Houston — Houston Texans put up one of the most difficult fights they Philadelphia Eagles have seen this season but Philly won by a margin of 29-17 and keep its unbeaten beginning into the campaign. Philadelphia Eagles have a record of 8-0, the best start in the history of the franchise and the Texans dropped to 1-6-1 on the season in “Thursday Night Football” at NRG Stadium.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ return to home was an unforgettable evening, as he was able to lead the Eagles to their first start of 8-0. It wasn’t always smooth however, he stepped up to the occasion, throwing two touchdown passes, including a 17-yard touchdown pass for Wide receiver A.J. Brown during the 3rd quarter for the unbeaten streak going.
A candidate for MVP at the midpoint of the season Hurts has thrown at the least two touchdown passes during three consecutive matches for the very first time ever in his professional career. He has tallied the mark of 18 touchdowns (12 passing and six rushing) with two interceptions in eight games.
Define the game in two words The game was uncomfortable for a while. With the single-win Texans were without both their primary receivers, it seemed like an absolute mismatch. However, road games on Thursdays are difficult as well, and the Eagles played sloppy and uncharacteristically in some instances, as evidenced by their first fumble of the season in a situation that Hurts did not appear ready to receive the ball as it was knocked out. At halftime, the game was tied. half — the only time Philly did not lead after two quarters, but the Eagles slowly gained control during the second quarter. into.
Unsettling trend: Eagles in their first game with the rookie defensive lineman Jordan Davis, who was recently placed on injured reserve for an ankle strain that could have been high was a challenge for the defense of rush. Houston Running back Dameon Pierce ran off for 139 yards and 27 runs. The tackling of Philly was generally poor as were the running lanes were far too wide. Davis is a game-changer. In the preseason game at halftime, the Eagles permitted 3.9 yards of rush when they had Davis in the field (70 runs) against 6 yards per rush when they took Davis away from the field (112 runs).
Pivotal play: C.J. Gardner-Johnson nailed his fifth interception in league history the season at the midpoint of the third quarter, resulting in Hurts scoring pass in the third quarter to Brown. The Eagles had their first offensive play in the second quarter quickly was halted as the running back Miles Sanders was stuffed on third-and-short. This flipped the momentum in Houston’s favour. However, Gardner-Johnson took back to make an enthralling pick in the middle on the third down. — Tim McManus
Unknown statistic worth knowing Gardner-Johnson has now had an interception in 4 straight games, which is tied with the longest streak for any Eagles player prior to the merge (Bill Bradley, in 1972).
Next game next game: against. Washington Commanders (8:15 p.m. ET, Nov. 14)
Houston Texans
The Texans were a 14-point underdog against the Eagles but compete with respectable intensity. They went into halftime tied 14-14, however Houston’s defense had a tough time against the run and pass as Hurts scored two touchdowns and the Eagles offense scored two scores.
The Texans attack was led rookie Pierce who had 139 yards of rushing. The pressure was lifted off QB Davis Mills, who was without his two top receivers, Brandin Cooks as well as Nico Collins. Pierce’s performance was impressive and enabled Mills to perform well in throwing two touchdown passes. However, he also had two interceptions in the second half which shattered the Texans chance of winning.
A promising trends: Pierce struggled against the Tennessee Titans last week as the team scored 35 yards in 15 carries. This was the second lowest number of yards in the entire season. However, Pierce returned with a massive performance, getting 139 yards which was a record-setting season. In the absence of Pierce the game would have ended in the first half.
Buy for an outstanding performance: Houston’s pass-rush is getting better. The team recorded four sacks in its game against the Eagles which have one of the top offensive teams on the field. The Texans also recorded 10 pressures on 31 dropbacks as per the Next Gen Stats. If they can create pressure on the offensive line in their game face with the New York Giants in Week 10 They should be able to maintain that momentum . The Giants allow quarterbacks to get sacked by 25 times, which is in the top 10. — DJ Bien-Aime
A little-known fact to be aware of: Mills was running 16.04 milliseconds per second when he completed an interception of 13 yards in the second quarter towards Chris Moore — just the third touchdown this season that he has thrown when running at that speed.
Next game: Giants (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 13)
