Instant Reaction: Several Thoughts AfterJalen Hurts Leads Eagles To Improbable Win

Maybe this is how you slay a beast, this beast being a winless monster that wouldn’t allow the Eagles to win in Nashville in three tries throughout the years.

What it took was Jalen Hurts shaking off two interceptions to guide an offense to a game-winning touchdown with nine seconds to go, to give Philly a 24-20 win over the Tennessee Titans in a thriller on Sunday. The quarterback went 6-for-8 for 61 yards and a 3-yard touchdown on the final drive to lead the Eagles to a win few saw coming with 1:56 to play.

What it took was DeVonta Smith looking like the No. 1 receiver everyone thought he could be when A.J. Brown bolted town and made big catch after. He had four catches for 38 yards on the game-winning drive. For the game, Smith had 10 catches for 117 yards, his final one being a 19-yard snag that gave the Eagles the ball at the 3-yard-line with 14 seconds left in the game.

What it took was Darius Cooper finding his way to a wide-open spot in the back of the end zone to haul it in his first career touchdown catch, and there may never be another one has big as that one in the remainder of his career.

The Titans took a 20-17 lead on a 33-yard field goal with 1:56 to play. No matter, Hurts led them to a win.

It was a magical ending, a resilient performance from Hurts, finished 26-for-37 for 264 yards (85.9 rating). On defense, linebacker Jihaad Campbell led the team with 10 tackles.

Here are some thoughts:

Nolan Smith with the takedown! pic.twitter.com/hn8bPC0xAc
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) September 20, 2026

NOTHING EASY. The Eagles don’t ever make anything easy. They were heavy favorites to win but needed late-game heroics from Hurts, Smith, and Cooper. Still, don’t expect them to apologize for being 2-0. Nor should they.

DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES. The strength of the Eagles was supposed to be its defense. It’s not. At least it wasn’t in Week 2. They couldn’t stop a 27-yard run on third-and-22 that went for a first down. Marcus Epps couldn’t make the tackle. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio needs to figure it out.

PENALTY. Why did Nick Sirianni accept an illegal formation penalty to put the Titans in a thrd-and-23 rather than second-and-28? That gave the Titans two plays to get the first down, rather than one, and that extra play turned out to be a 27-yard run.

NO DALLAS. It didn’t help the offense that the Eagles lost tight end Dallas Goedert in the first quarter with a knee injury. He had a game-high 77 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the Week 1 win, but it’s a big dropoff to Johnny Mundt and E.J. Jenkins. If only they had drafted one. Oh right, they did, but Eli Stowers is far from ready and is on IR.

LOSE THE SCREEN. The Eagles don’t seem to have a clue how to do it. They lost yards on a throwback to Makai Lemon in a critical part of the game midway through the fourth quarter.

TURNOVERS, ANYONE? Players like to say the come in bunches, like sacks. The Eagles need to hope those bunches come soon. They don’t have a turnover in the first two games, a season after getting 21 of them, with seven interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

ROOKIE PROGRESS. Makai Lemon had a huge 14-yard catch on third-and-eight to keep alive the Eagles’ first touchdown drive of the game to even the score. It was also Lemon who hustled down the field to tackle Amani Hooker to prevent a potential pick-6. The Titans eventually scored on fourth-and-goal after the 92-yard return by Hooker, but Lemon made them work for it.

RESHUFFLED LINE. It was difficult to tell exactly how well the new left guard, Cam Jurgens, and the new center, Drew Kendall, did without…you guessed it, looking at the film. With the naked eye, it looked like Jurgens struggled playing left guard for the first time in his career. The Eagles need to rethink this configuration heading into Week 3.

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