PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts and the Eagles silenced some criticism, ended a losing streak and are now on the brink of a repeat championship.
A Super Bowl?
Not quite — though a second straight appearance in the Super Bowl at least remains a possibility, unlike last season's opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Eagles' resounding 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders put them one win away from winning their second straight NFC East title. The Eagles (9-5)
need one win or one Dallas Cowboys loss to become the first team to win consecutive NFC East titles since, well, the Eagles won the last of their four straight crowns from 2001-2004.
Not bad for a team that suffered a three-game losing streak this season and had to listen at times for calls to bench Hurts and fire offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo.
Playing in the woeful NFC East sure helps the Eagles navigate rough patches in the season. So does the chance to get an offense right against the lowly Raiders — the start of a soft December stretch that includes Saturday's game at the four-win Washington Commanders.
The Eagles are the No. 3 overall seed in the NFC and remain on track to host a playoff game during wild-card weekend. They could still earn a No. 1 seed but that remains a statistical long shot. They would need to win their final three games while the teams ahead of them — along with some other oddities — must each lose twice for the road to the Super Bowl to go through Philly as it did last season.
More performances like they had against the Raiders could help down the stretch. Hurts threw three touchdown passes and the Eagles defense not only had its first shutout since 2018, but it held the Raiders to just 75 total yards.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more,” Hurts said.
Not just against the Raiders — but what's still left on the table for the Eagles to accomplish.
The defense. The Eagles had their first shutout since Dec. 30, 2018, against Washington and it was their largest margin of victory in a shutout since a 31-0 win over Green Bay on Dec. 16, 1990. Las Vegas' 75 total yards were the fewest surrendered by an Eagles defense since Dec. 4, 1955, against the Chicago Cardinals (49 yards).
Brandon Graham had his first two sacks with the Eagles since he ended his short-lived retirement after the Super Bowl and returned to the team in late October.
At 37 years, 255 days old, Graham became the oldest player in Eagles history with a sack. Richard Dent was 37 years, 1 day when he had a sack in 1997.
It's hard to find any holes when a team pitches a shutout.
Hurts bounced back from a five-turnover game against the Chargers to throw three touchdowns and complete 12 of 15 attempts for 175 yards. He also rushed for 39 yards and had no turnovers.
Hurts is tied with Buffalo's Josh Allen and New England's Drake Maye for the most 25-plus yard passing TDs (9) in the league this season. It's the second-highest total in his career after he had 12 of them in 2022.
Hurts was eventually benched for backup Tanner McKee — just like some Eagles fans and media personalities wanted headed into the game. Only in this instance, it was because the Eagles were ahead 31-0, not because of Hurts' ineffectiveness. Hurts said he was born to brush off criticism about his performance.
“I think everybody needs to remember where I come from and how I’m built,” Hurts said. "I just want to lead in the right way, set the right example. I’ve done the same thing since I went to University of Alabama and everything that has been in front of me, so it’s no different now.”
A.J. Brown complained about his role in the offense and the Eagles responded by giving him the ball. Brown had three straight 100-yard receiving games — all losses. He had only two catches for 41 yards — including a 27-yard TD reception — against the Raiders and the Eagles won.
Hurts and the Eagles need to figure out how to incorporate a successful Brown into a consistent winning streak if they want to win another Super Bowl.
The Eagles could have two-time All-Pro offensive lineman Lane Johnson back in the lineup against Washington for the first time since he suffered a foot injury on Nov. 16 against Detroit.
9 — Dallas Goedert's two TD receptions against Las Vegas gave him nine this season, the second most by a tight end in franchise history. Pete Retzlaff had 10 in 1965. Goedert has three games this season with at least two touchdown receptions, putting him behind Mike Quick (4, 1987) and Harold Carmichael (4, 1979) for most in team history.
The Eagles play the Commanders twice in the final three weeks — with a Dec. 28 game at Buffalo sandwiched in — and could increase their odds for a No. 1 seed with a series sweep of their NFC East rival.
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