ATLANTA (AP) – Jalen Hurts threw three touchdown passes, the first to Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith, and the Philadelphia Eagles won Nick Sirianni in his head coaching debut with a 32-6 win against the unfortunate Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Hurts, who was now firmly anchored as the Eagles starter after the exchange of Carson Wentz, certainly looked good with his touchdown passes of 18 yards to Smith, 9 yards to Dallas Goedert and 23 yards to Jalen Reagor.
Another newcomer from Philadelphia, fifth round Kenneth Gainwell, scored his first professional TD with an 8-yard run towards the end of the third quarter to essentially seal the win.
In an often sloppy match between rookie head coaches and the NFC’s two worst teams a year ago, the Eagles narrowed the Falcons to a pair of field goals and got more than enough production from a revamped offensive that put Hurts in charge.
Hurts completed 27 of 35 passes for 264 yards and used his agility to repeatedly neutralize Atlanta’s attempt to jolt him with a multitude of lightning bolts. He ran for 62 yards on seven carries.
The Sirianni-era first TD signaled the changing times in Philadelphia after the Eagles slumped to a 4-11-1 last season, leading to the sacking of Super Bowl winning coach Doug Pederson.
Hurts, now the undisputed starter, threw a pass at Smith, number 10 overall, along the left side of the end zone to give the Eagles an edge they never gave up shortly after the middle of the first quarter.
Smith used a nifty, pick-like move from Zach Ertz to get just enough distance from cornerback Fabian Moreau to catch Hurts’ throw. In an interesting twist, it was the same end zone at Mercedes-Benz Stadium that Smith caught a masterful touchdown pass for Alabama in extra time in the 2018 national title game.
Hurts and Smith were teammates at the Crimson Tide for two years. The Eagles hope this will be the first of many touchdowns they’ll team up for in the NFL.
After a 4-12 season sacking both their coach and general manager, and an off-season trading seven-time Pro Bowl recipient Julio Jones, Matt had Ryan and the Falcons under new coach Arthur a miserable start blacksmith.
Ryan only passed 164 yards and was released three times. Two of the takedowns were delivered by Javon Hargrave at fourth-down games when the Falcons were forced to go on successive possessions in the closing minutes.
INJURY REPORT
Adler: S Marcus Epps retired in the first half with a concussion. … Ertz had to take a break with a thigh injury. … WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside sustained an ankle injury.
Falcons: No injuries reported.
NEXT
Eagles: Host the San Francisco 49ers in their home opener next Sunday.
Falcons: Travel to Florida to face reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC South match this coming Sunday.
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Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pnewberry1963 and see his work at https://apnews.com/search/paulnewberry
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