Jalen Hurts heard the noise all week. Then the Eagles quarterback went out and made some of his own in the first half against their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys, rushing for a pair of touchdowns, one on a 7-yard draw up the middle, the other a tush push from 1 yard away, and throwing for another, which was a 16-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown.
The defense did what it’s been doing since Nakobe Dean returned after missing seven games and Jaelan Phillips joined the band, and that is making life difficult for high-flying offenses such as the Lions’ last week and the Cowboys’ so far this week.
Hurts and the defense combined to help the Eagles grab a 21-7 lead at AT&T Stadium on Sunday evening, but it was Hurts who spent the week listening to anonymous reports from some members of the media saying that the QB was a part of the offense’s struggles this season.
The defense squeezed two turnovers from the Cowboys, a fumble recovery from Zack Baun and an end zone interception by Reed Blankenship after the Cowboys had reached Philly’s 1 but went backward with a false start. Then came Blankenship’s pick.
It was the defense that set the tone early, stopping the Cowboys on fourth-and-three at midfield on Dallas’ first possession of the game. Dean blanketed Javonte Williams on the fourth-down throw, not giving Prescott much room to fit the ball in. The Eagles turned that stop into a 49-yard touchdown drive that took seven plays and spanned 3 minutes, 10 seconds to take a 7-0 lead.
A.J. BROWN TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/Abpd08AhTX
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 23, 2025
Brown had three receptions on the drive for 31 yards and the TD, his fourth of the season and first since he had two in a win over the Vikings on Oct. 19. He had only target in the first meeting between the teams, a 24-20 Eagles win on Sept. 4. Brown ended the first half with six targets, making five catches for 67 yards.
On the Eagles’ second possession, they were about to go three-and-out when punter Braden Mann had his plant leg taken out from under him by Ryan Flournoy that was called a 15-yard roughing the punter penalty. The replays didn’t immediately show that Flournoy may have gotten a piece of the ball, which would have negated the penalty, but the Cowboys never challenged the call.
Given another chance, the Eagles took advantage when Hurts scored on a draw play, with the middle cleared out by center Cam Jurgens, who moved big Quinnen Williams out of the way., capping a 12-play march that took more than six minutes.
Hurts scored the Eagles’ final touchdown of the half on a 1-yard tush push. It was his eighth rushing score of the season and the 73rd of his Eagles career, which is a franchise record.
That touchdown was set up on a 42-yard throw to DeVonta Smith on third-and-12. Smith did what he does best, contorting his body in such a way to come down with the ball at Dallas’ 11. The Eagles used a pop pass to Smith that gained 10 yards to the 1, that Hurts finished off.
Smith had five catches on six targets for 58 yards. Hurts completed 13 of 19 throws for 164 yards and had a passer rating of 112.6. He added 12 yads on three runs.
The Eagles are trying to win their fifth straight game to get to 9-2 and leave Dallas with the Cowboys in flames at 4-6-1. There is still a second half to go, and quarterback Dak Prescott and his offense, which is ranked second overall in the NFL, doesn’t figure to go quietly into the Texas night. Prescott is 21-2 against NFC East teams at home.
Dallas didn’t score its first points until 21 seconds were left in the half, getting a TD catch from George Pickens, his eighth of the season.
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