Eagles vs. Saints score: Jalen Hurts rushes for three touchdowns as Philadelphia cruises past New Orleans

Hurts becomes the first QB in franchise history to rush for three touchdowns in a game

Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback in Philadelphia Eagles history with three rushing touchdowns in a game, guiding the Eagles to a dominant 40-29 victory over the New Orleans Saints as Philly now becomes a factor in the NFC playoff race. Hurts led a dominant Eagles offensive rushing attack as Philadelphia rushed for 244 yards on the ground. 

Hurts finished with 18 carries for 69 yards and three touchdowns, the final one coming on a 24-yard run with 3:59 to play to seal the Eagles' victory. Miles Sanders led the Eagles with 94 rushing yards and Jordan Howard added 63. Hurts finished 13 of 24 for 147 yards throwing the ball, which wasn't needed much with the way the Eagles controlled the game on the ground.

Darius Slay had an interception return for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half to give Philadelphia a commanding 27-7 lead heading into the break. Slay has three touchdowns in his last four games, which leads all NFL defensive players this year. 

The Saints' lone touchdown in the first half was aided by a Sanders fumble (forced by Christian Ringo) deep in Eagles territory. Trevor Siemian found Adam Trautman for an 18-yard touchdown on third-and-18 to cut the Eagles' lead to 14-7. The Eagles answered with two field goals from Jake Elliott, 50 and 37 yards, to make it 20-7. 

New Orleans scored two touchdowns late to cut Philadelphia's lead to 14 points. Siemian found Marquez Callaway for a 26-yard touchdown to begin the fourth quarter and Siemian ran for a 17-yard score (the longest run of his career) as New Orleans cut the deficit to 33-19. 

Siemian finished 22 of 40 for 214 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Mark Ingram had 16 carries for 88 yards and Trautman recorded five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. 

Here are our takeaways from the game:

Why the Eagles won

Philadelphia led the NFL in rushing yards the last three weeks -- and decided to challenge the No. 1 run defense in the NFL from the opening snap. The Eagles ran the ball 50 times for 242 yards against the Saints defense that entered the contest allowing just 72.9 rushing yards per game. New Orleans allowed just 3.07 yards per carry entering the game, which was also first in the NFL. Philadelphia averaged 4.8 yards per carry and wore out New Orleans' front seven with three players that ran for 60 yards. 

The Saints couldn't contain Hurts on zone-read plays, which led to Hurts' three scores on the ground. Hurts' 24-yard touchdown run was tied for the longest run allowed by the Saints defense this year. He's the seventh player in Eagles history with three rushing touchdowns in a game. 

Why the Saints lost

Trevor Siemian had his first game which he struggled to find a rhythm for New Orleans. Two first half interceptions by the Saints quarterback led to 14 Eagles' points. The first interception was a misread that T.J. Edwards easily intercepted and led to a Hurts touchdown run on a short field. 

When the Saints were trailing 20-7 late in the first half, Siemian was trying to led New Orleans to a field goal before the break and Darius Slay picked off his pass and returned it 51 yards for the score and put Philadelphia up 27-7. Simian had three touchdown passes in the game, but was inconsistent throughout the afternoon and accumulated most of his passing yards when the game was out of reach. 

The Saints will need a better performance from Siemian if they want to make the postseason. he couldn't recognize any of the rare blitzes Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was dialing up. 

Turning point

The Eagles dominated the game from start to finish, but T.J. Edwards' interception off Siemian set the tone for the contest. New Orleans started its second possession on its own 34-yard line when Siemian was looking for Adam Trautman after a fake to Mark Ingram -- only to make a confusing read. 

There was Edwards to make his second career interception and give Philadelphia the ball at its own 39-yard line. The Eagles followed with a seven-play drive to take a 7-0 lead on a Hurts touchdown run with 7:17 left in the first quarter. Philadelphia never looked back. 

Play of the game 

Slay's 51-yard interception return for a touchdown had Lincoln Financial Field rocking as the Eagles took a 27-7 lead heading into halftime. Slay is starting to garner defensive player of the year conversation with his third defensive touchdown in the last four games, his first interception return for a score since 2017. 

Siemian made a dangerous throw in the direction of Deonte Harris on a second-and-5 from the Saints' own 41-yard line that was right in the direction of Slay. The Eagles cornerback easily took the pass 51 yards for the score to put the Eagles up 20 points -- and total control of the game. 

The Eagles defense has been playing great in three of the last four weeks, thanks to Slay's incredible play on the field. Slay has more touchdowns than Lamar Jackson this year. 

The quote

"He hit that L1 juke I couldn't even tell you where he was. Next thing I know he sticks it (his foot) into the ground and makes a big time play." -- Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson on Jalen Hurts' 24-yard touchdown run to seal the win. 

Hurts had one of the most impressive touchdown runs of his young career to put the Eagles over 40 points on the afternoon. He's the first quarterback since Russell Wilson (2012) to run for three touchdowns in a game. 

Up next

The Eagles (5-6) head to New York for consecutive road games, first against the New York Giants (3-6) next Sunday than the New York Jets (2-8) the following week. Both games are at MetLife Stadium. The Saints (5-5) will host the Buffalo Bills (6-4) next Sunday. 

[Nov 21, 2021 at 4:21 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

The Eagles win big and go to 5-6. They face their next 5 opponents with losing records. They are right in the thick of the NFC playoff race. 

The Saints fall to 5-5. Philly has a tiebreaker over them. 

[Nov 21, 2021 at 4:20 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Jalen Hurts is the first Eagles QB with 3 rushing TD in a NFL game.

[Nov 21, 2021 at 3:58 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

The Saints never expected J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to get a target. Big first down for the Eagles offense.