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Eagles

DeVonta Smith Went Full Superstar on the Game-Winning Drive

Matt Schultz

By Matt Schultz

Published:

Sep 20, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) catches the ball during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium.
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

That was a weird one. The Eagles win it in Tennessee 24-20, and sitting here thinking back on the game I just watched, I’m not exactly sure how the Birds got that W. No one played particularly well. Jalen Hurts threw two interceptions. The offensive line got worked all afternoon (Jalen was sacked 3 times and hit 6 times). The Eagles defense was mediocre. Overall, it just wasn’t that great of a watch.

That is, until DeVonta Smith went full superstar on the Birds’ final drive of the game. Trailing 20-17 with 1:56 remaining in the fourth quarter, Hurts orchestrated a pretty masterful 9-play, 65-yard drive that heavily featured his WR1. Smitty caught 4 passes on 4 targets for 38 yards, including two beautiful toe-taps.

The second of which was a clutch-as-hell 19-yard reception on 3rd and 6 that got the Eagles down to Tennessee’s 3-yard line, which set up Darius Cooper’s game-winning touchdown catch with 9 second left on the clock:

All in all, it was a good day for DeVonta: he finished the game with 10 receptions on 13 targets for 117 receiving yards (long of 22) and one touchdown:

And it could’ve been even better.

With just over six minutes left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 17, Smitty was wide open for what very well could’ve been a touchdown if Jalen didn’t under throw it with Jeffery Simmons in his face and get picked off for his second interception of the day:

Not great. But looking at the positives, the Eagles improve to 2-0, DeVonta Smith looks like a top-5 receiver in the NFL, and he looks up to the challenge of replacing the production of a recently traded Birds wide receiver that I’m glad I don’t have to think about much anymore. Good stuff there.

Matt Schultz
Matt Schultz

Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com