Jalen Hurts rushed for 157 yards to set a Philadelphia Eagles rushing record for a quarterback, and Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered an oblique injury in the Eagles’ 40-33 victory Sunday night.
Hurts also threw for 153 yards and two touchdowns for the NFC-leading Eagles, who improved to 10-1 for the fifth time in their history. Miles Sanders ran for 143 yards and two scores as the Eagles rushed for 363 total, the franchise’s second-best total.
Rodgers left in the third quarter with his team trailing 34-23 after fumbling a drive that led to a Packers field goal. He was playing with a broken thumb and took a few hard hits.
Rodgers’ replacement Jordan Love kept the Packers (4-8) in the game by connecting with Christian Watson for a 63-yard touchdown that cut the Eagles’ lead to 37-30.
But the Packers ran out of time against Hurts, who appears poised to take the torch from Rodgers as the next MVP.
Hurts had 254 combined yards in the first half, including 126 on the ground, and threw a touchdown pass as the Eagles built a 27-20 lead. He ripped off runs of 42, 28 and 24 yards.
In the second half, he hit AJ Brown for a 6-yard touchdown pass and a 34-20 lead that added to his eye-popping numbers on one of the greatest nights for an Eagles quarterback. Hurts surpassed Michael Vick’s 130 rushing yards in December 2010 against the New York Giants.
Rodgers went 11-of-16 for 140 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions in the first half.
Hurts put on a show in a spirited first half that saw two Eagles get their first career picks and both teams miss an extra point while combining for seven touchdowns.
Punters could have cashed in from the over in the first 30 minutes.
Philadelphia’s high-octane offense has slowed of late — notably in its first loss of the season in the previous home game against the Washington Commanders and in last week’s win over the Indianapolis Colts, who needed a fourth-quarter rally — but Hurts put the Packers on notice with early rushes that would make an All-Pro running back envious. He ran for 52 yards on the opening drive and set up Kenneth Gainwell’s 4-yard touchdown run.
Pretty easy.
Then the game got wild. Rodgers had his second pass batted down by cornerback Darius Slay and picked off by Josiah Scott. Three plays later, Sanders scored on a 15-yard run, but Jake Elliott missed the PAT.
Rodgers led the Packers right back. AJ Dillon scored on a 20-yard run, Rodgers hit Randall Cobb for an 11-yard score and it was 14-13 late in the first quarter.
Hurts, however, capped the half with a 42-yard run and a 1-yard run, close enough to the end zone to set up a 2-yard run by Sanders on the first play of the second quarter.
Rodgers returned again and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones. Mason Crosby tied Elliott with a missed extra point and it was 20-20.
That was about all Rodgers could muster.
Hurts took it from there and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Quez Watkins — whose fumble against the Chiefs was instrumental in the Eagles’ only loss.
injury
Packers: S Darnell Savage suffered a leg injury.
Eagles: CJ Gardner-Johnson, the NFL’s interception leader with six, suffered a rib injury in the first half.
Winning history
The Eagles won NFL championships after starting 10-1 in 1949 and 2017. The other times they did, they lost the Super Bowl (1980, 2004).
Rare duo
Hurts and Sanders became the first teammates to each rush for at least 125 yards since Frank Gore (158) and Colin Kaepernick (151) of the San Francisco 49ers on December 20, 2014.
The greats of all time
The Eagles inducted former defensive ends Hugh Douglas and Trent Cole into the Hall of Fame.
It follows
Packers: At the Chicago Bears next Sunday at Soldier Field.
Eagles: Host the Tennessee Titans next Sunday.
()
