DeVonta Smith to pace the Eagles’ offense while Philadelphia’s defense made several key plays to secure the win. The Eagles forced two turnovers — a C.J. Gardner-Johnson interception and a fumble forced by Zack Baun and recovered by Nakobe Dean — and made a key fourth down stop in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-2.
Cincinnati (3-5) fell to 0-4 at home this season.
HURTS LAUNCHES DEEP TO DEVONTA SMITH.
46-YARD TOUCHDOWN.
📺: #PHIvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/u4yjFvgeOi— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2024
Eagles offense reaches new — and needed — level
The Eagles finished off the Bengals with a furious offensive momentum that had yet to be seen in 2024.
They scored 34 points on their final six drives. They scored touchdowns on three straight possessions for the first time this season. They buried the Bengals by playing the game their way: converting Brotherly Shoves, handing the ball off to Barkley (22 carries) and attacking one-on-one matchups. Hurts struck Smith for a 45-yard touchdown to give the Eagles a 24-17 lead with 2:51 left in the third quarter, which started a run of 20 consecutive points to close the game.
Stagnant and sloppy in their first three drives, still scoreless in the first quarter in 2024, the Eagles still delivered a definitive victory for the second straight week — this time against an opponent with actual playoff potential. — Brooks Kubena, Eagles beat writer
Philly’s defense steps up, too
Vic Fangio and the Eagles defense eventually solved the Ja’Marr Chase/Mike Gesicki riddle.
Joe Burrow and the Bengals were meticulous and deliberate in a first half in which they scored 10 points by shaping the defensive structure like a skilled artisan. Chase, motioning into multiple alignments, kept exploiting the Eagles no matter the matchup. The Bengals converted their first seven third-down situations. Chase capped off an opening drive in which he flared out of the backfield and caught a 2-yard touchdown reception in coverage against edge rusher Nolan Smith.
The Eagles shut down the Bengals’ passing attack in the second half. Burrow was 10-of-13 passing for 65 yards. In a critical two-play sequence, in a one-score game late in the third quarter, Brandon Graham stopped Zack Moss for no gain on a third-and-1 run, then Cooper DeJean slung Chase down for a 2-yard loss and a turnover on downs. The Eagles kicked a field goal on the following drive to go up two possessions. — Kubena
Eagles force a turnover … finally
The Eagles entered the weekend having only forced two turnovers — the fewest in the NFL. They doubled that total on Sunday with two takeaways that helped seal their win.
In the fourth quarter, leading 24-14, Isaiah Rodgers, in for the injured Darius Slay (groin), tipped a deep pass attempt to Chase that safety Gardner-Johnson intercepted. On the next drive, Gesicki lost a fumble that linebacker Nakobe Dean recovered on the first play of the possession. — Kubena
At 3-5, where do the Bengals stand?
Sunday was about learning how good the Bengals actually are this season. Are they the team that only had three wins against bad teams and blew potential wins against Kansas City and Baltimore, or a team capable of a playoff run righting the ship just in time to save the season?
The Eagles left no doubt where the Bengals stand in the NFL hierarchy. Turns out, despite Burrow still being in the final stage of his rookie contract window, Cincinnati isn’t very good. At the very least, the Bengals look incapable of digging out of the hole they created for themselves in September. — Paul Dehner Jr., Bengals beat writer
Bengals fail to pressure Hurts
The lack of pass rush returned on Sunday for the Bengals and continued to be a major issue. The improvement over the last two weeks looks like more of a product of playing the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants than the health and rotation of the group.
The Bengals were solid enough slowing down Barkley, but Hurts’ ability to sit back in the pocket all game was the root of all evil. Specifically, it showed up in Hurts’ 41-yard touchdown pass to Smith, where Trey Hendrickson got run 14 yards past the line of scrimmage and Sam Hubbard got blocked up by tight end Jack Stoll. — Dehner
Bengals ask Burrow to do too much
Without Tee Higgins (quad) and Orlando Brown Jr. (knee), Burrow needed to create offense out of thin air through scrambles and off-script plays. There was no juice in a running game that couldn’t muster a gain longer than 4 yards. Outside of one deep ball to Jermaine Burton, none of the Bengals’ other receivers offered a significant contribution. The play calling, specifically throwing behind the sticks to Chase on a key fourth down, put the entire game into an uphill battle.
Burrow did his best to make it happen but didn’t have anywhere near enough support around him to keep this game close. — Dehner
Required reading
- NFL playoff projections 2024: The Athletic’s model predicts the field
- Bengals defense fighting winning battle (for now) against explosives as Eagles loom
- Return of the veteran RB? Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley and early glimmers of a revival
- The gambles, perils, payoffs (and fullback) within the Eagles’ offensive identity
(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
