The Philadelphia Eagles own a 4-3-0 record against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seven all-time meetings between the franchises. Jacksonville joined the NFL in 1995 and the rotational schedule the league uses to pair the NFC East /AFC South regular season matchups took two years before these teams battled. Philly and Jacksonville have never met on the football field past October so this Sunday’s meeting on November 3rd breaks new ground in the all-time series.
For Philadelphia fans, the biggest memory surrounding Jacksonville doesn’t even involve the city’s football franchise. The heartbreaking 24-21 loss at Super Bowl XXXIX in February 2005 to the Bill Billichek-led New England Patriots occurred in Jacksonville’s stadium, then named Everbank Stadium.
This season’s meeting between Philadelphia and Jacksonville is out of pattern from the rest of the meetings in franchise history. To date, the teams have met every four seasons with the last meeting occurring in Philadelphia in 2022. Therefore, this scheduling quirk gives Philadelphia another chance to acknowledge a coach who brought the first Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. Then the Eagles need to take no prisoners and pick up a sixth win of the NFL season to continue the winning streak over the Jaguars.
Early disappointment against Jacksonville
The first meeting between the Eagles and the Jaguars occurred on October 12, 1997, at Jacksonville’s home stadium, then Alltel Stadium. It was a forgettable game for the 2-4 Eagles against a 5-1 Jaguars team roaring in their third NFL season. Jacksonville running back James Stewart scored five touchdowns in a 38-21 blowout win for the Jaguars. Stewart scored three times in the first quarter leading to a fifteen carry day for 102 yards.
Eagles wideout Irving Fryer was the only Birds player that enjoyed Florida catching 10-of-13 passes for 124 yards and three scores for two different quarterbacks, Ty Detmer and Rodney Peete. The Eagles would address that QB situation by drafting Donovan McNabb in the first round of that offseason’s NFL draft.
With the McNabb Era firmly underway, the October 2002 matchup seemed close between Philadelphia (3-2) and Jacksonville (3-1) if you only looked at the box score. However, Jacksonville took a 28-10 lead on a late Bobby Shaw 69-yard punt return for a touchdown. McNabb scored at 12:12 while Duce Staley converted the 2-point PAT. Antonio Freeman caught an 8-yard touchdown at the buzzer for a more respectable-looking 28-25 loss.
In October 2006, the Eagles finally got the Jaguars in their own nest seeking a different outcome than the road woes they’ve faced thus far in the series. The Philadelphia crowd was restless as the Eagles averaged a meager 3.9 yards per game in a 13-6 loss at Lincoln Financial Field. Jacksonville featured a one-two punch at tailback between Fred Taylor’s 103 yards and rookie Maurice Jones-Drew’s 77 yards that resulted in almost 37 minutes of possession time for the Jaguars.
New decade, New result for the Eagles
Since the calendar flipped to 2010, the Philadelphia Eagles are unbeaten against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Over the last fourteen years, there have only been four more matchups in the season series with Philly the victor when post-game handshakes occurred.
In September 2010, a 1-2 Jaguars team hosted a 2-1 Eagles squad in an early regular season contest. Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick led four scoring drives in a 28-3 win over Jacksonville. Vick finished the day 17-of-32 passing for 291 yards and four total touchdowns. Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson couldn’t be stopped with 153 on 5 catches which averages out to 30 yards per catch. Jackson scored on a 61-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
Jacksonville scored 17 first-half points at the Linc in the season-opener in September 2014. Darren Sproles woke the offense up with a 49-yard touchdown run at 3:16 of the third quarter. A few minutes later, Zach Ertz caught a 25-yard pass from Nick Foles making it a 17-14 game. In the fourth quarter, Nick Foles launched a 68-yard touchdown strike to Jeremy Maclin to put the Eagles ahead 24-17. Fletcher Cox returned a 17-yard fumble for the final points in a 34-17 Eagles win.
Eagles score win in Wembley Stadium
The most high-profile Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars gridiron fight occurred at neither team’s home venue. Instead, the entire American football world watched the Eagles fly to Jacksonville’s “home-away-from-home” in London, England, United Kingdom. Jacksonville’s owner, Shad Khan, also owns London-based Fulham F.C. leading to the Jaguars being featured in the United Kingdom 13 times, most of any NFL club.
Over 85,000 fans watched a 24-18 Eagles in at London’s historic Wembley Stadium on October 28, 2018. Four more years and a brand new QB battle arrived in the series in 2018. Carson Wentz and Blake Bortles passed for the same 286-yard totals in the London experience. Wentz finished with the better stat line on 21-of-30 passes for three touchdowns and an interception en route to the win.
Last Meeting also featured Sirianni vs. Pederson
The most recent meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars took place in October 2022 at Lincoln Financial Field. The contest was the fourth game under Doug Pederson for the Jacksonville Jaguars who were looking for program stability after moving on from Urban Meyer following just one season.
Jacksonville’s Andre Cisco returned a Jalen Hurts interception for a 59-yard touchdown for the day’s first points. Trevor Lawrence connected with Jamal Agnew for a 14-0 lead for Jacksonville. Philly responded in the second quarter with three touchdown runs from Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, and Kenny Gainwell to enter halftime with a 20-14 lead. Sanders scored again in the fourth quarter to add some insurance on a 29-21 home win.
Sunday marks the eighth matchup of all time between the Eagles and Jaguars. With Super Bowl champion head coach Doug Pederson on the opposing sidelines and All-Pro tailback LeSean McCoy being honored, it is bound to be a special afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field. The Philadelphia Eagles (5-2) host the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) in Philadelphia at 4:05 PM EST in Week 9 of the 2024 NFL regular season.
Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
