This was a tug of war of football incompetence. What team could do more self-destructive damage? For 59 minutes and 59 seconds on Sunday, the Jacksonville Jaguars had Nick Sirianni and the Eagles pretty well overmatched.
Then the tide turned in the form of a last-second runway to victory.
This setback will no doubt haunt Eagles’ fans for a while.
The Eagles lost to a team whose defensive tackle is about as wide as he is tall serving as the emergence back-up long snapper; to a team that committed 11
penalties for 100 yards, including three calls inside the Eagles’ 10; and to a team that was 0-for-3 in the red zone, including two squandered drives that reached the Eagles’ one-yard line.
The Jaguars were supposed to be gargantuan world beaters at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England. They looked anything but that, escaping with a last-second, walk-off Cam Little 57-yard field goal for a 19-16 victory.
There are no such things in the hardboiled NFL world as moral victories. Flat out and simple, despite playing extremely shorthanded without starters Saquon Barkley, DeVonta Smith, Drew Kendall, Jonathan Greenard and Marcus Epps, the Eagles should have won.
The Eagles have now dropped to 2-3, and are on a three-game losing streak for the second time in two years. They are in free fall with nothing to grab on the way down. It marks the first time in five years that the Eagles have slid below .500 since they were 6-7 in Sirianni’s first season as head coach in 2021—a 9-8 season that is looking good from this current view.
Little knew exactly where to run after nailing the game-winner, right towards the mix of Kelly and midnight green section of the end zone, raising his arms, and then being raised by his teammates in victory.
This loss was reminiscent of the infamous 21-20 Eagles’ Monday night loss in Dallas on September 15, 1997, with the botched Tommy Hutton hold on an Eagles’ potential 22-yard game-winning field goal—with one second left—during a bleak period for the Eagles franchise that it appears to be entering again.
Jacksonville defensive tackle DaVon Hamilton was a key figure in the Jags’ victory, nearly losing the game on a high snap that caused a missed extra point in the fourth quarter, and coming back with a strong snap on the game-winning kick.
Jacksonville was lost when Jalen Hurts directed what looked like a game-winning drive to set up Jake Elliott for a 48-yard field goal with 8 seconds left.
Then the unbelievable happened when Ameer Abdullah took off through the right side of the Eagles special teams on a 53-yard return, setting up Little’s heroics.
It was not Hurts’ fault the Eagles lost this game, although some, as they have a habit of doing, will blame him, despite the fact he completed 21 of 40 for 220 yards and a touchdown.
Trevor Lawrence posted highly impressive numbers, completing 24 of 39 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns, and also threw an interception. Though Lawrence was striking, directing the Jags to 12 points in the second half, nearly half as many as the Eagles have scored in the second half (23 points) this season, the Jags were not.
They made a myriad of mistakes, especially in the red zone, and if not for Abdullah’s kickoff return and Parker Washington’s brilliance, they should have lost to an Eagles’ team that fielded a preseason roster.
Sirianni will no doubt try to come up with answers to fix this sinking mess of a season, though none seem available. But he does not deserve the blame here. That actually may fall on general manager Howie Roseman for not providing as deep of a roster as he has done in the past. That was transparent by the way the Eagles depth players performed during preseason.
Coming up next are Carolina, Dallas and Washington, which are all currently better than the Eagles are.
Yes, 9-8 is looking good right now.
There was a lot of good for 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, some bad and a tall hill of ugly in the Eagles’ 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Good
The defense. For the first time this season, they put pressure on the quarterback. They held Jacksonville to six three-and-outs, while the Jags entered the game with four three-and-outs all season.
Kicker Jake Elliott coming through again, hitting the 48-yard field goal with 8 seconds left. Elliott sometimes seems overlooked and forgotten, but he’s made plenty of clutch kicks in his Eagles’ career—and he is a two-time Super Bowl-winning kicker. Not many present NFL kickers faced the crucial situations in big games as Elliott has. This would have been up there among his most prominent, if not for the Abdullah kick return breakdown (which Elliott was a small part of).
Backup linebacker A.J. Epenesa, playing in place of the injured Jalyx Hunt, stepping up and making a big play, deflecting a Trevor Lawrence pass on a third-and-five at the Eagles’ 27 with 3:30 to play, forcing a crucial fourth down. Unfortunately, Jacksonville’s Parker Washington made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch by cradling in his lap a 27-yard touchdown pass, where Riq Woolen had great coverage with 2:07 to play.
