PHILADELPHIA − AJ Brown was so dominant he couldn’t believe it when he tripped from behind 11 yards before his fourth touchdown of the game.
So Brown turned on his back and lay there for a few seconds before getting up.
It hardly mattered. Miles Sanders ran the ball in on the next play, from 11 yards. And Brown had already taken 3 touchdown passes, 39, 27 and 29 yards, setting a career-high with 156 yards receiving, on just 6 receptions.
Overall, the Eagles dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13 on Sunday, extending their undefeated streak to 7 games to kick off the season, giving the 2004 Eagles team its best start in franchise history. A win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night would set the franchise record.
Brown wasn’t the only outlier either. Jalen Hurts set a personal best throwing 4 touchdown passes, all from 27 yards are more, as he completed 19 of 28 passes for 235 yards before taking his place early in the fourth quarter, enabling Gardner Minshew to get his first snaps of the season to make .
And the Eagles defense joined Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. Former Steeler Javon Hargrave had 2 sacks, including a comic sack recovered by Avonte Maddox, and security Chauncey Gardner-Johnson intercepted Pickett in the fourth quarter. That was Gardner-Johnson’s 4th INT in the last three games.
The only negative for the Eagles was that rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis left late in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return.
By this time, Brown and the Eagles were well on their way to a relatively easy win.
Brown had 5 catches for 113 yards in the first half alone as the three touchdowns made his career high.
Brown is the first Eagle to score 3 touchdowns in a game since Riley Cooper against the Raiders in 2013. He is the first NFL player to have 3 or more TDs of 25 yards or more in a game since 2019, when Tampa Bay’s Breshad Perriman did.
The last NFL player to make it in the first half was Tennessee’s Drew Bennett in 2004.
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The Eagles opened the scoring on their first drive on Brown’s 39-yard TD reception. He took the ball away from Steelers’ safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in the endzone. The Steelers came right back with a touchdown after a run of 7 minutes and 26 seconds.
The Steelers’ drive stopped at the 2, but a penalty from Brandon Graham brought them a yard closer and Chase Claypool threw a halfback option to Derek Watt in the end zone.
But the Eagles kept going to Brown and he kept producing.
The Eagles faced a 3rd-and-8th to the Steelers’ 27 when Hurts threw deep down the right sideline to Brown. He caught the ball over the shoulder with a defender draped over him.
The two got back together midway through the second quarter. The Eagles started at their 40 yard line. Hurts hit Dallas Goedert on a 17-yard play, then DeVonta Smith for 14 yards. Then Hurts threw deep to Brown for 29 yards. Three plays, 60 yards, and just like that, the Eagles led 21-7 with 6:13 left.
The Eagles threw the game away on their first drive in the third quarter, when Hurts threw deep again, this time to Zach Pascal, for a 34-yard TD. It was Pascal’s first touchdown as an Eagle.
The Steelers came back with a field goal for Brown’s last catch of the game. That was a short pass over the middle, when Brown turned and then took off from the left. Fitzpatrick dove on his heels and tripped Brown at the 11. Then Sanders took the ball in.
With that, Hurts and most of the attacking line took the rest of the day off.
Jordan Davis is in pain
Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis injured his leg late in the first half and had to be helped off the field. Davis was in the medical tent until he was wheeled into the locker room just before halftime.
Davis, who played 35% of the snaps this season, was out with an ankle injury for the remainder of the game. The Eagles play again on Thursday-evening, so it would be a quick turnaround for Davis to play in that game. After that, the Eagles won’t play again until November 14.
Another fake point works
For the second time this season, the Eagles were the victim of a false punt. Marcus Allen, the upback, took the snap and ran 4 yards down the middle. The Arizona Cardinals also converted a fake punt against the Eagles on October 9.
Dominance in the 2nd quarter
The Eagles maintained their dominance in the second quarter. They entered the game with a score of 112-27. The Eagles added 14 runs, increasing their margin to 126-30. The Steelers have scored 117 points in seven games in each quarter.
Eagles give up strange TD
The Steelers faced a 4th-and-goal out of 2 and lined up for a field goal. That’s when Eagles defense end Brandon Graham was called up for game delay for making a non-football move. Apparently he was moving, simulating a flash. That moved the ball to the 1, so the Steelers decided to go for it.
Wide receiver Chase Claypool took over the handoff from Kenny Pickett, then threw into the end zone to Derek Watt, leveling the game with 1:57 to go in the first quarter.
Quinn Makes Early Eagles Debut
The Eagles made it official, placing defensive Robert Quinn on game day. And Quinn made his Eagles debut midway through the first quarter. On his first game, Quinn was in the backfield of the Steelers when Brandon Graham sacked Kenny Pickett, but the game was overturned by an Eagles penalty.
Quinn played 68% of the snaps in Chicago, but he won’t be playing as much with the Eagles because they’ll be rotating him with Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat.
“We want them all to be able to rush,” Sirianni said. “We’re looking at good fresh legs and waves coming to the quarterbacks creating pressure.”
As for the inactives, the Eagles listed QB Ian Book, CB Josh Jobe, S Reed Blankenship, RB Trey Sermon and G Josh Sills.
Please contact Martin Frank at [email protected] Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Eagles vs. Steelers: Robert Quinn’s Debut, AJ Brown’s Record Day
