In a week that delivered a mix of triumphs and challenges, Dallas Goedert’s 10th touchdown catch of the season not only tied a 1965 record but also set a new career high, positioning him among the NFL’s tight-end elite.
Dallas Goedert’s Historic Touchdown
Goedert’s 10th reception for a touchdown matched Pete Retzlaff’s 1965 mark, doubling his previous career high of five from 2019. Both players, alumni of South Dakota State, share the distinction of 10 touchdown catches in a single season.
The tight end is now tied for third in NFL history for touchdown catches, trailing only Davante Adams (14) and Amon-Ra St. Brown, and sharing the tight-end lead with Trey McBride. Within the Eagles franchise, only T.O. (14 in 2004) and A.J. Brown (11 in 2022) have posted more touchdown catches in the past 30 years.
Adding postseason totals, Goedert has amassed 5,230 career receiving yards. He joins a unique Eagles cohort of five tight ends who have each surpassed 5,000 yards: Charle Young (5,308), Keith Jackson (6,117), Brent Celek (5,255), and Zach Ertz (9,128). The Eagles are the only NFL team to draft five tight ends who have each reached the 5,000-yard milestone.
The Philadelphia offense has also seen seven consecutive seasons in which Goedert recorded at least 500 receiving yards-680, 524, 922, 843, 613, 711, and 583. Only Hall of Famer Harold Carmichael (11 straight seasons from 1973 to 1983) and Retzlaff (nine straight seasons from 1958 to 1966) share that streak.
Jalen Hurts: Dual-Threat Mastery
In back-to-back victories over the Raiders and Commanders, Hurts completed 75.6% of his passes, throwing five touchdown passes and avoiding interceptions while rushing for 79 yards. He became only the third quarterback in NFL history to achieve 75% accuracy, five touchdowns, no interceptions, and at least 75 rushing yards in a two-game span-Lamar Jackson did it in 2019 and Drake Maye in October.
Hurts’ career record has improved to 56-25 across 81 starts. Only eight quarterbacks have won more games in their first 81 starts: Patrick Mahomes (64), Ken Stabler (61), Roger Staubach (60), Tom Brady (60), Lamar Jackson (59), Daryle Lamonica (58), Danny White (57), and Ben Roethlisberger (57).
In those 81 starts, Hurts has thrown for 108 touchdowns and rushed for 63, totaling 171. Only five quarterbacks have accumulated more combined touchdowns in their first 81 starts: Mahomes (206), Aaron Rodgers (196), Josh Allen (190), Dan Marino (184), and Andrew Luck (178).
Saquon Barkley’s Rushing Dominance
Barkley’s 132 yards on Saturday pushed his total to 17 100-yard games as an Eagle, placing him behind only Wilbert Montgomery (26), LeSean McCoy (23), Brian Westbrook (20), and Steve Van Buren (19). He has played 34 games for the Eagles, achieving at least 100 yards in exactly half of them-a rate that matches his performance in 76 games as a Giant.
DeVonta Smith vs. A.J. Brown: Yardage Showdown
Going into the Washington game, Smith ranked 10th in franchise history with 4,900 receiving yards, while Brown was 11th with 4,871. Brown’s 95 yards on Saturday moved him to 4,966, pushing Smith down to 4,942 and temporarily dropping Smith out of the top-10. If Smith gains 25 more yards than Brown in the next game, he will reclaim the spot. Brown needs 33 yards to pass Brent Celek’s 4,998 and climb to ninth.
Jake Elliott’s Field-Goal Woes
Elliott has made only 6 of 11 field-goal attempts over the Eagles’ last five games. He is the first kicker in franchise history to miss five field goals in a five-game span since Chris Boniol in 1997, and his 54.5% accuracy over that stretch is the lowest in the same period since Boniol. This season he is 70.8% on 17-for-24, which would translate to the worst single-season percentage in Eagles history since Boniol’s 66.7% in 1998. Elliott was 77.8% last year and is on pace to become the first Eagles kicker below 78% in consecutive seasons since 1997 and 1998.
Over the last two years, Elliott is 45-for-60 (75%). Among 26 kickers who have attempted at least 40 field goals since opening day 2024, he ranks 2nd-worst, ahead only of Younghoe Koo (72.1% on 31-for-43). Koo is no longer on a roster after being released by the Falcons and Giants. Elliott is 5-for-15 from 50-plus yards over the last two years, the worst in the league among 23 kickers with at least 10 attempts from that distance. League average for other kickers is 70% (345-for-493).
