Eagles-Colts takeaways: Defense bounces back after rocky start
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It wasn't pretty, but the Eagles found a way to escape Lucas Oil Stadium with a victory.
Jalen Hurts' 7-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles a 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday to improve to 9-1 on the season and get back in the win column after the team's first loss to the Washington Commanders last week.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Hurts battles from behind to get W
For the second straight week, a lot went wrong for the Eagles. Mistakes like turnovers and penalties nearly doomed them again, but Hurts led the Eagles on two touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
They don't win this game without Hurts at quarterback. He was very good in the fourth quarter, particularly using his legs.
Hurts hasn't been scrambling much as of late, but his ability to run came in handy on Sunday. Forty nine of his 86 rushing yards came in the fourth quarter.
Hurts' 7-yard rushing touchdown with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles their first lead of the game at, 17-16. Before that, he had a big conversion on fourth-and-two from the Colts' 9-yard line.
Hurts didn't do too much through the air in the fourth quarter, but he still went 3-for-5 for 38 yards and one touchdown on the Eagles' scoring drives. One of those passes was a touchdown to Quez Watkins that made it a one possession game. Another completion ended with an A.J. Brown fumble.
Overall, Hurts completed 18 of his 25 passes for 190 yards to go along with his two total touchdowns.
It was ugly at times, but Hurts delivered late in a tough, come-from behind victory on the road.
Entering the game, Hurts had two fourth quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives. Well, you can tack on another to each of those for the third year quarterback.
Dallas Goedert's absence already an issue
Before Goedert was placed on injured reserve, he was on his way to a career year as he has established himself as one of the best tight ends in the NFL.
Because Goedert is such a talented blocker and receiver, he's been able to help the Eagles' offense hide their tendencies and keep defenses guessing when he's on the field.
The expectations for backups Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra and Tyree Jackson weren't high by any means, but none of them had good outings against the Colts, which could be a sign of concern moving forward. Only one of those three, Stoll, hauled in a pass all game.
With the Eagles struggling to score the ball, they probably would've liked to dial up a screen to Goedert to rack up yards after the catch against Indy, but that's not really possible with Stoll, Jackson and Calcaterra. It also didn't help that all three committed one penalty apiece throughout the game.
Goedert is reportedly set to return for the regular season. He can come back against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 18 at the earliest, and the Eagles will most likely being counting down the days until he does.
Eagles defense bounces back after rocky start
The Eagles' defense started off the game against the Colts just like how they ended last week's loss against the Commanders – getting gashed on the ground.
Jonathan Taylor's 1-yard touchdown gave Indianapolis an early lead. The 10 play, 75 yard drive went just over five minutes and featured seven runs from Taylor.
But after that, Jonathan Gannon's defense didn't allow a touchdown for the remainder of the game. They were able to limit the Colts to field goals.
Just like the play of Hurts, the Eagles also don't come away with the victory without the defense. They kept the Eagles in the game while the offense continued to make mistake after mistake.
Taylor finished with 84 rushing yards, but 49 of those came on the opening drive. He averaged 3.8 yards per carry in the game.
The Eagles made two additions leading up to the Colts game by signing Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph, and they both helped out big time. The duo combined for one sack and seven total tackles.
But, Haason Reddick and Brandon Graham had the biggest sacks of the game for the Eagles.
With the Colts threatening to score on the Eagles' 5 yard-line, Reddick sacked Colts quarterback Matt Ryan for a loss of 14 yards, which forced Indy to kick a field goal.
Then, Graham sacked Ryan on Indy's final drive for a loss of seven on third-and-nine, which pretty much sealed it for the Birds.
Milton Williams also added a sack and T.J. Edwards recovered a fumble that was forced by Marcus Epps.
Outside of Taylor and Michael Pittman Jr., the Colts don't have many weapons, but it was a nice bounce back day for a defense that has struggled since losing Jordan Davis.
