PHILADELPHIA – – Perhaps outraged that Eagles fans had chanted for his firing, Nick Sirianni couldn’t keep his mouth shut in the final seconds. The Philadelphia coach — already in the habit of trash talk — put a finger to his right ear and beeped at the fans in the front rows of the Linc.

Yes, after the Eagles pulled off a four-point victory against the dysfunctional Browns, Sirianni felt the need to open up, provide social media and gossip fodder about a coach whose job security is in question daily and who – even in victory – won I’m not winning any popularity contests in Philadelphia.

“I’m just excited to get the win,” Sirianni said. “Appreciate the Linc support.”

He had to appreciate the Eagles’ offense a little more.

Jalen Hurts threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, including a starting signal of 45 meters to DeVonta Smith in the fourth quarter and Philadelphia defeated Cleveland 20-16 on Sunday.

Hurts also threw a 22-yard touchdown to AJ Brown, who returned along with Smith after both wide receivers missed time with injuries. The Eagles also can’t afford to lose any longer if they want to make a deep postseason run.

After a bye, the already maddening Eagles (3-2) had to face the Browns (1-5) in front of a mostly listless crowd. Before Smith’s TD, Eagles fans only showed some fire as they chanted for Sirianni to be fired.

Sirianni said several players told him, “We need you back, Nick. We need your energy. We need your focus.”

“I encourage him to be himself. That’s who he is,” Hurts said.

Trailing 20-13, the Browns moved into Eagles territory late in the game, but settled for Dustin Hopkins’ 31-yard field goal. Deshaun Watson was pushed out of bounds at the 2-yard line during a scramble, and he threw incomplete on third down.

The Eagles took over with 3:54 to go and didn’t let Cleveland get the ball back, with Hurts finding Brown for a 40-yard gain to put the game away.

Sirianni promised changes during the bye week and they delivered: The fourth-year coach shaved his head.

On the field, it was largely the same old Eagles, turning running back Saquon Barkley into a bystander, failing to get Hurts to connect consistently with his star receivers, and getting poor execution — particularly on special teams.

The saving grace? They were playing the Browns.

Watson’s dismal play did little to quell calls for the team’s $230 million quarterback to be benched. He finished 16 of 23 for 168 yards, and the Browns failed to score an offensive touchdown — they still haven’t scored 20 points in a game this season.

“We’re putting ourselves in danger because we can’t achieve what we want to achieve,” Watson said.

Cleveland got its only touchdown a blocked All-Pro field goal Myles Garrett plays Rodney McLeod Jr. scooped it up and returned to the end zone untouched. Watson was sacked three times and threw for just 49 yards in the first half.

Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, who decided last week he would retain his play-calling duties, has been steadfast in his commitment to Watson, who is in the third season of a fully guaranteed five-year contract.

Stefanski said after the game that he would stick with Watson even though the Browns appear to have no chance of repeating the playoff run they made last year behind then-backup Joe Flacco.

“I know the guys are fighting like crazy, and I appreciate that, but we have to find a way to win against a good opponent,” Stefanski said. “We had our chances and we couldn’t get through.”

Brown had six catches for 116 yards and the score after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury. Smith had three catches for 64 yards after sitting out a game with a concussion.

“I haven’t played football in a month, so the little things I need to focus on, that’s what I need to focus on,” Brown said. “Make sure I’m actually running instead of just looking at the ball.”

After a scoreless first quarter for the fifth game this season, Jake Elliott broke through with a 49-yard field goal. The Eagles found a rare offensive spark on their next drive: Hurts to Grant Calcaterra for 34 yards, Hurts to Brown for 16 yards, and Hurts to Brown for a strike of 22 yards that made it 10-0.

Dustin Hopkins kicked a 43-yarder for the Browns, making the score 10-3.

The Eagles looked set to take a slim lead heading into halftime when Elliott lined up for a 57-yard try. Garrett got his hand on the ball when he jumped over Tyler Steen – a nice effort for a 6-foot-1, 272-pounder – for the block. Former Eagles safety McLeod grabbed the loose ball and ran 50 yards for the score, capped off with a somersault into the end zone, to tie the score at 10 with 14 seconds left in the half.

Eagles fans, fed up with Sirianni since last season’s late collapse, chased the team off the field. The really angry people started a “Fire Nick!” while those at home mused on social media about whether a coach could be fired at halftime.

“We thrive on the crowd when they cheer us on. That’s all I’ll say,” Sirianni said.

Injuries

Browns: C Nick Harris was carted off the field on the opening drive with an ankle injury. Third-stringer Michael Dunn replaced Harris. RB Jerome Ford suffered a hamstring injury. Harris only got the start because starter Ethan Pocic was inactive with a knee injury. Pocic was out along with safeties Grant Delpit (concussion) and Ronnie Hickman (ankle).

Eagles: TE Dallas Goedert suffered a hamstring injury. CB Darius Slay left with a knee injury. OT Jordan Mailata left in the fourth, also with a hamstring injury.

Next

Browns: Host Cincinnati next Sunday.

Eagles: This Sunday at the New York Giants.

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