DeVonta Smith’s improbable TD catch for the Eagles underscores a bounce-back day vs. Bengals

CINCINNATI — It was late in the first quarter when the intrusive thoughts won over in DeVonta Smith’s head.

We ain’t doing this again.

In the early going of the Eagles’ dominant 37-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals, the wide receiver was thrown down for a 2-yard loss on his first catch of the day. He had plenty of time to amend the broken play, but the stat line looked all too familiar. One catch, minus-2 yards.

Smith had been a good sport a week earlier when his limited role in a blowout win against the Giants resulted in the same exact numbers. The Eagles’ history of overcorrecting to a quiet game from one of their stars the last few years even suggested Smith would be featured early and often this Sunday, but the 25-year-old finished the opening series with a similar lack of involvement, an identical stat sheet, and a determination to avoid another week of going backward.

“Today, I wasn’t happy when that happened,” Smith said of his opening catch. “I was like, ‘Nah, we ain’t doing this again.’ But it’s just trusting my training, continuing to go out there and make the most of my opportunities. When the ball comes to you, make it.”

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Smith did just that, making an improbable contested catch for a 45-yard touchdown that proved instrumental in the Eagles cruising to their most convincing win of the season. Finishing with six catches for a team-high 85 receiving yards and the score, the star wideout made a handful of timely plays to help the Eagles convert on third downs during the second half as well.

After the game, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni alluded to the offense’s tendency to feature Smith, A.J. Brown, or Dallas Goedert heavily the week after a quiet game. He didn’t get the numbers exactly right — Smith had eight catches for 169 yards and a touchdown in Week 3 of the 2022 season against the Washington Commanders two games after having zero catches against the Lions — but the sentiment holds true. Smith has never gone consecutive games with fewer than four targets and has typically followed up his worst statistical performances with big games the following week.

“He made clutch catches,” Sirianni said. “Not a surprise, the last time he was shut out in a game — he had one for minus-2 last week — but the last time he was shut out in a game he came back and had, I think, like eight for 176. That’s how the game goes, that’s why you can’t overreact when things happen.”

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts added, “We’ve got a lot of talent, we’ve got a lot of mouths to feed. That’s something that we have to navigate as a team, but the one thing I’m confident in is everyone being ready when their opportunity and their number is called. He made some huge plays down the stretch of the game down the field, and then on third downs he showed up big. I think that was a great showing for him and a great showing for our offense and our team.”

Smith’s biggest play came late in the third quarter with the score tied at 17. The Eagles identified zone coverage by motioning tight end Jack Stoll across the formation and called a play-action deep shot that sent Smith and Brown on routes down the field. Isolated against Cincinnati safety Jordan Battle, Smith gained some separation but still needed to high-point the ball with Battle scrambling to recover.

“We knew we were going to get the one-on-one coverage,” Smith said. “Jalen, he trusted me to go up there, one-on-one, and win a 50-50 ball.”

Sparked by the big play, the Eagles went on to score 20 unanswered points with Smith contributing two critical third-down catches to help the offense salt the game away.

The touchdown catch is the type of play Smith has developed a reputation for during his Eagles tenure despite having a slender frame. He said he hadn’t watched the catch back after the game, so he wasn’t sure where it may rank among his best plays over the last few years.

Brown, Smith’s running mate, said his vantage point was good enough to confirm it will rank highly.

“It’s up there,” Brown said. “I got a live view. It’s up there.”

There’s an irony in Smith adding to his highlight reel so emphatically just one week after his most impactful plays came blocking for Saquon Barkley at MetLife Stadium. That wasn’t lost on him as he walked toward the podium shortly after the final whistle with “September” blaring through a jubilant Eagles locker room and competing with his voice in an adjacent room.

“I ain’t done one of these in a while.”