PHILADELPHIA – And there everyone was. Same locker. Same player.

How much difference does a week make? What a difference an awkward conversation can make. Last week, AJ Brown summed up the parameters of his team’s offensive woes in a single word. Passing by. Beneath the false narrative of personal conflicts (aggravated and prolonged by the team itself) was professional responsibility. Brown said what everyone at the Philadelphia Eagles knew: If they wanted to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, they needed a talented passing game that was more than just the limping link of a historic rushing attack.

They needed Jalen Hurts to produce the outstanding performance he hadn’t shown yet. They had to prove that by overtaking they could close the gap on other players who couldn’t always be counted on to dominate. They had to do exactly what they did Sunday in their 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field. They became a definite contender to win the franchise’s second Super Bowl title, a 12-2 playoff team now tied with the Detroit Lions for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.

They punished an opposing defense that expected to stop the run. Hurts completed 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday. He completed as many passes as in the previous two games combined. The Eagles started with the skid: He blasted Grant Calcaterra for 22 yards; Hurts Brown on a 7-yard slant; Blows a 20-yard crosser to DeVonta Smith. A 34-yard field goal from Jake Elliott brought points on only the third opening drive of the season. With the score at 3-0, they took control of a game that their defense refused to let go of.

The Eagles outscored the Steelers 148-2 in net offensive yards in the first quarter. Hurts completed 12 of his first 13 passes for 146 yards. There was the timing and the touch that had been missing for almost a month. And how has the passing game improved? “We decided to water it,” Hurts said. To put it less metaphorically: they met there. Extra. Brown said they held joint meetings “in addition to the meetings we already had.” They made sure they were all on the same page. Hurts. Brown. Blacksmith. The trio that had led this regime to its first Super Bowl appearance.

There had never been a game in 2024 in which Brown and Smith had both totaled 100 yards. Consider this atoned: Brown (110), Smith (109). Both caught touchdowns. Hurts found Brown on a 5-yard throw in the first quarter that Brown slipped past cornerback Donte Jackson. Hurts extended its lead to 17-3 in the second quarter after a 2-yard strike to Smith, who was cleared by a well-placed pick. Both required reps that got teammates on the same page. Consider Brown’s call a realignment, a necessary catalyst between strong competitors to take the actions they knew they had to take.

“It’s easy for us to have these difficult conversations and call each other out because at the end of the day we know what we want,” Brown said. “It makes it easier when we’re close to each other.”

F stands for friends doing something together.
U is for you and me.
N stands for anywhere, anytime.@jalenhurts | @1kalwaysopen_ | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/0eBWoVCrdH

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 15, 2024

Ask Smith, and it was only a matter of time. The Eagles offense had put pressure on their opponents with a historic dose of Saquon Barkley. When the Steelers arrived with the NFL’s fourth-best rush defense in yards per game (91.5), the Eagles’ coaching staff knew they had to rely on a game plan that featured Hurts at his best. Previously indecisive, Hurts now aimed confidently. He averaged 3.37 seconds per throw – almost half a second faster than his throw average against the Carolina Panthers (3.79). Eagles coach Nick Sirianni has repeatedly called Hurts a “winner.” In fact, the fifth-year quarterback delivered a game plan in which he played the prominent role despite suffering a broken ring finger on his left hand.

“Yeah, I mean, we always knew the time would come where we would have to rely on throwing the ball, and it came that we were there to answer,” Smith said. “…It was just a matter of finding that one team that just wanted to stop the run and wanted us to win the game through the air.”

Barkley totaled 19 carries for 65 yards, the second fewest of his outstanding season. The MVP candidate had to take a short break just before halftime because he was struggling with ailments that he didn’t disclose. He played the remainder of the second half, in which the Eagles extended their lead by shutting down a Steelers offense that had scored 71 points in the previous two games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. Russell Wilson completed 14 of 22 passes for a season-low 128 yards. Much of that was gained on a 31-yard fumble in the third quarter. No Steelers player rushed for more than 14 yards. They averaged a season-low 3.3 yards per carry. It wasn’t until their sixth drive of the game that they managed a first down.

Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit has been top performers during the team’s 10-game winning streak. He sets several goals for defense each week, each supporting his main goal: Win. One of the goals, edge rusher Josh Sweat said, is to hold the opponent to 17 points or fewer. Their last 10 opponents averaged 15.1 points per game.

“We just want to impose our will on everyone we can,” Reed Blankenship said.

The Eagles’ defense significantly increases their team’s margin for error. Hurts lost a fumble in the first quarter. Sweat then had a three-and-out sack that led to a punt dropped by rookie Cooper DeJean at the Eagles’ 11. The Steelers lost eight yards – due in part to a minor flurry after tight end Darnell Washington was penalized when Eagles cornerback Darius Slay Jr. blocked after the whistle – and then kicked a field goal.

Leading 17-10 with 1:29 left in the first half, Braden Mann managed a punt from Philadelphia’s own 16 yards that traveled a season-low 29 yards. Edge rusher Nolan Smith Jr. sacked Wilson to limit Pittsburgh to a 49-yard field goal that put the Steelers up 17-13 at halftime. After Elliott made a 41-yard field goal to make the score 20-13 in the third quarter, the Steelers had one final opportunity to tie the game. Wilson’s flea flicker to Calvin Austin III reached the Eagles’ 39, but three plays later Najee Harris parried a throw that was recovered by Slay.

I’ll take the ball in our one-horse open SLAY, hey! 🎶@bigplay24slay | #ProBowlVote pic.twitter.com/VI3bSOjve2

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) December 15, 2024

And here the passing game was required again. Hurts completed two third-down throws on a 13-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that set the final score with 6:33 remaining. The Steelers struck one last time with 10:29 left in the game and were never able to get it back. The Eagles let the clock run out. There were 9:47 left in the game when Hurts buzzed a third-and-6 from his own 7 that Brown took for 21 yards. Think back to the passing game from the last two weeks, and it’s not hard to imagine Mann, near his own goal line, once again joining a Steelers offense that could have tied the game earlier had Harris not fumbled. But instead, the Eagles mounted a demoralizing 21-play, 99-yard drive that ended with Hurts taking a knee.

“The desire to win games, the desire to have time with the ball is very strong,” left tackle Jordan Mailata said. The Eagles’ offense played the entire second half, with reserve Tyler Steen replacing Landon Dickerson (knee). Still, they remained in sync, largely due to the extra time Hurts, Brown and Smith, as well as the Eagles’ coaching staff, spent throughout the week “watering down” the passing game. Hurts admitted that for the most part they were a run-oriented team that exploited the defense with playful passes. They had neglected an aspect that also makes them strong. Brown said their additional meetings will continue. They have now proven that they can be an absolute offensive force. They know they can’t let this part of their proverbial garden run dry.

“I think (our offense is) really exactly where we need to be,” Smith said. “We have to be a team that runs the ball how often? That’s what we’re going to do. A team that still has to throw the ball so often? That’s what we’re going to do. Whatever it takes to win, I have a feeling this team can do it.”

(Photo by Jalen Hurts: Eric Hartline / Imagn Images)