The Bengals were trying to build on a two-game winning streak and get back to .500 but now drop to 3-5 and remain winless at home in four attempts. It’s their first loss of the season by more than six points.
Barkley rushed for 108 yards on 22 carries, and Hurts finished with three rushing touchdowns in the first big test for a Bengals defense that seemed to have turned things around the past two weeks against lesser-proven offenses in wins against the Giants and Browns.
Cincinnati got off to a fast start for a third straight week, eating up 10 minutes off the clock on a 17-play, 70-yard opening drive to get on the board first with a Joe Burrow 2-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase.
The Eagles responded on the next drive, but the Bengals held them to a field goal and then tacked on their own from Evan McPherson after Jermaine Burton dropped a ball in the end zone on third down of the following possession.
After the defense got another stop, Cincinnati couldn’t take advantage of an opportunity to pull away, and McPherson’s 54-yard field goal sailed wide left. The momentum swung in Philadelphia’s favor after that, and the Bengals’ energy slowly faded.
Hurts crossed the plane of the goal on a successful second attempt at a “tush push” to tie the game at 10 going into halftime, and the Eagles took their first lead on the opening drive of the second half with a 7-yard keeper for Hurts.
Cincinnati answered with a 13-play, 70-yard scoring drive capped by Chase Brown’s 4-yard touchdown run to level the score again, but Philadelphia needed just three plays to regain the upper hand. Hurts, facing no pressure from the Bengals, connected with DeVonta Smith on a 45-yard touchdown pass with Jordan Battle never turning to see the ball in coverage.
That’s where the game got away from Cincinnati. The Bengals had a second-and-2 and ended up turning it over on downs. Zack Moss was stuffed on third-and-1, and Chase was dropped for a loss on a telegraphed short pass in double motion.
Philadelphia made it a 10-point game on Elliott’s 49-yard field goal with 13:34 left, and Burrow’s third interception of the season iced it. Burrow had gone deep to Chase down the sideline, and the ball tipped off Chase’s fingers and into the hands of C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
The Eagles went down and scored on Hurts’ third touchdown run of the game to make it 34-17, and Cincinnati then lost another turnover when Mike Gesicki fumbled to set up another Elliott field goal.
The Bengals knew they would need to generate offense in a different manner this week with Tee Higgins out, and early on it seemed Gesicki was going to be that guy. His first five catches for 58 yards converted third downs, but that didn’t carry into the fourth quarter.
Higgins injured his quadriceps during practice Friday and entered the game questionable to play, and the Bengals had been relying heavily on him and Chase to get most of their offensive production the last two weeks. Higgins missed the first two weeks of this season and four others in previous seasons because of hamstring injuries, and Cincinnati was 1-5 in those games.
It didn’t help the offense that Orlando Brown Jr. exited with less than six minutes left in the second quarter with a re-aggravated right knee injury that had pushed him to the bench last week at Cleveland.
Burrow still completed 26 of 37 passes (70.3 percent) for 234 yards and one touchdown, but the Bengals got most of that offense in the first half. They added just 58 yards on the ground.
Hurts completed 16 of 20 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown, and the Eagles finished with 161 yards rushing on 39 carries.
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