Eagles squeak past the lowly Browns, 20-16, as A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith return with TD catches

Another week, another high-drama finish for the Eagles.

Back home at Lincoln Financial Field for the first time in 27 days, the Eagles managed to keep the Cleveland Browns from pulling off a late-game comeback and emerged Sunday with a 20-16 victory. The Eagles got well over the bye week with the returns of A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Lane Johnson, whose contributions proved critical to the team’s success.

Here’s our instant analysis from the Eagles’ first win at the Linc:

The offense didn’t get off to a strong start, even with Brown, Smith, and Johnson back in the lineup, continuing a frustrating trend for the team. The offense went three-and-out on its opening drive and failed to score in the first quarter for a fifth straight game, making the Eagles still the only team in the NFL left to do so.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Coaching gets a mixed review, but the defense held up in a win against the Browns

However, Smith got the group going late in the first quarter. On first-and-10 from the Eagles’ 22-yard line, Smith and tight end Jack Stoll ran a mesh concept that led to a 13-yard gain for the wide receiver. But the offense sputtered when Jalen Hurts’ pass was batted at the line of scrimmage by Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah on third down. Smith’s reception helped set up a 49-yard field goal for Jake Elliott, giving the Eagles a 3-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Brown got in on the action on the following possession. On third-and-7 from the Browns’ 22-yard line, Brown was lined up in the slot opposite cornerback Martin Emerson in man coverage. Brown ran a slot fade and was well-covered by Emerson, but Hurts placed the ball perfectly over his top receiver’s back shoulder for a 22-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up, 10-0.

With eight minutes left in the game, Smith broke a 13-13 tie on yet another mesh concept with Stoll on first-and-10 from the Browns’ 45. The receiver generated 40 yards after the catch and into the end zone to put the Eagles up, 20-13. He finished the game with three receptions for 64 yards and the 45-yard touchdown.

Brown racked up six receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown. His 40-yard catch on a go route down the left sideline following the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter, on a play that Hurts checked into at the line of scrimmage, put the Eagles deep in Browns territory and sealed the win. Despite his individual success, Brown acknowledged that the offense hit collective snags at times.

“I know everybody wants a game of perfection,” Brown said. “But they get paid, too. They’re going to do a job trying to stop us. So that’s why I’m not really too worried about it. You make adjustments as you go and, most importantly, you learn.”

The Eagles have had a number of special-teams miscues this season, from their blocked punt against the New Orleans Saints to Isaiah Rodgers blocking a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defender into punt returner Cooper DeJean. The unit’s misfortunes continued on Sunday late in the second quarter. With 25 seconds remaining in the first half, the Eagles opted to kick a 57-yard field goal after Hurts took a sack on a third down, aiming to go up 13-3 into halftime.

Myles Garrett had other plans. All 6-foot-4, 272 pounds of Garrett leaped over the line and got his right hand on Elliott’s attempt. The ball rolled to the right where former Eagles safety Rodney McLeod scooped it up and returned it for the Browns’ lone touchdown of the game to tie it up at 10. However, his efforts weren’t enough to get the Browns going, as a slew of penalties thwarted their attempt to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. Garrett finished the game with four tackles, including two for a loss, but he didn’t record a sack.

“He’s as advertised,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said of Garrett. “We watched him all week. We thought about him all week. I don’t think anyone thought of Myles Garrett as much as we did. We had a plan for him on offense, and then he makes a play on special teams.”

Coming out of the bye week, the Eagles opted to roll with DeJean as the starting nickel cornerback in place of Avonte Maddox. DeJean, the team’s second-round pick out of Iowa, had played only eight defensive snaps through the first four games of the season. He was far busier on Sunday, and he made the most of his newfound opportunities.

On second-and-9 from the Eagles’ 49-yard line late in the first quarter, Vic Fangio sent DeJean on a blitz from the slot. Moro Ojomo was the first to break free up front, but DeJean and Bryce Huff brought down Deshaun Watson to split a sack, their first of the season. Watson was sacked five times, as Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith, and Jalen Carter notched solo sacks and Thomas Booker and Milton Williams shared one.

DeJean was also tested in coverage. It wasn’t always perfect — on the second Browns possession of the day right after they incurred a false-start penalty, Amari Cooper got open on a busted coverage for a 14-yard reception with DeJean trailing in his wake. But he also came up with a big play while the Browns attempted to make a comeback late in the fourth quarter. On first-and-goal from the 8-yard line, DeJean tackled receiver Elijah Moore short of the goal line to preserve the team’s lead.

“I mean, there was a little bit of butterflies,” DeJean said of his first start. “It was a lot of excitement building up to this. But once you get out there, you make that first hit, it all slows down for you. So it felt good.”

Dallas Goedert’s day was over quickly. He sustained a hamstring injury on the third play of the game and was eventually ruled out by the third quarter.

Misfortune struck the Eagles defense in the second half when Darius Slay suffered a knee injury. He limped back to the locker room with the help of Dom DiSandro. Slay, the 33-year-old cornerback, was ruled out in the fourth quarter. Rodgers took his place opposite Quinyon Mitchell.

Early in the fourth quarter, Jordan Mailata was hurt on a Saquon Barkley run and required assistance to come off the field. Fred Johnson took his place at left tackle for the remainder of the game, as Mailata was ruled out with a hamstring injury. The starting left tackle was spotted on crutches postgame with a sleeve over his left leg.

With 7½ minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Rodgers appeared to hit his head while tackling Browns receiver Jerry Jeudy and came out of the game. Kelee Ringo took his place on defense, but Rodgers returned to action late in the fourth quarter as the kick returner.