The Eagles’ second goal line stand with 6:35 left to play, which had a lot more to do with Jacksonville’s utter ineptitude than it had to do with the Eagles’ defense. Jacksonville went from a first-and-goal at the Eagles’ one, to having three penalties called, two were delay calls, which irked Lawrence causing him to spike the ball, and one false start call. The Jags went backwards from first-and-goal at the one, to a third-and-goal at the Eagles’ 14. The whole thing came to an end when Lawrence threw an incompletion out of the back of the end zone.
Cornerback Quinyon Mitchell’s first career regular-season interception at the Eagles’ 26 with 2:15 left in the third quarter. It was the third takeaway this season for the Eagles and came after the Eagles lost the ball on downs, leaving Jacksonville in good field position.
The second quarter. The undermanned Eagles turned around a bad start with probably their strongest second quarter of the season. The Eagles converted two of three first downs, and scored twice—the first two times anyone scored on Jacksonville in the first half all season. Hurts completed 11 of 16 passes in the first half for 122 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line gave him time, and opened holes. Hurts was only pressured twice on 17 drop backs. Jalen Carter was a one-man wrecking crew causing havoc up front and making the Jags move and adjust to everything he did, creating opportunities for everyone else. The Eagles went into halftime holding a 14-7 lead against one of the better teams in the NFL that was projected to stomp into pulp.
The Eagles’ goal line stand at the end of the first half, punctuated by Zack Baun taking down Bhaysul Tuten for a six-yard loss, reading the outside sweep perfectly on the final play of the first half.
All he does is score touchdowns. Hurts’ 62-yard touchdown reception—on third down—to Darius Cooper for a 14-7 lead with 5:31 left in the first half. It was Cooper’s sixth catch of the season, four of which were touchdowns. It was really uplifting to see the Eagles’ offense working on third down. Jacksonville had not given up a first half touchdown this season and the Eagles score twice against the Jags in the second quarter alone.
The Eagles’ third possession. It resulted in the Eagles’ first score. Hurts converted two third downs, one a third-and-eight at the Jags’ 37 on a 10-yard pass to Dontayvion Wicks, followed by and a third-and-10 at the Jags’ 27, again a reception to Wicks, for 18 yards to the Jacksonville 9. The play led to a Will Shipley two-yard touchdown run—the first first half touchdown Jacksonville gave up this season. Eagles’ diminutive left guard Willie Lampkin created the hole Shipley ran through. Lampkin got into and locked up the Jags’ Matt Dickerson, and Shipley found the space for his first career regular-season rushing TD.
Makai Lemon’s 11-yard reception down the middle of the field for a first down on first down on the Eagles’ third possession. Lemon came up with another big reception with an 18-yard catch on a third-and-10 with 1:58 left in the third quarter, the first third-quarter, third-down conversion (not by penalty) for the Eagles since they beat Tennessee in Week 2.
Britain Covey’s tightrope 42-yard kickoff return after the Jags’ first score. This came after his 41-yard, second-quarter punt return against the Los Angeles Rams to the Rams’ 17 last week, which set up a Darius Cooper TD. The Eagles then proceeded to squander that with their first three-and-out.
The Eagles snapping a 0-for-17 streak on third-down conversions, stretching back to the second half of the Chicago Bears streak. The Eagles broke that on Hurts’ five-yard completion to Dallas Goedert on the Eagles’ opening drive to the Jacksonville 46. The Eagles then proceeded to blow it on a fourth-and-one.
Have a half. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was a monster in the first half, starting with the strip sack of Trevor Lawrence for a nine-yard loss leading to a second-and-40. It was an overall good defensive start for the Eagles, who got a good pass rush—for once—and forced Lawrence to step up into the pocket. Carter later came up with another strip sack, a 10-yard loss the Jags’ fourth drive that led to a third-and-21. After forcing two fumbles, Carter later flopped on Bhaysul Tuten for a three-yard loss on Jacksonville’s fifth drive inside five minutes left in the first half. Carter later teamed with Cooper DeJean for another two-yard loss on the same Jacksonville drive. By halftime, Carter had four tackles, three solo, all for losses and two sacks.
