Saints hand Jalen Hurts-less Eagles second straight loss

Taysom Hill ran for a touchdown, Marshon Lattimore returned an interception for another score and the visiting New Orleans Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 20-10 on Sunday. Hill's touchdown came on the first possession of the game and gave the Saints (7-9) a lead they never lost. Lattimore returned from a 10-game absence due to an abdominal injury to add the clinching score as New Orleans won its third straight. Andy Dalton completed his first 13 passes, a career-best start, and finished 18-of-22 for 204 yards and an interception. Alvin Kamara rushed for 74 yards and Hill ran for 46. The Eagles (13-3) failed for a second consecutive week to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Gardner Minshew started in place of the injured Jalen Hurts again, completing 18 of 32 passes for 274 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles had just 61 yards in the first half, but on the first possession of the third quarter they drove 53 yards and Jake Elliott kicked a season-long 56-yard field goal to trim New Orleans' lead to 13-3. Later in the quarter Minshew connected with A.J. Brown on a 78-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to 13-10 at the end of the period. Philadelphia had the ball at midfield midway through the fourth quarter, but New Orleans stopped Minshew for no gain on fourth and 1. The Saints punted and the Eagles took over at their 9 with 6:07 remaining. On the second play of the drive, Lattimore intercepted Minshew and ran 12 yards for a touchdown and a 20-10 lead with 5:27 lead. On the first possession of the game the Saints converted three third downs and one fourth down on their way to Hill's 1-yard touchdown run. The lead held up through the end of the first quarter as Philadelphia had just two three-and-outs in the period. Wil Lutz kicked a 54-yard field goal and Dalton's 58-yard completion to Rashid Shaheed set up Lutz's 20-yard field goal that increased the Saints' lead to 13-0 at halftime. Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat suffered a neck injury during the first quarter. He was carted off the field and taken to a local hospital for observation. --Field Level Media