Defensive Resurgence: Yards Allowed & Sack Streak
The Eagles have allowed only six sacks in their last seven games, matching the fewest in franchise history for any seven-game span since sacks became an official stat in 1982. They also allowed six sacks in an early 2014 stretch. Their current streak of seven consecutive games allowing two or fewer sacks is the third-longest ever and the longest since a 12-game streak in 2008. The offensive line that achieved this included Tra Thomas, Todd Herremans, Jamaal Jackson, Max Jean-Gilles, and Jon Runyan.
Defensively, the team gave up 275 yards to the Chargers, 75 to the Raiders, and 220 to the Commanders-a total of 570 yards over three games. This is the fewest yards allowed in a three-game span since 1992 and the second-fewest since 1954. In 1992 the Eagles allowed 202 yards in a win over the Saints, 185 in a win over the Cardinals, and 82 in a shutout win over the Broncos.
Running Back Highlights: Tank Bigsby
Bigsby ran four times for 37 yards on Saturday after a 9-for-104 (11.6) against the Giants and a 4-for-34 (8.5) against the Lions. He joins Barkley as the only two Eagles running backs in franchise history with three games in a season averaging at least 8.0 yards per carry with a minimum of four carries. Barkley achieved this last year against the Saints (147 yards, 8.6 average), Giants (176, 10.4), and Rams (255, 9.8). The last Eagles back with two games in a season with four or fewer carries and 34 or more yards was Correll Buckhalter in 2007 (4-for-37 vs. both the Seahawks and Saints). Bigsby’s 6.6 average is the highest in franchise history by a running back through 15 games (minimum 40 carries).
Yardage Advantages & Third-Down Efficiency
The Eagles outgained the Raiders by 312 yards and the Commanders by 165 yards, for a combined 477-yard advantage over the last two weeks. This margin is the largest in a two-game span in 20 years and the fifth-largest since 1955. In 2005 the team outgained Tim Rattay and the 49ers by 441 yards (583-142) in a 42-3 win at the Linc and a week later outgained the Raiders 83 yards (448-365) in a 23-20 win at the Linc, for a 524-yard margin over two games.
The Eagles converted 10 of 13 third downs against the Raiders and four of nine against the Commanders, a 14-for-22 (63.6%) rate over the last two games. This is the highest conversion percentage in a two-game span in 17 years, since 23-for-35 (65.7%) against the Giants and Browns late in 2008. In those two weeks the team improved from 28th in the league at 34.2% to 24th at 37.7%. The Eagles have won 21 straight games when they’ve converted at least 40% of third downs.
Bonus Stats: Franchise Records & Playoff Milestones
The Eagles scored 15 points in the fourth quarter on Saturday, and the last three times they’ve scored at least 15 points in a fourth quarter were against the Commanders. Last year they outscored Washington 20-8 in the fourth quarter at the Linc to win 26-18 after trailing 10-3 going into the second half, and in the NFC Championship Game at the Linc in January they outscored Washington 21-0 in the fourth quarter to win 55-23 after leading 34-23 after three quarters. They also outscored Washington 21-14 in the fourth quarter at the Linc in 2023, winning 38-31, and 20-13 at FedEx in 2019, winning 37-27.
With the Eagles winning 10 games this year and the Chiefs only six, the two teams share the 2nd-best record in the NFL since Nick Sirianni became head coach in 2021 at 58-25. The Bills are 59-23, so a win on Sunday would have the Eagles sharing the most wins in the NFL over the last five years with the Bills, though the Bills would have a slightly higher winning percentage because the Bengals game in 2022 was cancelled. The Eagles have won seven more games since 2021 than any other NFC team; the 49ers are second with 51.
With the Eagles clinching a playoff berth, Nick Sirianni became only the fifth coach in NFL history to reach the postseason in his first five years, and Jalen Hurts became the sixth quarterback to reach the postseason in his first five years as a starter. The other coaches are Paul Brown, Chuck Knox, John Harbaugh, and Bill Cowher. The other quarterbacks are Otto Graham, Donovan McNabb, Joe Flacco, Russell Wilson, and Patrick Mahomes. Brown and Graham were together in 1946, Harbaugh and Flacco in 2008. Pete Carroll predated Wilson by two years in Seattle and Andy Reid coached for 18 years before the Chiefs drafted Mahomes. Sirianni and Hurts are only the third head-coach-quarterback combo to reach the playoffs in their first five years after starting their head-coaching and quarterbacking careers together.
Key Takeaways
- Dallas Goedert’s 10th touchdown ties a 1965 record and places him among the NFL’s tight-end leaders.
- Jalen Hurts’ dual-threat performance and career milestones solidify his status as one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
- The Eagles’ defense has tightened, allowing only six sacks in seven games and keeping opponents to a historically low yardage total.
The week’s statistics underscore a Philadelphia team that is excelling on offense while tightening its defensive play, positioning the Eagles as a formidable contender heading into the postseason.
