The Philadelphia Eagles went into Sunday’s match against the Jaguars with the emotions being at an all-time high. Not only is it the first Kelly green game of the season but the Eagles also chose for this day to be the one where they welcome the most beloved running back in franchise history, LeSean McCoy.
The Eagles started them going on an odd note as the offense stalled out on their first drive. It was special teams that brought the Linc to life when Sydney Brown forced a fumble which led to a 20-yard touchdown from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley. That would only be the first score of the day for Barkley. Later on in the second quarter he would break off for a big 19 yard touchdown run on 3rd and 17 to increase the Eagles lead.
Philadelphia’s defense would follow that momentum and force Jacksonville to play uncomfortably for most of the first half. The defense held the Jaguars to only 25 passing yards in the first half. The odd thing about the first half for the Eagles was their multiple attempts to go for 2 points after scoring the initial touchdowns.
This aggressive style would eventually come back to bite the Eagles as they were only able to score 16 points against the lowly Jaguars in the first half.
Entering the second half it seemed that the Eagles came out a bit flat-footed. The energy was low and they were missing the number one wide receiver A.J. Brown who would later be ruled out due to a knee injury.
Jacksonville came out strong in hopes of drawing closer to Philadelphia. Trevor Lawrence would lead his offense to their first touchdown of the game in the third quarter in which they also went for two which would bring the score to 22-8.
Following that drive the Eagles turned the ball over in the most questionable fumble I’ve ever seen since the odd recovery that wasn’t a recovery against Dallas. Saquon would be tripped up by a Jaguars defender and would fumble the ball after he hit the ground and would see the Jaguars return it for a touchdown. Despite everyone in attendance seeing that, the referees still called it a turnover. Which left the Eagles with an uncomfortable lead of 22-16.
The Eagles would finally have to buckle down and find a way to answer on the next drive. With under 10 minutes left in the game, the Eagles’ offense did what they needed to do, and that showed up in a big moment. After a good couple of runs by Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts launched a 46-yard pass to DeVonta Smith on a beautiful play-action call.
The Eagles would unfortunately struggle to move from there after three plays. But the one thing they can count on in a big moment is good ol’ number 6. Jalen Hurts found DeVonta Smith for a beautiful grab in the back of the endzone on 3rd and 22. Smitty would put the Eagles up 28-16 after that 25-yard touchdown grab.
Philadelphia’s offense responded in a big way and needed their defense to do the same. After a couple of good passes by Lawrence to move the chains, the Eagles defense was presented with their first opportunity to get a big stop on 3rd down after sacking Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence would find Brian Thomas Jr to move the chains followed by another big pass to bring them within 4 yards for a score. Lawrence would take it into his own hands as he scrambled to score and bring shrink the Eagles lead to 5 points.
The Eagles would go ahead and try to rely on the run game as they continued to milk the clock behind Saquon Barkley’s outstanding runs. If there was ever any question on if he was worth the money , then this game should convince the doubters. In his first 8 games with the Eagles, Saquon Barkley is already over 1,000 total scrimmage yards. Unfortunately, Barkley couldn’t do it all as the offense stalled out and relied on Jake Elliott to put them up by 8. Elliott would miss a 57-yard field goal which made things even more tense for the Birds.
Luckily for the Eagles, the defense stepped up on the last drive to help end the fears of a late game collapse. Despite a big 18-yard pass interference penalty on Avonte Maddox that gave the Jaguars offense a new lifeline. Philly would pull off the big win thanks to Nakobe Dean who sealed the game with a huge interception in the endzone. Philly is now on a four game winning streak as they head to Dallas in what could be a very important game for them and their standing in the NFC East.
The Eagles will play the Cowboys on Sunday at 4:25pm in Week 10.
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
