The Philadelphia Eagles came off their bye week to host the scuffling Cleveland Browns. Despite a late push from the Browns, the Eagles held on thanks to key plays from their star wide receivers returning from injury. Here’s a recap of all the stats and notes you need to know about the game.
Cleveland Browns vs. Philadelphia Eagles Box Score
Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | T | |
Browns | 0 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
Eagles | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
Browns-Eagles Stat Leaders
Leading Passers
Deshaun Watson: 16-of-23, 168 yards
Jalen Hurts: 16-of-25, 264 yards, 2 touchdowns
Leading Rushers
Pierre Strong Jr.: 8 carries, 43 yards
D’Onta Foreman: 10 carries, 31 yards
Saquon Barkley: 18 carries, 47 yards
Jalen Hurts: 14 carries, 33 yards
Leading Receivers
Amari Cooper: 4 receptions, 42 yards
Jerry Jeudy: 1 reception, 35 yards
Pierre Strong Jr.: 2 receptions, 35 yards
A.J. Brown: 6 receptions, 116 yards, 1 touchdown
Grant Calcaterra: 4 receptions, 67 yards
DeVonta Smith: 3 receptions, 64 yards, 1 touchdown
Browns-Eagles Game Recap
The teams were scoreless in the first quarter, but Cleveland’s already struggling offense suffered a significant loss. Starting running back Jerome Ford left with a hamstring injury on the team’s second drive, leaving the backfield short-handed with Nick Chubb still awaiting his season debut. Ford was later ruled out with his injury, ending his day after only two carries.
The Eagles created further separation with Hurts finding Brown for the first touchdown of the game. Brown missed the Eagles’ previous four games with a hamstring injury but has now scored in both games played this season.
Jalen Hurts & A.J. Brown (22-yd TD)
🔹 Air Distance: 38.9 yds
🔹 Target Separation: 0.3 yds
🔹 Completion Probability: 24.5%Hurts-Brown: 6th reception sub-25% completion probability since 2022 (2nd in NFL, behind only Hurts-D. Smith with 7)#CLEvsPHI | @Eagles pic.twitter.com/kyUw2A3YVF
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) October 13, 2024
But just when the Eagles appeared primed to run away with the game, a Browns field goal coupled with a Myles Garrett blocked field goal attempt pulled the Browns even. Former Eagle Rodney McLeod Jr. delivered the Browns’ first blocked kick return touchdown since 2005 to send the game to a shocking tie at halftime.
MYLES GARRETT BLOCKS THE FG.
BROWNS RETURN IT FOR THE TD.
📺: #CLEvsPHI on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/mTsIcPOEfQ— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
The teams traded field goals for a 13-13 tie with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Cleveland converted a pair of third downs after starting 0-of-7 on third downs, snapping an ignominious streak under Watson:
The Browns are 0-for-26 on their last 26 third downs with Deshaun Watson under center, per the FOX broadcast. That sounds like a made-up stat. What in the world…
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 13, 2024
The Eagles re-took the lead with another explosive play. This time it was their other receiver returning from injury who found the end zone, with Smith scoring from 44 yards out, the second-longest TD of his career.
Did someone order the "6 for 6 Special"? 😏@DeVontaSmith_6 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/raiS7uw5iS
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 13, 2024
The Browns got as close as the three-yard line on their next drive, with Watson putting together his best stretch of the season with 11 consecutive completions in the second half. However, a pair of false starts pushed Cleveland back to the 13-yard line, causing Kevin Stefanski to settle for a field goal with all three timeouts still in the bag.
The Browns wouldn’t touch the ball again, as the Eagles picked up a pair of first downs to ice the game. The winning play was delivered by Brown, who beat for a 40-yard reception that led to victory formation.
AJ Brown calls game!
Welcome back to the best player on the team.#Eaglespic.twitter.com/Br9tHikrBD
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) October 13, 2024
With the win, the Eagles improve to 3-2 and stave off questions about Nick Sirianni’s job security for another week. Meanwhile, the Browns have lost four straight games, warming the seat for Kevin Stefanski and raising more questions about the length of Deshaun Watson’s leash on the starting job.
A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith Change the Eagles Offense
This shouldn’t be breaking news, but Brown and Smith completely transformed an Eagles offense that appeared lost with both out of the lineup before the bye week.
The duo combined for both of Philly’s touchdowns and 180 of the team’s 264 receiving yards (68%). For the season, Hurts’ numbers are day and night when he’s targeting his two star wideouts compared to any other player in the Eagles’ offense:
- Targeting Brown and Smith: 0.44 EPA per play, 10.5 yards per attempt
- Targeting all others: -0.07 EPA per play, 6.2 yards per attempt
With Dallas Goedert exiting the game due to a hamstring injury and potentially out for more time, the Eagles’ offense will be even more centered around their star duo. That may not be enough against elite competition, but it should allow Philly to overwhelm limited opponents like the ones they faced on Sunday.
Will Deshaun Watson and Kevin Stefanski Keep Their Jobs?
The Browns showed signs of life to make this a game in the second half. Still, the bottom line is a 1-5 record, four straight losses, and one of the worst offenses in recent history.
The Browns have now become the first team in 10 years to score under 20 points in each of its first 6 games of the season.
Cleveland has now scored once in its last 29 drives.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 13, 2024
For the season, the Browns are averaging 1.19 points per drive, second-worst ahead of only the Miami Dolphins. Watson himself has produced -66.17 EPA on dropbacks. Sunday was actually his first positive dropback EPA game of the season … and it produced a whopping 0.57 on dropback EPA.
With a three-game homestand coming up against the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, and Los Angeles Chargers before their Week 10 bye, the Browns will likely face a very vocal and angry fanbase. A couple more losses to drop to a 1-7 or 1-8 start will almost certainly result in someone losing their current job, whether that’s Watson or Stefanski.