Saints drop head-scratcher to Eagles for first loss since September

PHILADELPHIA — Flat.

That’s the word New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton used to describe how his team started Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Eagles, on the other hand, showed electricity in rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts’ first start to run past the Saints and then some, winning 24-21 to give New Orleans its first loss since September.

“It’s hard to generate momentum when you’re not playing well,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. 

After a slow start, the Saints (10-3) found some footing late in the third quarter, whittling what was a 17-point halftime deficit down to three with quarterback Taysom Hill’s 37-yard touchdown pass to receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

But the Saints’ next drive turned disastrous for New Orleans.

At the Philadelphia 43-yard line, the Saints elected to go for it on fourth-and-2. Hill rolled out to his right to look downfield, but as he went to throw, Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat came up with the strip sack, and defensive tackle Javon Hargrave recovered.

The favorable field position, paired with back-to-back penalties on cornerback Marshon Lattimore (holding) and defensive tackle Malcolm Roach (neutral zone infraction) put the Eagles in a spot to add to their lead. They did that with Miles Sanders’ 1-yard touchdown to put the Eagles back up by 10 points.

The Saints got the ball back with 6:22 left and chewed up nearly four minutes of clock before kicker Wil Lutz missed a 57-yard field goal wide left, his second miss of the game and fifth missed kick of the season. 

It wasn’t over yet. Two plays later, linebacker Kwon Alexander forced Hurts to fumble, his lone mistake of the game. The Saints recovered, giving New Orleans a late sign of life. 

The Saints showed urgency inside the two-minute warning when Hill found tight end Jared Cook in the back of the end zone to put them within three points, but their last chance proved unsuccessful as Eagles safety Jalen Mills recovered the onside kick to end the game.

Even in the loss, Hill recorded a season-high 291 yards passing with a completion percentage of 74.7% with two passing touchdowns and an interception. His top receiver was Michael Thomas, who caught all eight passes thrown his way for 84 yards.

The Eagles, though, had 413 yards of total offense — the highest amount allowed by a Saints defense since 2019’s game against the San Francisco 49ers. Much of that came on the ground, as both Hurts and Miles Sanders eclipsed the 100-yard mark to end New Orleans’ 55-game streak of not allowing a 100-yard rusher. 

Sanders finished with a career-high 115 yards rushing on 14 carries, while Hurts added 106 yards rushing on 18 attempts with 167 yards passing in his NFL debut as a starting quarterback.

The first half quickly went off the rails for New Orleans. 

The Saints’ offense began the game going three-and-out and their most successful drive of the first two quarters ended with an unsuccessful 45-yard try from Lutz.

By halftime, the Saints had only amassed 98 yards of offense, 56 passing and 42 on the ground. On the flip side, the Eagles had 307 yards in the first half, with much of that coming on significant chunk plays.

Inside the two-minute warning, the Eagles were up 10 and apparently were content to bleed out the clock to halftime. But on second-and-10 from the Philadelphia 18, Sanders found an opening and darted down the sideline for an 82-yard touchdown — the longest Eagles running play since 2000 and the second-longest running play allowed by the Saints in franchise history — to put the Eagles up 17-0 with 1:47 to play before intermission.

The Saints went three-and-out on their ensuing possession; Hill found Sanders for a gain of 9 yards,  but the drive promptly went backward after right tackle Ryan Ramczyk was flagged for a false start and Hill took a sack for a loss of 4 yards from Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.

The stifled drive gave the Eagles one more shot at the end zone before halftime, and Philadelphia had a chance to go up by 20 at the break, but kicker Jake Elliott banged a 22-yard field goal off the left upright.

Lagniappe

Jalen Hurts: Rookie quarterback Jalen Hurts had his first career start Sunday, taking over for benched veteran Carson Wentz. The dual-threat former Heisman Trophy finalist who played at Alabama and Oklahoma finished with 106 yards rushing and 167 yards passing.

Injury update: Saints guard Nick Easton left the game with a concussion and did not return. This is the second time this season Easton has left a game with a concussion. … Three of the Eagles’ starters in the secondary left the game early with injuries. Cornerback Avonte Maddox was ruled out with a knee injury at halftime, and then safety Rodney McLeod (knee) and cornerback Darius Slay (head) were declared out with three minutes left in the third quarter after getting hurt on the same drive.

Up next: The Saints return home for the first time in a month to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Kickoff is at 3:25 p.m. Sunday on CBS.

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