PHILADELPHIA — After a week of panic in Philadelphia about what was wrong with the Eagles‘ passing game and questions about whether the Jalen Hurts–A.J. Brown relationship was fractured beyond repair, it took them less than a quarter to answer them all. Hurts came out firing in the first 15 minutes, mostly towards his No. 1 receiver.

And then, after they combined on a touchdown less than 14 minutes into the game, the dynamic duo danced.

“That,” Brown said, “was our moment to tell everybody to shut up.”

That touchdown celebration definitely quieted their critics, and then Hurts spent the rest of the game putting them in their place with a stellar performance in a convincing 27-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He looked like his old, MVP-like self, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns and running for 45 yards and a touchdown, too. Against a top-10 defense he helped the Eagles (12-2) rack up a ridiculous 401 yards.

And he did it while playing with a fractured finger on his left (non-throwing) hand, which he admitted somehow affected his play. It was enough to lead his team to its 10th straight victory.

All of it was more than enough to earn him to be named Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game.

“[Brady] is obviously a great player and (I have) tons of respect for him,” Hurts told FOX Sports. “It was cool.”

Hurts’ performance was “cool” too, considering what the previous week was like. He had taken a backseat to running back Saquon Barkley in the Eagles’ offense recently, and his numbers were starting to slide. He had gone eight straight games without throwing for 250 yards, dating back to Oct. 13. And he hadn’t even topped 180 in the last three games.

That all came to a head last Sunday in an ugly, 22-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. Hurts was just 14 of 21 for 108 yards, albeit with two touchdown passes. But the offense was so bad that after the game, Brown was asked what needed to improve the most.

His answer lit a firecracker in the city: “Passing.”

And if that wasn’t enough to start a fire, injured Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham went on WIP radio in Philly the next day and dissected the Hurts-Brown relationship, saying “They were friends, but things have changed.”

Yes, Graham walked those comments back and both Hurts and Brown denied any rift, but it was still enough to fill a week of columns and radio shows in Philadelphia. And even Brown admitted after the game that it all led to some “very uncomfortable” locker room conversations during the week.

Hurts understood that there was only one way to quiet things down. And it was definitely a challenge that he relished.

“The scrutiny is never-ending,” he said. “It’s nothing new. That’s something I find a thrill in. I appreciate being told ‘I can’t’ and that ‘We can’t.'”

On Sunday, he and the Eagles showed they could from the start. He opened the game with three straight completions for a total of 50 yards on just three plays. And he made a point of getting Brown involved as much as possible, completing four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown to him in the first quarter alone.

The Steelers, perhaps not surprisingly, tailored their defense towards stopping Barkley and daring the Eagles to beat them through the air. So that’s exactly what they did. Brown finished with eight catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Fellow receiver Devonta Smith had 11 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, too.

“To have two guys go over 100 yards against that defense,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni marveled. “I can’t tell you how much respect I have for that defense.”

And they didn’t do it at the expense of their running game either. Barkley, who battled through an injured knee, didn’t have his typical, MVP-like game, but he still managed 65 rushing yards and the Eagles totaled 131. And they sure did look like their old, grind-it-out selves when they melted away the game with a final drive that took the last 10:29 off the clock and left the Steelers without any shot at a miracle comeback.

But they were carried by their passing game, for a change, and by Hurts and his right arm. There was no way to avoid that fact. In the face of all the criticism Hurts faced from outside and inside the organization, almost felt like it was intentional.

“We’re going to focus on what we need to do,” Sirianni said, “not what everyone else thinks we need to do.”

“As we’ve said before, there are multiple ways to win,” Hurts said. “That was kind of where we leaned into today.”

And it worked, even though Sirianni insisted that any worries about Hurts and the passing game were always misplaced.

“We threw for more yards, so I know that’s going to be (the story): ‘Hey, the passing game is back,'” Sirianni said. “I don’t know that the passing game was anywhere. I think it got a little blown out of proportion because of how efficient we’ve been.”

This was more than just “efficient,” though. This was Hurts carrying the load, and reminding everyone that when the Eagles need him to throw it, he can still do it as well as anyone in the NFL.

“I’ve always said and believe that you want to make sure all of your tools are sharp when you need them, so when it’s time to use them you can go,” Hurts said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt in that.”

Not anymore.

Ralph Vacchiano is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

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