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DeVonta Smith’s NFL debut was as good as advertised, and Nick Sirianni claimed his first career victory as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Atlanta. The Eagles’ first-round pick tied a team record with six catches in his debut, finishing with 71 yards and one scoring as Philly scored 25 unanswered points to beat the Atlanta Falcons 32-6 in a win crucial on the road.
Jalen Hurts had a record-breaking day in his first start of Week 1, finishing 27 of 35 for 264 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 62 yards. Hurts has amassed 300 total yards in three of five career starts and rushed for 60 yards for the same amount. The Eagles quarterback threw touchdown passes to Smith, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Reagor.
Smith’s first career catch for the Philadelphia Eagles was an 18-yard touchdown as Smith became the first Eagle since Tony Stewart in 2011 whose first career catch was a touchdown. Smith is the only player in franchise history to have managed five catches and one touchdown in his career debut.
The Eagles had two minutes to go to score their second touchdown, a 9-yard pass from Hurts to Goedert with two seconds left in the half, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Miles Sanders converted a two-point attempt to give the Eagles a 15-6 lead, a momentum they wouldn’t give up in a dominant second half. Kenny Gainwell rushed in for a touchdown to allow Philadelphia to score three points, as Gainwell and Smith became the first pair of rookies in franchise history to each score a touchdown in their first career game. Hurts capped the victory with a 23-yard pass to Reagor to give Philadelphia a 29-6 lead with 4:20 left.
Atlanta had their chances in the first half, but the Falcons failed to convert their two red zone attempts. The Falcons crossed the 10-yard line in their first two possessions, but came away with just six points. Matt Ryan was sacked three times – all in the fourth quarter – as Atlanta finished with just 58 yards in the second half.
Why the Eagles won
The Eagles were able to control the line of scrimmage on both the offensive and defensive lines. Philadelphia brought Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson together on the line for the first time since 2019 and it showed – as the Eagles rushed for 173 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Hurts was only hit once and was sacked only once, just a year after the offensive line allowed 65 sacks (which led the NFL).
The defensive line dominated the Falcons offensive line in the second half, as Atlanta faced a lot of pressure on the inside. Javon Hargrave had two sacks in the fourth quarter and Hassan Ridgeway had one – as the Eagles finished with 10 quarterback hits on Ryan (Ridgeway and Hargrave each have three). Atlanta was beaten up front in the second half, thanks to defensive tackles from the Eagles.
Why the Falcons lost
The Falcons who failed to convert touchdowns in the red zone on their first two possessions prevented them from speaking of game control. Atlanta entered inside the 10-yard line in its first two possessions, but came away with just six points. The Falcons went to the Eagles’ 3-yard line on their first possession and had two tries to score, but couldn’t hit the ball into the end zone.
Back-to-back penalties against a first and a 2-yard goal forced Atlanta to another field goal – and the opportunity to go up 10-3. The Falcons were able to throw that ball at will on their first two possessions, but Arthur Smith never reacted to Jonathan Gannon’s adjustments. Atlanta only played one more game in Eagles territory the remainder of the game, which was an intentional ground penalty for Ryan.
Turning point
Hurts found Goedert on a 9-yard touchdown with two seconds left in the first half, which gave the Eagles a 15-6 lead and set the tone for the remainder of the game. Hurts’ throw at Goedert might have been the game of the game, as the Eagles quarterback rolled to his right and threw a run towards a diving Goedert for the touchdown.
Hurts led the Eagles on a 12-play, 62-yard run that started at the Eagles’ 38 with 1:44 left in the first half. Hurts went 5 for 7 for 41 yards on the drive (one was a spike) and rushed for 24 yards, this Hurts drive was the backbreaker for the Falcons.
Game play
There are several contenders here, but Hurts throwing an 18-yard touchdown at Smith in the Eagles’ first possession of the year is the one that blew Eagles fans out of their seats. Hurts found Smith third and fourth off the 18-yard touchdown line, the first career catch for Smith and the Eagles’ first touchdown of the season.
Smith is the first Eagles player to catch a touchdown in his first career game since Marvin Hargrove in 1990 and the Eagles third wide receiver to accomplish the feat (Cris Carter was the other). His six receptions tied DeSean Jackson for the most one player in his NFL debut in Eagles history. The Eagles have taken the lead in this game in earnest.
The quote
“When things are going badly he’s the guy who picks everyone up. When things are going good he tells everyone to keep pushing.” – Smith on Hurts in the post-game.
Hurts had an impressive performance against the Falcons and is the first quarterback since the merger with 1,000 passing yards and 300 rushing yards in his first five career starts. Hurts has 1,183 passing yards and 334 rushing yards in his first five career starts – but he’s been praised for his leadership throughout the summer.
Following
Philadelphia (1-0) is at Lincoln Financial Field for their home opener against the San Francisco 49ers (1-0) while Atlanta (0-1) heads to Raymond James Stadium to face the champion in Super Bowl title Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-0).
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