Eagles-Steelers analysis: Birds’ 10th straight win sees the Jalen Hurts-A.J. Brown connection click

A plane flew over the sports complex in the hours leading up to Sunday’s Eagles-Steelers kickoff carrying a banner. “Enough fake news! Philly stands with 1 and 11,” it read.

It was a nod to the week that was at the NovaCare Complex — never mind that it missed the mark on where and how the drama started. It did, however, foreshadow the correction that would occur.

On the field, the Eagles rendered the reaction to the Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown spectacle an overreaction, and, at least for now, put the concerns about their passing game to rest.

Here’s our instant analysis of the Eagles’ 27-13 win over Pittsburgh, a franchise-record 10th consecutive victory that moved the team one step closer to clinching the NFC East.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Nick Sirianni kept the team focused vs. Steelers amid drama, and the passing game thrived

Brown’s fourth catch of the game went for a touchdown. It was a 5-yard score on a slant in the middle of the end zone, and it was Brown’s third catch of the series late in the first quarter. The star receiver gave an honest assessment last Sunday when asked how the offense could improve. And a day later, his teammate, Brandon Graham, added fuel to the fire by implying the relationship between Brown and Hurts was strained.

After scoring a touchdown that gave the Eagles a 10-3 lead, Brown immediately jogged over to his quarterback and the two celebrated with a dance.

Thanks in part to a game plan that leaned more on the passing attack against a top rushing defense, and perhaps in part because of Saquon Barkley getting banged up, the Eagles moved the ball downfield in a variety of ways. They used empty backfields, plenty of motion, and got Brown and DeVonta Smith involved early.

Brown scored the team’s first touchdown, and Smith the second, which came on a rub route nearly six minutes into the second quarter and gave the Eagles a commanding 17-3 lead.

The passing game clicked. Hurts threw for 290 yards, completing 25 of his 32 attempts in the process. Smith had 11 catches for 109 yards and Brown added 110 yards on eight grabs.

Hurts sat down at the podium after the game and said: “So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?”

Hurts was efficient on the ground, too, rushing for 45 yards on 15 attempts, including a few kneel-downs. He scored his 14th rushing touchdown on a Tush Push early in the fourth quarter, capping a 13-play, 74-yard put-away drive that bumped the lead to 27-13. That came after the Steelers, driving to tie the game, gave the ball back to the Eagles on a botched toss play that resulted in a Darius Slay fumble recovery.

“Jalen was in complete control,” Nick Sirianni said. “Another good day by him.”

Sirianni said the passing game panic was blown out of proportion.

“There’s only so many yards you’re going to get in a game,” he said. “You can’t have all the yards rushing and have all the yards in the passing game, too. I think we’ve been super efficient. Today we needed our passing game even more.”

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts shuts up his critics with a brilliant game against the Steelers on a big night for the Eagles

Hurts did turn the ball over for the first time in five games with a first-quarter fumble. The quarterback, who said after the game that he has a broken left finger and wore a glove on his left hand, carried the ball with his inside (right) arm and lost the ball.

Eagles running backs combined for 85 yards on 26 carries. Barkley fell off Eric Dickerson’s record pace with 65 yards rushing.

“It was good complementary football,” Hurts said. “I’ve always said and believed that you want to make sure all of your tools are sharp when you need them, so when it’s time to use them you can go. I don’t think there’s a doubt in that.”

Lane Johnson had a tough assignment all day, dealing with Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt, who sacked Hurts twice and forced a fumble.

“I guess he found some open guys,” Johnson joked when asked what clicked in the passing game. “When I’m in the game, bro, my eyes are on [Watt]. I feel like they did a good job of halting the run game. We had some yards but didn’t have the rhythm or consistency that we had in other games. We came out firing in the pass game, got some momentum early, gave them a little back, and then did a good job controlling the clock.”

That Hurts fumble, and another by punt returner Cooper DeJean, did not come back to haunt the Eagles because of how strong the team’s defense played.

The Steelers, missing top receiver George Pickens, gained just 1 yard on their first 12 plays and the Eagles had a 148-2 advantage in net yards at the end of the first quarter.

The Eagles twice sacked Pittsburgh quarterback Russell Wilson, with Josh Sweat and Nolan Smith each registering one sack apiece. The Steelers rarely got into an offensive rhythm. They ran for just 3.3 yards per carry and Wilson had trouble pushing the ball down the field in the passing game.

Nakobe Dean led the Eagles with 10 tackles and also added a forced fumble.

On the day, the Eagles outgained the Steelers, 401-163. They ran 77 plays to Pittsburgh’s 41.

» READ MORE: What A.J. Brown wants, A.J. Brown gets in Eagles’ 27-13 win over the Steelers

The Hurts-Brown drama may have allowed Jake Elliott to slip under the radar a bit. The struggling kicker already has his most missed field-goal attempts (six) in a single season.

He got back on track Sunday. Elliott connected on two field goals — one from 34 yards out and another from 41. He was 3-for-3 on point-after attempts, too.

Sunday brought the Eagles an opportunity to clinch the NFC East, but that required a Washington loss, which almost happened. The Commanders survived a two-point conversion attempt and escaped New Orleans with a win to stay three games behind the Eagles with three games to play. The division leaders meet next Sunday in Washington.

But while the Eagles didn’t clinch the division Sunday, they got some help from Buffalo. The Bills beat the Detroit Lions in Detroit, moving the Eagles into a tie atop the NFC with the Lions for the top seed. The Lions have the tiebreaker over the Eagles.

Barkley was banged up early in the second quarter but returned to the game in the second half.

Safety Sydney Brown was concussed on the opening kickoff and didn’t return. Landon Dickerson suffered a knee injury and didn’t play in the second half. Johnson was also nicked up and missed a few plays.