The Bad
Right tackle Markel Bell going offsides with 1:31 to play on a second-and-10, making it a second-and-15 at the Eagles’ 43.
Left tackle Jordan Mailata getting called for a false start pushing back the Eagles, creating a second-and-11 at the Eagles’ 11 to a second-and-16 at the Eagles’ 6 on the Eagles’ fourth drive of the second half.
Chase Steele getting flagged for holding on Covey’s 16-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter, which cost the Eagles 26 yards back to the Eagles’ 12. Braden Mann had to punt from the end zone,
Hurts missing a wide-open Wicks downfield on a third-and-13 inside of a minute left the third quarter.
Nolan Smith’s neutral zone infraction on a third-and-seven on the Jags’ first drive of the second half. It gave Jacksonville to convert a much easier third-and-two.
The Eagles losing right guard Tyler Steen leaving the field favoring his left arm on the first drive of the second half, which came after the Eagles lost linebacker Jalyx Hunt to a left ankle injury on the final play of the first half. It was more bad news for a team that came into the game resembling a MASH unit with Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith.
The first quarter. The Eagles were outgained 95-38, and were giving up 7.3 yards a play to 3.2 yards on three drives each. Jacksonville led 7-0 and were averaging 8.8 yards a pass. The Jags owned time of the possession 9:12 to 5:48 and it looked like they would blow the Eagles out. That quickly changed in the next quarter.
The Eagles’ first three-and-out on their second drive, after getting great field possession. The Eagles, last in the NFL in third-down conversions, were then 19 of their last 20 on third-down conversion attempts.
Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. getting ejected from the game on the opening kickoff after getting into a scuffle with the Jaguars’ Brian Thomas Jr. It hurt the Eagles more than Jacksonville. The Eagles lost a contributing piece on their defense and important special teams contributor in a trade for a back-up.
The Ugly
Why kick it to Abdullah? Why not follow basic Football 101? Why not kick the ball deep in the end zone for no return? Notice on the return the Eagles’ Arnold Ebiketie (17) went off script and give up his lane integrity by dipping left, leaving a gaping hole for Abdullah to run through. Jonathan Jones (31—why Wilbert Montgomery’s number is not retired is a mystery) was knocked out of his lane by the Jags’ Jahlani Tavai (31). Jacksonville’s Josh Cameron (19) sealed off Kelee Ringo (7). The Eagles’ Smael Mondon Jr. (42) came late and whiffed before Jones finally took Abdullah down at the Eagles’ 39 with a second left, providing the perfect hero scene for Little’s 57-yard game winner.
The second half. The Eagles had 92 total yards and five first downs in the second half. Jacksonville almost tallied that yardage sum up alone in the third quarter, and finished with 246 total yards and seven first downs in the second half. The Eagles have now been outscored 53-23 in the second half, with just three points scored in the second half over the last three games.
Cooper DeJean has had some tough times this season. Another came on the 32-yard reception to Josh Cameron on a third-and-two on Jacksonville’s first second half drive. Camerson shrugged DeJean like he was flicking away crumbs from his collar. It led to a Cam Little 34-yard field goal with 7:11 to play in the third quarter, and that feeling that the Eagles were going to find a way to lose this game began creeping up.
The Eagles going three-and-out for the fifth-straight time this season on their first possession of the second half.
Parker Washington’s 51-yard touchdown on Jacksonville’s second drive, a simple pitch-and-catch from Lawrence to the motioning Washington out in the open. Notice Eagles’ safety Andrew Mukuba took a wrong angle initially at Washington, taking a slight step right, while Washington was coming left-to-right across the field. It gave Washington an easy open start in the flat, and left Mukuba flailing in his wake. Also notice Jihaad Campbell initially going right on the play fake, and getting caught chasing Washington.
Running out of shotgun on the fourth-and-one play at Jaguars’ 36, failing to convert by three inches on the Eagles’ opening drive. First, why run out of shotgun there? Secondly, considering Nick Sirianni passing on a sure field goal last week in the 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on a fourth-and-goal, why give up the points there? Again, it was a case of Sirianni outthinking himself. It led to a change of possession and Jacksonville’s first score. The Eagles went from failing on third-down conversions to transitioning and failing on fourth-down conversions. They were 0-for-2 there, when Sirianni decided to go for it again on fourth down.
