It was just a 1-yard quarterback sneak, the so-called Tush Push used to great effect by the Philadelphia Eagles to the consternation of the rest of the NFL. But Jalen Hurts’ touchdown with 9:12 left in the third quarter on Monday night not only helped the Eagles beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-11, it also added to his collection of statistical achievements.

The sneak was the 29th regular-season rushing touchdown of Hurts’ career. That’s more than any other quarterback in NFL history has had in his first 50 regular-season games – and Hurts was playing in Game No. 48 on Monday night.

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More remarkably, Hurts moved out of his tie with former Auburn All-American Cam Newton for the 50-game record even though the Eagles QB did not start in his first 11 regular-season appearances. The former Alabama standout has had five rushing touchdowns in four playoff games along the way, too.

At his postgame press conference, Hurts was asked about a report that he had flu-like symptoms and how he dealt with the illness.

“We won,” Hurts answered as he sniffled through the question-and-answer session.

The victory left the Eagles as one of the NFL’s three undefeated teams three weeks into the 2023 season, along with the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.

“You got three wins down,” Hurts said. “And so we’re going to continue to build off of that. We’re going continue to build as a team, hold each other accountable, grow and learn. That’s the name of the game. For me, I’ve sat here and I’ve said after great wins and after some tough losses that the motto is getting better and keeping the main thing the main thing. And that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Hurts completed 23-of-37 passes for 277 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions and ran for 28 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries as Philadelphia dominated Tampa Bay.

“Obviously, he’s going to want those two interceptions back,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “I thought the guy made a really good play on the second interception. Just being on the same page on the first interception. Again, it’s always about communication, being on the same page. But I thought he took completions that were being given to him. Spread the ball around. …

“I thought he did a good job of managing the game and playing a good game. Can’t turn the ball over. He’ll want those back. But other than that, I thought it was really good.”

Hurts’ touchdown pass came on a 34-yard completion to wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus as Philadelphia took a 10-3 lead with 3:32 left in the first half.

The Eagles piled up 472 yards while the Buccaneers finished with 174.

Still, when Baker Mayfield tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans and 2-point conversion to Chris Godwin with 9:22 to play, Tampa Bay had closed the lead to 14 points.

But the Buccaneers never got the ball back.

Philadelphia ate up the rest of the time with 15 snaps. Ten were running plays, but Hurts also completed four passes for first downs, including on a fourth-down snap on the final play of the game. Hurts also had a third-down run for a first down on the series.

The previous time that Hurts played at Raymond James Stadium, he also threw one touchdown pass and two interceptions. But the Eagles lost that game to Tampa Bay 31-15 in Hurts’ postseason debut on Jan. 16, 2022.

“It’s a feeling I haven’t forgotten,” Hurts said, “and things have gone very well ever since.”

Hurts came back in 2022 to finish as the runner-up for the NFL MVP Award and lead Philadelphia to the NFC championship with a franchise-record victory total. The Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII despite a record-setting performance by Hurts.

The Eagles face the Washington Commanders at noon CDT Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.