Eagles draw on their QB; Jalen Hurts stars in the final moments of a come-from-behind win over the Colts

INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Hurts kept things light.

Midway through the Eagles’ 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, the team’s offense was growing frustrated with the lack of production. The Eagles entered the fourth quarter trailing, 13-3, with turnovers and untimely penalties killing multiple promising drives.

They were 15 minutes away from dropping their second game in as many weeks to a Colts team that fired its head coach two weeks ago.

Hurts was unfazed. He even told a few jokes.

“He was like that the entire game,” Eagles receiver A.J. Brown said. “He was kind of calm and, to be honest, joking. He’s got great poise and great confidence. There was never any doubt in his mind. ... He was kind of a little looser than normal. He’s been kind of like that all week.”

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Hurts and the Eagles offense eventually delivered in the game’s biggest moments. The 24-year-old quarterback found Quez Watkins for a 22-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-possession game early in the fourth and then ran in for a 7-yard touchdown on a well-timed quarterback draw play on third-and-goal with less than 90 seconds left in the game.

The Eagles escaped with their ninth win of the season, largely thanks to a late-game drive sparked by a steady running game and Hurts’ athleticism. On a third-and-2 early in the drive, Hurts extended a play and rolled out before finding Miles Sanders open down the sideline. The pass was underthrown, but Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin mauled Sanders as he was coming back for the ball to give the Eagles a 39-yard gain off a pass-interference penalty.

The Eagles, seemingly trying to grind down the clock, then called nine straight running plays that produced 28 yards and the decisive score.

“You put the ball in your players’ hand that you trust to make plays at that time,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I think you keep seeing it, when we need a drive and we need some points, you can always lean on our offensive line, you can always lean on them. And then Jalen is special with the ball in his hands.”

The Eagles called several quarterback designed runs out of empty formations against the Colts, which took advantage of Hurts’ ability as a runner in a formation that otherwise would force teams to pass. Hurts had four attempts on quarterback draw plays for 30 yards against the Colts, including the scoring one in which the Colts left a massive hole in the center of their defense.

Sirianni said the emotion and anxiety of the game against his former team caused him to look away from the action on the third-down draw play. Instead, he watched pass game coordinator Kevin Patullo’s reaction to deduce that Hurts had crossed the goal line.

“Man, that thing opened up,” Sirianni said. “I was looking at the play, and then I looked over at Kevin Patullo and Kevin was going crazy because I kind of put my head down just for a second. He executed and we scored and it was pretty sweet.”

Hurts added, “That was one that was in the bag. We pulled it out. We pulled it out at the right time, the right game.”

Hurts led the Eagles with 16 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown. He broke off a 23-yard run early in the fourth quarter that set up the touchdown pass to Watkins.

Watkins said he ran a similar in-breaking route earlier in the game and felt like he gained separation. He implored the coaching staff to call the play again and for Hurts to look his way.

“I’ve been telling the coaches, telling the guys it was open,” Watkins said. “Jalen finally looked and, at the moment, I was open. I just made a play.”

Hurts said the conversation traces back to Saturday night when he told his receivers to talk to him about their matchups and how they saw things.

“We were communicating, receivers to quarterback, coach to quarterback, all of us,” Hurts said. “We were trying to get on the same page. I encouraged them even last night, like ‘Hey, ya’ll let me know what y’all see and I’ll let the coaches know. Let’s talk about it and get on the same page so we can execute.’ We did that. Was it the level that the precedent has been set for us? No. ... But it was enough.”

Watkins said he also got an assist from Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was familiar with Colts slot cornerback Kenny Moore from his days studying and playing nickel cornerbacks. Gardner-Johnson was jawing with Moore from the sideline, and gave Watkins some tips for how to beat Moore.

“I was telling [Moore], truthfully, he’s on his heels. So stack him as fast as you can,” Gardner-Johnson said. “I know Kenny Moore, that’s who was guarding [Watkins], he’s going to reach and lunge every time you move. I played nickel and I used to study his game a lot. Make a move, stack him, and get into your route because he’s going to try to reach and grab him. He did it and he scored.”

The Eagles went five consecutive drives without any scoring production and didn’t get into the end zone until the 14-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Brown and Watkins both said there was some frustration from the group, but Hurts’ “poise” kept them grounded.

“I feel like there’s never a doubt,” Hurts said. “Even when you lose, there was never a doubt. ... We never wavered throughout the game. There were things that did not go our way as far as execution and putting ourselves in bad positions, but we’re never out of the fight.”