‘My ball or nobody’s’: Eagles rookie DeVonta Smith enjoys breakout game with eye-popping catches

DeVonta Smith had a simple mentality when Jalen Hurts threw the ball into his cover.

“My ball or nobody’s,” he said.

Smith made sure of that, catching eight passes for a career-high 169 yards and a touchdown in the Philadelphia Eagles’ 24-8 defeat of former quarterback Carson Wentz and the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Teammates donned a Batman cape on Smith, who surpassed his previous professional high for yards and received another superhero performance for the undefeated Birds before halftime.

“Looks like he may be a little petite, but he plays like a big boy,” said Hurts, who threw three touchdown passes. “He’s a man when his number is called, I know he’s answering the phone.”

Hurts made a lot of calls for Smith, who made acrobatic catches down the sidelines and to the edge of the end zone for gains of 45 and 44 yards, respectively, and pulled in a TD pass in fourth place to end the first half with no time left in the game. the clock. The 2020 Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama has reacted tremendously since being held without a catch in the season opener.

Smith, a former Heisman winner, was able to secure the ball as he was pulled to the turf

Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) catches a pass over Washington cornerback Kendall Fuller (29) and Commanders safety Bobby McCain (20) during the second quarter

DeVonta Smith had a simple mentality when Jalen Hurts threw the ball into his cover. ‘My ball or nobody’s’, he said

“You have to take your chances,” said Smith, whose 156 yards were the most for an Eagles player in the half since Kevin Curtis in 2007. “When they come, you have to make the most of them. them.’

And Smith was just one part of another Philadelphia clinical offensive (3-0).

Hurts was 22 of 35 for 340 yards and three touchdown passes, one to Smith, AJ Brown and Dallas Goedert. After a three-TD game with two on the ground, Hurts continued to show that he could get the job done with his throwing arm, along with his legs.

“He was playing his ass again,” said coach Nick Sirianni. “What was great there is that they took away some things in the run game. To be able to go out and say, ‘Okay, you’re doing great on the run, let’s go play football,’ Jalen did a great job and we had great playmakers making plays.”

The quarterback Hurts was replaced because the Eagles starter was completely ineffective and was fired nine times. Wentz, the second-choice in the 2016 draft to Philadelphia with his third team in three years, was 25 of 43 for 211 yards with two fumbles — one lost, yielding Goedert’s 22-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) makes an impressive sideline catch in Sunday’s win

All but 24 of Wentz’ passing yards came in the second half, long after the outcome was decided.

“I need to get better,” Wentz said. “They were after us and I wasn’t playing to my standards.”

Washington (1-2) had only 50 yards at halftime and the defense wasn’t much better. The disturbing trend of giving up great distances only got worse in the wake of a Detroit loss.

After Smith’s catch to the Washington 1-yard line, Brown and other teammates shouted for noise from the crowd, and they grew tired of the game. Eagles fans were outnumbered Commanders counterparts, with nearly the entire sidelines behind the visiting benches full of midnight green.

The stadium sometimes sounded more like it was in South Philly than near the Washington beltway. “EAGLE, Eagles!” chants filled the air and the commanders were even given a false start penalty attributable to the mob in their home.

“It definitely felt like a home game, how loud it was, how much green and black there was in the stadium,” said Hurts.

The Eagles had six sacks in the first half alone. Of the nine before the game, Brandon Graham led Philadelphia 2½, while Fletcher Cox, Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat each had a bag and a half.

Chalk some of those bags up to protection failures coupled with a clever game plan from defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Others happened when Wentz held the ball for too long.

“We were out there enjoying ourselves,” Graham said. “We just played together. The most important thing for us was doing what we do.’

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) hits touchdown over Washington Commanders cornerback Kendall Fuller