Jalen Hurts leads Eagles past Steelers as losing streak at Philly continues

PHILADELPHIA — The Pittsburgh Steelers came here hoping to end a streak that has stretched nearly six decades, one that feels more like a jinx after another defeat at the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Steelers can blame an offense missing its best receiver for netting only 2 yards in a futile first quarter. Or a defense that was without two starters for repeatedly missing tackles.

But they coupled that with major mistakes deep in Philadelphia territory, which included a pair of personal foul penalties in the first quarter and a momentum-changing fumble by Najee Harris in the third.

The Steelers sold out to stop NFL rushing leader Saquon Barkley but couldn’t contain quarterback Jalen Hurts, who completed 25 of 32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another as the Eagles rolled to a 27-13 win Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.

Where Barkley was held to 65 rushing yards, the Eagles converted 10 of 17 third downs (59%) as they outgained the Steelers, 401-163, as receivers A.J. Brown (eight catches for 110 yards) and DeVonta Smith (11 for 109) both scored touchdowns in monster games.

“When you’re playing a really good football team, you can’t hurt yourself,” said Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, who was 14 of 22 for 128 yards and a touchdown. “We hurt ourselves too much with the penalties. It was a game (in which) they turned the ball over a couple times, and we’ve got to capitalize on it. We can’t turn the ball over, either. We know that. We’re going to respond.”

The AFC North-leading Steelers (10-4) lost their 11th consecutive game in Philadelphia, a streak that dates to Oct. 24, 1965. Even so, there was a silver lining as they clinched a playoff berth thanks to losses by the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

“We’re not just trying to squeak into the playoffs, but it’s nice to know that we don’t have to wait until Week 18 to figure out if we’re in the playoffs or not,” Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “We have a playoff team. We’ve known that before this game. We played a quality playoff opponent. We didn’t have our best showing, but there’s a lot of ball in front of us.”

The Eagles (12-2) clinched the NFC East title and set a franchise record with their 10th consecutive win this season. They haven’t lost since Sept. 29, a 33-16 defeat at Tampa Bay.

The short-handed Steelers played without top receiver George Pickens, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and strong safety DeShon Elliott, then lost cornerback Donte Jackson (back) and backup quarterback Justin Fields (abdomen) to injuries. Outside linebacker T.J. Watt left in the fourth quarter with what coach Mike Tomlin called a “low ankle” injury.

The first quarter was disastrous for the Steelers, who went three-and-out on the first possession only for the Eagles to answer with a seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive. It was highlighted by passes of 22 yards to Grant Calcaterra and 21 yards to Smith before Jake Elliott kicked a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at 9:56 of the first quarter.

Watt forced a turnover when he stripped Hurts, whose fumble was recovered by nickel back Beanie Bishop at the Philadelphia 45. The Steelers went three-and-out again, but linebacker Mark Robinson forced a fumble on the punt return and Nick Herbig recovered at the 11.

On a first-down swing pass to Harris, Steelers 6-foot-7, 264-pound tight end Darnell Washington blocked Eagles cornerback Darius Slay through the end zone. A brawl ensued when Slay retaliated, but referee Alan Eck told a pool reporter that no punches were observed by officials on the field nor did the NFL command center find video evidence.

Washington and wide receiver Calvin Austin III were called for committing unsportsmanlike conduct penalties “after the play was over,” Eck said. Instead of second-and-3 at the 4, the Steelers had a second-and-18 at the 19. When Wilson threw incomplete twice, the Steelers settled for a 37-yard Chris Boswell field goal that tied the score at 3-3.

The Eagles responded with a six-play, 70-yard drive that started with passes of 16 and 20 yards to Brown and was highlighted by Barkley’s 26-yard run that set up Hurts firing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brown for a 10-3 lead with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

A 22-yard punt return by Cooper DeJean gave the Eagles favorable field position, and Hurts completed third-down passes of 17 yards to Brown and 16 yards to Kenneth Gainwell before finding Smith for a 2-yard touchdown pass and a 17-3 second-quarter lead.

The Steelers benefited from a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty when Fields took a shotgun snap and ran for an 8-yard gain and was hit by Eagles safety Reed Blankenship on a late slide. After going 0 for 5 on third downs, Wilson converted three on the drive. He ran twice for first downs on keepers, then threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth to cap an 11-play, 70-yard scoring drive that cut it to 17-10 with 2:34 left in the half.

Watt then sacked Hurts for a 12-yard loss, forcing another punt that once again gave the Steelers the ball in Eagles territory. Boswell booted a 49-yard field goal that made it 17-13 with 37 seconds left in the half.

The Eagles got a second chance in the third quarter after Elliott’s 48-yard field goal when Steelers defensive tackle Montravius Adams drew an unnecessary roughness penalty when he was blocked into and landed on top of long snapper Rick Lovato. Eck explained that “the long snapper is considered a defenseless player so he can’t be contacted above the shoulders.” The 15-yard penalty gave Philadelphia an automatic first down at the Steelers’ 15, but the defense held the Eagles to another field goal, this one from 41 yards for a 20-13 lead.

The Steelers answered with a flourish, turning to trickery for a big play by running a flea flicker that resulted in a 31-yard pass to Austin. Three plays later, however, Harris fumbled a toss and Slay recovered at the Philadelphia 26. The Eagles then staged a 13-play, 74-yard drive that covered 6:33 and saw the Steelers miss tackles on key plays.

Hurts ran a draw for 23 yards when strong safety Damontae Kazee whiffed, and Gainwell converted a third-and-9 when he bounced off inside linebacker Patrick Queen and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. for a 14-yard gain to the 1. Hurts ran for a touchdown for a 27-13 lead with 14:17 remaining.

“We had a penalty going in that forced us to settle for a field goal. We turned the ball over on a short field and got no points. And there were several possession downs on defense where we had opportunities to tackle ball carriers in the flat and we missed those tackles and that produced extended drives and thus points,” Tomlin said.

“That’s life in our business. It’s not anything mystical. It’s very fundamental. We’ve got to play disciplined. We’ve got to secure the ball. We’ve got to tackle. And we didn’t do some of those fundamental things good enough tonight to secure victory.”

Trailing by two touchdowns, the Steelers chose to punt on a fourth-and-8 at their own 47. Corliss Waitman’s punt was downed at the 6, and Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was called for unnecessary roughness for a head slap to Connor Heyward, but it happened after the kick.

Despite taking over at their 3, the Eagles repeatedly came up with big plays: a 21-yard slant pass to Brown on third-and-6, a 7-yard run by Barkley on third-and-2 and a 22-yard pass to Smith to cross into Steelers territory. Hurts took a knee three times inside the 10 to end the game.

The Steelers now play two games in the next 10 days, starting with a chance to clinch the division Saturday at the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers then host the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day at Acrisure Stadium.

“We can’t pout. We’ve got to learn from it,” Heyward said. “We’re not afforded a lot of time so we’ve got to have a memory like a goldfish. That’s got to be it. We’ve got to move on. That’s not to say that we don’t respect who we just played, but the clock is ticking. Guys got to get right. We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and move on.”