Eagles vs. Falcons score, takeaways: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia

DeVonta Smith’s NFL debut was as good as advertised and Nick Sirianni earned his first career victory as a head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Atlanta. The Eagles’ first-round pick tied a team record with six catches in his debut, finishing with 71 yards and a score as Philly scored 25 unanswered points to beat the Atlanta Falcons 32-6 in a crucial road victory. 

Jalen Hurts had a banner day in his first Week 1 start, finishing 27 of 35 for 264 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 62 yards. Hurts has amassed 300 total yards in three of five career starts and rushed for 60 yards in that same amount. The Eagles quarterback threw touchdown passes to Smith, Dallas Goedert, and Jalen Reagor. 

Smith’s first career catch for the Philadelphia Eagles went for an 18-yard touchdown as Smith became the first Eagle since Tony Stewart in 2011 whose first career catch was a touchdown. Smith is the only player in franchise history to have five catches and a touchdown in his first career game.

The Eagles had a two-minute drive to score their second touchdown, a 9-yard pass from Hurts to Goedert with two seconds left in the half, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Miles Sanders converted a two-point attempt to put the Eagles up 15-6, momentum they wouldn’t relent in a dominant second half. Kenny Gainwell rushed for a touchdown to put Philadelphia up three scores, as Gainwell and Smith became the first pair of rookies in franchise history to each score a touchdown in their first career game. Hurts capped off the victory with a 23-yard pass to Reagor to put Philadelphia up 29-6 with 4:20 to play. 

Atlanta had its chances in the first half, but the Falcons failed to convert both of their red-zone attempts. The Falcons went inside the 10-yard line on their first two possessions, yet came away with just six points. Matt Ryan was sacked three times — all in the fourth quarter– as Atlanta finished with just 58 yards in the second half. 

Why the Eagles won

The Eagles were able to control the line of scrimmage on the offensive and defensive lines. Philadelphia had Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, and Lane Johnson back together on the line for the first time since 2019 and it showed — as the Eagles rushed for 173 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry. Hurts was hit just once and only sacked once, just a year removed after the offensive line allowed 65 sacks (which led the NFL).

The defensive line dominated the Falcons offensive line in the second half, as Atlanta faced a lot of pressure on the interior. Javon Hargrave had two sacks in the fourth quarter and Hassan Ridgeway had one — as the Eagles finished with 10 quarterback hits on Ryan (Ridgeway and Hargrave each had three). Atlanta was beaten up front in the second half, thanks to the Eagles’ defensive tackles. 

Why the Falcons lost

The Falcons failing to convert touchdowns in the red zone on their first two possessions stopped them from talking control of the game. Atlanta went inside the 10-yard line on their first two possessions, yet came away with just six points. The Falcons went to the Eagles’ 3-yard line on their first possession and had two downs…