Jalen Hurts enables Eagles to run over the Saints as Carson Wentz watches from sidelines

PHILADELPHIA – It would be hard to see the Eagles going back to Carson Wentz any time soon.

That's because rookie Jalen Hurts, making his first career start, was effective as both a passer and runner, leading the Eagles to a 24-21 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Hurts completed 17 of 30 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 106 yards on 18 carries, becoming the first Eagles quarterback to surpass 100 yards rushing since Michael Vick ran for 130 yards against the Giants on Dec. 19, 2010.

All of it enabled the Eagles (4-8-1) to end a four-game losing streak.

Yet Eagles coach Doug Pederson quickly threw a wet blanket over any kind of euphoria over Hurts' play.

He wouldn't even answer if Hurts will get the start next Sunday against Arizona, saying: "I’m going to enjoy this one, go home and relax and be with my family tonight, enjoy this win, and get ready for the week."

Miles Sanders, who added an 82-yard touchdown run in the first half and finished with 115 yards rushing on 14 carries, was much more excited, however, calling Hurts "a natural leader."

"From the first play to the last, they had to respect him and his legs," Sanders said.

All of this came against the NFL's top-rated defense in the Saints.

New Orleans had gone 55 games without allowing an opposing rusher to gain 100 yards, let alone two in the same game. It was the first time the Eagles have had two players surpass 100 yards rushing since LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown did it in 2013.

In all, the Eagles rushed for 246 yards. The Saints came into the game allowing an average of 76.1 rushing yards per game.

Still, the Eagles had to hold on for dear life as the secondary lost three of the four starters to injury. That enabled New Orleans to climb back from a 17-0 deficit with two third-quarter touchdowns.

"One thing when I look back on this game, a lot of money on the table we left out there," Hurts said. "But we’re very excited. We’re happy we got a 'W' against a really good team, but we’re going to go back to work. … A lot to work on, a lot to build on, and I’m excited to go back to and get ready for the next game."

The Eagles led by 10 late in the fourth quarter when Hurts fumbled with 1:42 left, and the Saints capitalized with a touchdown to make it 24-21. The ensuing onsides kick hit off Corey Clement's leg. Somehow Jalen Mills ripped the ball away from a Saints player to recover.

Before that, the Saints had a chance to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, getting to the Eagles' 42 yard line on 4th-and-2. But defensive end Josh Sweat sacked quarterback Taysom Hill, forcing a fumble that Javon Hargrave recovered at the Eagles' 47.

The Eagles then took advantage, marching down the field, helped by a 19-yard run by rookie Jalen Reagor on a jet sweep. Sanders finished off the drive with a 1-yard TD run.

That was the Eagles' only scoring drive of the second half after a dominating first half in which they had a 17-0 lead. 

The Eagles had a chance for more, but Jake Elliott missed a 22-yard field goal just as the half expired.

Still, It was the first time the Eagles had a lead of 10 points or more in the first half since the season-opener against Washington.

In that game, the Eagles led 17-0 in the first half before losing 27-17.

The Eagles didn't let that happen this time.

"(Hurts) kind of gave us a spark as a team that I was looking for and that we were looking for as a team," Pederson said. "This win is not about one guy. This win is about this team and how resilient this team is. We went through it again today, with injuries piling up a little bit in the second half. Guys stayed strong. He obviously was part of the win, but my hat’s off to a lot of guys."

But Hurts clearly injected life into an offense that mostly struggled under Wentz.

That included Hurts' first TD pass, a 15-yard to Alshon Jeffery on fourth down early in the second quarter. It was Jeffery's first touchdown catch since last Dec. 1 against Miami.

Sanders' touchdown run came on a read-option play, something Hurts is dangerous at because the defense has to respect Hurts as a runner and passer. Hurts read the defensive end, then placed the ball in Sanders' belly and he took off down the left sideline while Hurts went to the right.

The Eagles, meanwhile, held down the Saints' offense in the first half. The Eagles also got their first interception since Oct. 22 against the Giants. That led to a field goal.

Hurts' first drive was typical of the Eagles' season in that it started well, then fizzled out, and ended up with zero points after a fourth-down play was unsuccessful.

In all, the Eagles went 13 plays and held the ball for 8 minutes, 21 seconds. Yet former Eagle Malcolm Jenkins stopped Sanders on 4th-and-2 from the Saints' 34. 

In all, Hurts threw for 23 yards and ran for 20 on that possession.

He was even better on the next drive. 

Hurts had rookie Jalen Reagor open deep, but overthrew him. One play later, Hurts went back to Reagor on a short pass. But there was no Saints defender around him, so Reagor turned that into a 39-yard gain down to the Saints' 23.

But Hurts was at his finest on a 4th-and-2 from the Saints' 15. Hurts stood in the pocket and threw a TD pass to Jeffery just as he got leveled below the waist. 

Just like that, the Eagles had a 7-0 lead. They made it 10-0 after a Duke Riley interception led to Elliott's 44-yard field goal with 6:05 left in the half. Then Sanders took off for 82 yards and it seemed like the Eagles were in control.

If Hurts thinks that was good enough for another start, he wasn't saying.

"I think going into next week I just want to continue to impact the guys around me and just work hard every day," Hurts said. "I want to continue to get better at doing my job. I have a lot I can learn from this game, as well as us as a team. So, just continue to work, keeping that hunger and building on this thing this week."

Decimated secondary

The Eagles lost three-fourths of their starting defensive backfield in the game. Cornerback Avonte Maddox left the game in the first half with a knee injury. Then Darius Slay and Rodney McLeod were injured on the same play in the third quarter.

McLeod hurt his knee while blitzing on a 2nd-and-3 from the Eagles' 20. Hill completed the pass to Alvin Kamara as Slay made the tackle. He left with a head injury.

The Eagles finished out the game with safety Jalen Mills moving to cornerback with rookie Kevon Seymour, just promoted from the practice squad at the other corner. Marcus Epps and rookie K'Von Wallace played safety with Nickell Robey-Coleman as the nickel corner.

What's wrong with Jake Elliott?

The Eagles were set up for an easy 22-yard field goal to go into the half with a 20-point lead.

Jake Elliott hooked it wide to the left. It was the second field goal, in three tries, from closer than 30 yards that Elliott has missed this season. He had never missed from that range in his three previous seasons. 

Elliott came into the game with a career-worst field goal percentage of 75%.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.