Jalen Hurts' lone touchdown leads Eagles to 16-9 victory over Lions in lackluster offensive game

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles are positioned again to make a strong run at another Super Bowl — not solely on the arm of Jalen Hurts, the legs of Saquon Barkley and other marquee offensive players all NFL fans know — but on a defense that has churned out a string of masterpieces that fired them to the top of the NFC.

Get to know these names. It might come in handy around early February.

Jalen Carter. Jordan Davis. Jaelan Phillips. Nakobe Dean.

The Lions were just the latest playoff hopeful to have their best efforts derailed by Vic Fangio's crew.

Hurts scored the only touchdown in an otherwise feeble effort from the Philadelphia Eagles' offense, and it was enough to lead them to a 16-9 win over the Detroit Lions, who failed on every fourth-down try Sunday night.

“As I watch football today, I saw a lot of teams waiting to lose,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Our team's waiting to win. Because they know how to win. There's something to be said for that, of knowing how to win.”

The Eagles (8-2) are the only team in the NFC East with more than three wins and the second one in the conference to eight victories, putting them in pole position to take the top seed and earn home-field advantage as the Super Bowl champions go for a repeat.

Hurts threw for only 135 yards, Barkley ran for 83 in another average outing a season after he topped 2,000-yards rushing, and former 1,000-yard receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith combined for nine catches for 57 yards. They have scored only a combined 26 points the last two games —- both wins.

Yet those struggles didn't matter much against a Detroit team that seemed happy to try and give the game away. The Lions, who entered averaging 31.4 points per game, failed to convert on five fourth-down attempts and were 3 of 13 on third down.

“Five-for-five the way we look at it,” Sirianni said. “Outstanding.”

Carter and Davis did their part with a combined five batted passes. Phillips, a trade-deadline pickup, had five tackles, a sack and four QB pressures.

“One of the best performances I've ever seen,” Hurts said.

Lions coach Dan Campbell replaced offensive coordinator John Morton as the play-caller last week. Campbell wasn’t ready to say it was a permanent move, although he called plays again against the Eagles.

Campbell wasn’t much of an improvement.

The Lions’ notable failure came late in the third quarter while trailing 13-6 after Jared Goff connected with Jahmyr Gibbs for a 42-yard gain that took the ball to the Eagles 22. The Lions went on to get a first-and-goal at the 8, but they turned the ball over on downs.

“They’re a good ... defense,” Goff said.

The Eagles at least took advantage of their best scoring chance inside the 10.

Barkley had a 5-yard TD run in the second quarter overturned by a replay review, a momentary setback once Hurts scored from 1 yard out — yes, on a tush push — with 16 seconds left to send the Eagles into halftime with a 13-6 lead.

Jake Elliott kicked field goals of 27 and 34 yards in the half. He made a 49-yarder in the fourth for a 16-6 lead.

Goff — who went 14 of 37 for 255 yards —- hit Jameson Williams for a 40-yard score that tied the game at 6-all late in the second quarter. Williams celebrated by jumping onto the goal post padding and bear-hugging the upright, which earned him a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On a blustery night in Philly, those lost yards cost the Lions when Jake Bates was wide right on the 48-yard extra point. Bates did kick a 54-yard field goal with 1:58 left.

Hurts tried to force the ball to an unhappy Brown early after yet another week of complaints from the wide receiver about his role in the offense.

Brown’s production has severely declined this season -- he was targeted just three times last week at Green Bay -- and he took to social media afterward to express his displeasure, saying on Twitch that fantasy owners should drop him from their teams.

Brown — who stood by his pervious complaints as he otherwise praised the team — finished with seven catches for 49 yards against the Lions.

“It was me trying to help contribute, that’s all,” Brown said.

Eagles cornerback Cooper DeJean had his first career regular-season interception when he picked off Goff's pass in the first quarter that led to a field goal.

The second-year standout, of course, is mostly remembered from an interception in last season's Super Bowl. DeJean became the first player in Super Bowl history to intercept a pass or score a touchdown on his birthday when he returned a poor throw by Patrick Mahomes 38 yards for a TD.

