Eagles coach needs IV as 157 degree turf temps melt cleats, but Philly escapes with win at Titans

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Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni had only one thought with his offense on the field on a day so hot he needed intravenous fluids to cool off.

Jalen Hurts threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Darius Cooper with nine seconds left, and the Eagles beat the Tennessee Titans 24-20 on a steamy Sunday when the temperature on the artificial turf was measured at 157 degrees Fahrenheit.

“They fought and they clawed and they scratched and did anything they had to do to get the win,” Sirianni said of his Eagles.

Philadelphia (2-0) appeared ready to dominate Tennessee. The Eagles opened the game by stringing together three straight drives of at least 11 plays.

The Titans (0-2) sacked Hurts three times and picked him off twice, turning those into 10 points. Marcus Harris’ interception set up Joey Slye’s 33-yard field goal with 1:56 left, putting Tennessee up 20-17.

Hurts had 1:56 to drive the Eagles 65 yards for the win. He finished with 264 yards passing and two TDs. Hurts called the drive the result of execution, focus and perseverance.

“I’m not one to harp on the elements, but it was a challenge for us as a unit collectively,” Hurts said. “And I’m happy with how we weathered through that.”

The TD catch was the first of Cooper’s career. DeVonta Smith had 10 catches for 117 yards, Tank Bigsby ran for a TD, and Jake Elliott kicked a 58-yard field goal.

Cam Ward got the Titans to midfield, but his final pass under pressure hit the turf harmlessly as time expired.

“It’s not a moral victory, it’s a loss,” Ward said. “That’s all it comes down to.”

Philadelphia improved to 15-4 in September since 2021 and remained tied with Buffalo for the most wins in the NFL’s opening month in that span. The Eagles had plenty of fans in the stands, making it feel more like a home game.

The air temperature reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit (37 Celsius) in the fourth quarter and felt like 106 degrees. It was so hot the Titans squirted water on players’ cleats on the sideline to cool them off. Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata said he dismissed talk of the Titans’ cleats melting last week.

“It’s like a very deceiving heat out there,” Mailata said. “It just sucks everything out of you.”

The Titans hadn’t started a season with back-to-back home games since 2010. It didn’t help new coach Robert Saleh as Tennessee lost its first two for a third straight season. Saleh said he thought his Titans outplayed the Eagles at times.

“They executed better in critical moments,” Saleh said.

Ward threw for 183 yards and ran for a pair of 1-yard TDs.

Three-time Pro Bowl running back Saquon Barkley suffered a stinger in his left arm on the opening play, though he returned to start the third quarter. He finished with 9 yards on four carries, his fourth career game held under 10 yards rushing.

Philadelphia seemed ready to run the Titans off their own field, starting the game with a 15-play drive. But Hooker picked off Hurts’ pass to Smith in the end zone and set up Ward’s 1-yard TD run for the lead.

The Eagles led 14-10 at halftime despite holding the ball for nearly 22 minutes. Slye pulled the Titans closer with a 37-yard field goal as the second quarter expired.

The Eagles are 2-0 for the fourth time under Sirianni, which is the most by a coach in franchise history. Sirianni became just the fourth NFL coach to win the first six road openers of a career, joining Sean McVay and George Allen (seven) and Mike McCarthy (six), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Hurts trails Roger Staubach (eight) as the only NFL quarterbacks to start their careers winning at least their first six road openers. Hurts is the fifth quarterback in NFL history to win six straight road openers during any stretch of their career, joining Dan Fouts (nine), Staubach (eight), Bart Starr (seven) and Fran Tarkenton (seven).

