Unbeaten Eagles continue to soar
Hurts passes for 243 yards as Philadelphia moves to 8-0 for first time in history.
HOUSTON — Jalen Hurts didn’t make too much of the Philadelphia Eagles improving to 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. Instead he reminisced on his freshman year at Alabama in 2016 when his team won its first eight games during a 14-0 start, but came short of the ultimate goal.
“I know it’s special for the city of Philadelphia,” he said. “But I’ve been 8-0 before and lost the national championship. So we just have to take it day by day. We haven’t accomplished anything yet. It’s a day-by-day thing of us controlling the things we can and playing to our standard and trying to grow every day.”
Hurts threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, and the Eagles overcame a slow start to beat the Houston Texans 29-17 on Thursday night.
Hurts lost a fumble in a forgettable first half and the score was tied at halftime.
But C.J. Gardner-Johnson grabbed his NFL-best and career-high fifth interception before Hurts threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Brown to give the Eagles the lead in the third quarter.
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni raved about GardnerJohnson.
“That catch shifted the game and our momentum,” he said.
Houston (1-6-1) added a field goal after that but another scoring toss by Hurts and his two-point conversion run extended the lead to 29-17 early in the fourth.
The Texans were driving late in the fourth when Davis Mills’ pass was intercepted again, this time by James Bradberry and the Eagles ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Hurts, who was born in Houston and grew up about 25 miles from NRG Stadium, played his first game there. He continued his solid play in his homecoming to win his 11th straight regular-season game, the longest active streak in the NFL.