It was pretty early on a Sunday morning in late October, and the Broad Street subway line was packed with fans heading down to Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia for the Eagles’ game against their cross-state cousins, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Some people were clutching coffee cups; others were throwing back beers despite it being well before noon. Such is the custom. On the whole, the vibes were good—then a man suddenly stood up and shouted “Oh, my God.” Then he did it again and pulled something from his pocket. That got everyone’s attention.
“The Eagles and Jalen Hurts are gonna beat them Steelers,” he screamed while recording the reaction on his phone. The crowd laughed and roared, and he repeated the declaration again. Actually, that’s the anodyne version, minus the spicier language. But you get the idea. The assembly loved it. And as it turned out, the SEPTA hype man and videographer was right—the Eagles and Jalen Hurts did beat them Steelers that day. Didn’t just beat them, but pummeled them from the first to the last to win their seventh straight game and remain the NFL’s only undefeated team.
That had a lot to do with Hurts, who was spectacular that afternoon, just as the subway prophecy foretold. Hurts threw four touchdowns of 25 yards or more—three to A.J. Brown (which hilariously led to a next-day drug test) and another to Zach Pascal. The Eagles were ahead so comfortably that Hurts got much of the fourth quarter off. The effort marked the team’s 10th straight regular-season victory, which set a franchise record and represents the longest active streak in the NFL. To say the Eagles and their quarterback have had a hot start to the season would be a gross understatement, though Hurts almost certainly wouldn’t acknowledge the obvious.