约翰尼·伊斯奎尔多/盖蒂图片社

在酷热难耐的一天，费城老鹰队主教练尼克·西里亚尼（Nick Sirianni）在场上面对进攻组时，脑子里只有一个念头：如何让球队保持最佳状态。他甚至需要通过静脉输液来降温。

比赛还剩 9 秒时，杰伦·赫茨向达里厄斯·库珀传出 3 码达阵，费城老鹰队在闷热的周日以 24-20 击败田纳西泰坦队，当时人造草皮上的温度达到了华氏 157 度。

“他们拼尽全力，奋力拼搏，为了赢得胜利不惜一切代价，”西里亚尼谈到他的老鹰队时说道。

费城老鹰队（2胜0负）似乎准备压制田纳西泰坦队。比赛一开始，老鹰队就连续三次进攻，每次至少推进11档。

泰坦队（0胜2负）三次擒杀赫茨，两次抄截他的传球，并因此得到10分。马库斯·哈里斯的抄截帮助乔伊·斯莱在比赛还剩1分56秒时踢进33码任意球，将比分改写为20-17，泰坦队领先。

赫茨在比赛还剩1分56秒时带领老鹰队推进65码，最终赢得比赛。他全场传球264码，两次达阵。赫茨称这次进攻是执行力、专注力和毅力的结晶。

“我不是那种喜欢老是抱怨天气状况的人，但这对我们全队来说确实是个挑战，”赫茨说。“我很满意我们最终是如何克服困难的。”

这次达阵接球是库珀职业生涯的第一次。德沃塔·史密斯接球10次，推进117码，坦克·比格斯比跑球达阵一次，杰克·埃利奥特踢进一记58码的任意球。

卡姆·沃德带领泰坦队推进到中场，但他在压力下的最后一传球在比赛时间结束时无害地落在了草皮上。

“这不是一场道德上的胜利，而是一场失败，”沃德说。“归根结底就是这样。”

自2021年以来，费城老鹰队在9月份的战绩提升至15胜4负，与布法罗比尔队并列同期NFL赛季首月胜场数最多。老鹰队主场球迷云集，营造出浓厚的主场氛围。

第四节比赛时气温高达华氏98度（摄氏37度），体感温度更是达到了华氏106度。天气实在太热，泰坦队甚至在场边用水喷洒球员的球鞋来降温。老鹰队左截锋乔丹·梅拉塔表示，他并不相信上周关于泰坦队球鞋被烤化的说法。

“外面的酷热很有迷惑性，”梅拉塔说，“它会把你身上的所有精力都吸走。”

自2010年以来，泰坦队从未在赛季初连续两场主场比赛。这对新任主教练罗伯特·萨利赫来说无疑是雪上加霜，田纳西队连续第三个赛季遭遇开局两连败。萨利赫表示，他认为泰坦队在某些时候的表现优于老鹰队。

萨利赫说：“他们在关键时刻表现得更好。”

沃德传球推进 183 码，并两次冲球达阵，每次达阵距离为 1 码。

三届职业碗跑卫萨奎恩·巴克利在开场进攻中左臂神经痛，但他还是在第三节开始时重返赛场。他四次持球推进9码，这是他职业生涯第四次单场冲球码数低于10码。

费城队似乎准备将泰坦队赶出主场，开场便发动了一次15档进攻的攻势。但胡克在端区内截获了赫茨传给史密斯的球，为沃德随后1码达阵跑球奠定了基础，帮助球队取得领先。

尽管老鹰队控球时间接近22分钟，但他们在上半场结束时仍以14-10领先。第二节结束前，斯莱踢进一记37码的任意球，帮助泰坦队缩小了分差。

老鹰队在西里亚尼的带领下第四次取得2胜0负的开局，这是队史教练取得如此佳绩的次数最多。据埃利亚斯体育统计局的数据显示，西里亚尼也成为NFL历史上第四位执教生涯前六场客场揭幕战全部获胜的教练，其他三位分别是肖恩·麦克维和乔治·艾伦（七场）以及迈克·麦卡锡（六场）。

赫茨是继罗杰·斯托巴赫（8次）之后，第二位职业生涯开局至少连续赢得六个客场揭幕战的NFL四分卫。赫茨也是NFL历史上第五位在职业生涯任何阶段取得连续六个客场揭幕战胜利的四分卫，其他四位分别是丹·福茨（9次）、斯托巴赫（8次）、巴特·斯塔尔（7次）和弗兰·塔肯顿（7次）。