Lions: All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph missed his fourth straight game with a knee injury.

Eagles: OL Lane Johnson was ruled out at halftime with a foot injury. Johnson left last week's win against Green Bay with an ankle injury in the second quarter but returned in the fourth.

Lions: Host the New York Giants next Sunday.

Eagles: At Dallas next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is stopped with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game by Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) and Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is stopped with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game by Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) and Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams celebrates scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) looks to pass during the second half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) is stopped with the ball during the second half of an NFL football game by Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) and Lions cornerback Amik Robertson (21) Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Say goodbye to DRS, and hello to an electrical power boost.

Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the last time Formula 1 uses the Drag Reduction System overtaking aid, introduced in 2011. Next year, drivers will have to manage the car's systems more closely than ever with a more visible role for aerodynamic and electrical technology.

After a season-long title battle ended with Lando Norris' first title, here's what to expect in 2026:

The biggest regulation changes in years make cars shorter, narrower and lighter, with movable “active aerodynamics” — X-mode for straight-line speed, Z-mode for cornering — and more reliance on electric hybrid power.

The FIA's target was for electrical power to make up half of total output along with a traditional V6 turbo engine. Instead of DRS, drivers can deploy extra electrical power at key moments. That makes driving even more strategic but could lead to drivers lifting off the power and coasting on some straights to allow the electrical systems to harvest energy.

The FIA claims the rules emphasize driver skill but there have been mixed reviews from those who've tried 2026 designs in their teams' simulators.

Smaller, more agile cars could help overtaking but the fastest and slowest cars may be up to four seconds per lap apart on pace, tire supplier Pirelli has reported. In F1 terms, that's an eternity. Expect to see more engine failures as teams balance reliability with performance.

Could this be the year Lewis Hamilton finds his form again at Ferrari and chases an eighth title? Maybe not.

Even though he never got on with the 2022-25 cars, Hamilton told the BBC he was “not looking forward” to 2026 after the Las Vegas Grand Prix last month, yet another disappointment since he joined Ferrari.

Mercedes has designed some of F1's most dominant engines before, but its eye-catching “zero-pod” aerodynamic concept was a bust when the last regulation period began in 2022. Get both aspects right this time and George Russell could be a title contender after two wins in 2025. Mercedes also supplies engines to McLaren and Alpine.

Another team to watch is Aston Martin, which has its first car created with design great Adrian Newey in charge, now with Honda power, and is hoping it can make two-time champion Fernando Alonso an F1 race winner for the first time in 13 years. Williams too could make a step forward after abandoning its 2025 projects early to focus on 2026.

The F1 grid expands to 22 cars for the first time since 2016 as Cadillac becomes the 11th team with backing from General Motors.

The newest team will have two of the most experienced drivers as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez return, with a combined 16 wins and 527 starts between them.

The American team has been taking lessons from NASA space programs and has a British boss who compares himself to an “inverse Ted Lasso” for the culture shock of working in U.S. auto racing.

British 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie in 2026 at Racing Bulls. Eight of 10 existing teams have played it safe with the same driver lineup so the only other change is Isack Hadjar moving up to Red Bull to join Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda drops into a reserve role.

The Madring is the one new circuit on the 2026 calendar. The Madrid street circuit takes over the Spanish Grand Prix title from Barcelona, which stays on the calendar as Spain gets a second race for the first time since 2012.

That means no space for Italy's second F1, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit, which has held five races since 2020.

The season's over but there's one more day of driving left in 2025. Tuesday sees a single day of testing in Abu Dhabi with teams using modified “mule” cars to try out next year's tires, along with F1's usual test day for young drivers.

After 2025's red-carpet season launch show in London, the start of the 2026 season will be low-key.

The new cars hit the track for the first time at a private test in Spain starting Jan. 26.

There are two more open testing sessions in Bahrain in February before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 8.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates after becoming a world champion after the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Crowd erupts as McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts on the podium after becoming the Formula One world champion following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, as the sun sets behind the track. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)