Jalen Hurts Makes His Own Noise As Eagles Take Halftime Lead in Dallas
Jalen Hurts heard the noise all week. Then the Eagles quarterback went out and made some of his own in the first half against their NFC East rival Dallas Cowboys, rushing for a pair of touchdowns, one on a 7-yard draw up the middle, the other a tush push from 1 yard away, and throwing for another, which was a 16-yard touchdown to A.J. Brown.
The defense did what it’s been doing since Nakobe Dean returned after missing seven games and Jaelan Phillips joined the band, and that is making life difficult for high-flying offenses such as the Lions’ last week and the Cowboys’ so far this week.
Hurts and the defense combined to help the Eagles grab a 21-7 lead at AT&T Stadium on Sunday evening, but it was Hurts who spent the week listening to anonymous reports from some members of the media saying that the QB was a part of the offense's struggles this season.
The defense squeezed two turnovers from the Cowboys, a fumble recovery from Zack Baun and an end zone interception by Reed Blankenship after the Cowboys had reached Philly’s 1 but went backward with a false start. Then came Blankenship’s pick.
It was the defense that set the tone early, stopping the Cowboys on fourth-and-three at midfield on Dallas’ first possession of the game. Dean blanketed Javonte Williams on the fourth-down throw, not giving Prescott much room to fit the ball in. The Eagles turned that stop into a 49-yard touchdown drive that took seven plays and spanned 3 minutes, 10 seconds to take a 7-0 lead.
Brown had three receptions on the drive for 31 yards and the TD, his fourth of the season and first since he had two in a win over the Vikings on Oct. 19. He had only target in the first meeting between the teams, a 24-20 Eagles win on Sept. 4. Brown ended the first half with six targets, making five catches for 67 yards.
On the Eagles’ second possession, they were about to go three-and-out when punter Braden Mann had his plant leg taken out from under him by Ryan Flournoy that was called a 15-yard roughing the punter penalty. The replays didn’t immediately show that Flournoy may have gotten a piece of the ball, which would have negated the penalty, but the Cowboys never challenged the call.
Given another chance, the Eagles took advantage when Hurts scored on a draw play, with the middle cleared out by center Cam Jurgens, who moved big Quinnen Williams out of the way., capping a 12-play march that took more than six minutes.
Hurts scored the Eagles’ final touchdown of the half on a 1-yard tush push. It was his eighth rushing score of the season and the 73rd of his Eagles career, which is a franchise record.
That touchdown was set up on a 42-yard throw to DeVonta Smith on third-and-12. Smith did what he does best, contorting his body in such a way to come down with the ball at Dallas’ 11. The Eagles used a pop pass to Smith that gained 10 yards to the 1, that Hurts finished off.
Smith had five catches on six targets for 58 yards. Hurts completed 13 of 19 throws for 164 yards and had a passer rating of 112.6. He added 12 yads on three runs.
The Eagles are trying to win their fifth straight game to get to 9-2 and leave Dallas with the Cowboys in flames at 4-6-1. There is still a second half to go, and quarterback Dak Prescott and his offense, which is ranked second overall in the NFL, doesn’t figure to go quietly into the Texas night. Prescott is 21-2 against NFC East teams at home.
Dallas didn't score its first points until 21 seconds were left in the half, getting a TD catch from George Pickens, his eighth of the season.
Chiefs Re-Sign 6-foot-2 Rookie Wide Receiver Amid Injury Issues
The Kansas City Chiefs opened the 2025 campaign with a disappointing 27-21 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and even though they have only played one game, injury concerns are beginning to pop up across the roster. Perhaps the spot that has been hit the hardest is wide receiver, which is an issue the team had to deal with in 2024.
With Rashee Rice being suspended for the first six games of the season and Jalen Royals being ruled out ahead of Week 1, the Chiefs were already shorthanded at wide receiver, but they took another big hit when Xavier Worthy was forced out of the game on the first drive with a shoulder injury. With his Week 2 status in doubt, Kansas City opted to reunite with Hal Presley on Tuesday.
Chiefs Sign Hal Presley to Their Practice Squad
Presley didn’t hear his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he quickly signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. He didn’t last long with them, though, as he ended up getting released after rookie minicamp. That led to the Chiefs signing him ahead of training camp, where he flashed his potential on several occasions.
It wasn’t much of a surprise to see Presley get released as part of the team’s final roster cuts, but he ended up latching on with their practice squad. Again, he didn’t stick around for very long, as Kansas City ended up releasing him one day after signing him to their practice squad, and he’s spent the past couple of weeks waiting for his next opportunity.
With the Chiefs getting hit hard by injuries at wide receiver, they are looking for some more depth, which led them back to Presley. On Tuesday, Presley found his way back to Kansas City, re-signing with its practice squad as an emergency option in the event more injuries pop up at the wide receiver spot moving forward.
“Chiefs are signing WR Hal Presley to practice squad per a league source,” Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston reported in a post on X.
Chiefs Hoping to Get Healthy at Wide Receiver Soon
GettyThere’s new context for Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy’s shoulder injury.
The likelihood of Presley suiting up for the Chiefs is low, but he’s still a solid developmental prospect who has familiarity with the team’s offensive scheme. If he’s needed in a pinch, he can fill in on offense, and even if he isn’t needed, there’s no harm in developing him behind the scenes. Chances are Worthy won’t play in Week 2, meaning that Kansas City’s depth is going to be tested again early in the season.
If Worthy and Royals both can’t play against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2, that will force Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Tyquan Thornton to step up once again in the passing game. The injury bug has already hit the Chiefs pretty hard, but they will have to do their best to not focus on that as they gear up for their Super Bowl LIX rematch with Philadelphia at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday.
