The Philadelphia Eagles nearly had this game won.
Nearly.
Instead, they’re 2-3 with the Jacksonville Jaguars handing them their third straight loss.
Time to hand out winners, losers, and I don’t knows.
For even more analysis, check out my appearance on the PHLY Eagles postgame show along with Vinny Curry, EJ Smith, Anthony Gargano, Bo Wulf, Fran Duffy, and Miles Johnson!
WINNERS
JALEN CARTER
If you’re looking for a silver lining coming out of this loss, it’s that Jalen Carter is suddenly looking healthier and more effective.
That much was likely related to him wearing a less restrictive cast than what was previously necessary due to the hairline fracture in his wrist.
This might’ve been the best game of Carter’s career? If not, it’s up there.
Carter finished the day with two strip sacks (both of which were recovered by the Jags), three TFLs, and one pass deflection.
If he can maintain this level of impact more regularly, that’s a ceiling-raiser for this Eagles defense.
DARIUS COOPER
Second week in a row where his shine was stolen (in part, at least) by the Eagles losing the game. Curses!
Also the second week in a row where Cooper led the Eagles in receiving. His three targets in this game produced two catches for 71 yards, most of which were gained on his 62-yard touchdown reception.
Cooper is now up to four touchdowns on seven receptions this season. Seems pretty good to me.
Despite his success, four players had more targets than Cooper in this game. He’s a good player who deserves more opportunities. The Eagles need to be more intentional about getting the ball to him.
VIC FANGIO
The Eagles surrendered 408 yards, which isn’t great, but they allowed just 19 total points to a team that was averaging 26 points per game entering Week 5.
Additional context makes this performance more impressive:
- The Jags’ first touchdown came after an Eagles turnover on downs.
- The Jags’ second touchdown came on a drive that started at their own 49-yard line and was capped off by Parker Washington (who’s clearly pretty good) making a ridiculous one-handed grab in the end zone on a Trevor Lawrence fourth down throw.
- The Jags’ game-winning field goal was scored on a drive where Fangio’s defense didn’t even take the field since Jacksonville’s kick return set up the three points with 0:01 left in the game.
- The Eagles forced the Jags into two turnovers on downs.
- The Eagles produced an interception and three forced fumbles. Carter’s two strip sacks both took bounces in the Jags’ favor. The other fumble occurred near the goal line and the officials determined their was no clear recovery, allowing Jacksonville to maintain possession. Going 0/3 on fumble recoveries is bad luck.
- The Eagles’ defense faced 72 total snaps since the Eagles’ offense can’t actually sustain drives.
The Eagles almost won this game because their defense came to play. Fangio seems to be rebounding after a slow start to the season.
QUINYON MITCHELL
Mitchell is a “virgin” no longer!
Due to his previous lack of regular season picks, that’s how Fangio referred to him back in training camp:
“He still needs his first interception of his career. He’ll quickly remind you he’s got four in the playoffs, but he’s still a virgin in the regular season.“
Mission accomplished.
Mitchell secured an underthrow by Lawrence (just the third interception thrown by him this season) to bail out an Eagles offense that gave the Jags a short field to work with after a turnover on downs. Naturally, the Eagles’ offense gained 15 yards on six plays before having to punt.
Anyway, back to Mitchell, he’s been great, which is to be expected. He’s allowed just a 64.6 passer rating when targeted this season.
ZACK BAUN
Getting Baun back was a big development for this defense. He led the Eagles in total tackles with 11 and tied Arnold Ebiketie for a team-high two quarterback hits. One of those was very nearly a sack; Lawrence was fortunate to throw the ball away at the very last moment before his knee hit the ground.
Looking like a heat-seeking missile, Baun prevented a touchdown by blowing up the Jags’ final play of the second quarter:
DONTAYVION WICKS
Wicks was targeted eight times for five receptions and 63 yards. Four of those grabs resulted in first downs. He notably helped the Eagles convert:
- 3rd-and-8 on the Eagles’ first touchdown drive
- 3rd-and-10 on the Eagles’ first touchdown drive
- 3rd-and-5 on the Eagles’ final drive
Wicks drew a pass interference penalty that turned 3rd-and-goal at the 17-yard line into 1st-and-goal at the 3-yard line, which set up a Will Shipley rushing touchdown.
Wicks drew another pass interference penalty that turned a 3rd-and-9 at the Eagles’ 40-yard line into 1st-and-10 at midfield.
After a strong first two weeks to start the season, Wicks was quieter over the past two games. He returned as an impactful high-leverage option on Sunday.
And he had success despite suffering a hamstring injury that kept him limited in practice on Thursday and Friday.
BRITAIN COVEY
Covey told the Inquirer that he petitioned the league to wear “Britain” instead of “Covey” on the back of his jersey for Sunday’s game. Covey’s request was denied.
Nevertheless, he came up big playing in the country he was named after by logging four punts returns for 42 yards (10.5 average, long of 18) and three kick returns for 92 yards (30.7 average, long of 42). He’s done his part this season to help give a struggling offense good field position to work with.
EAGLES FANS
The Eagles fans who made the trip to this game deserved better. They created a loud environment that gave the Jags some trouble in terms of getting the snap off properly. The Eagles’ second goal line stand was powered in part by a crowd that contributed to a false start and a delay of game penalty.
After the game, Jags players gave props to Eagles fans for making life difficult on them:
LOSERS
NICK SIRIANNI
I was prepared to say some nice things about the Eagles’ head coach!
The Eagles entered this game as 7.5-point underdogs and came very close to pulling off an upset despite missing a lot of key players due to injury.
Unfortunately, Sirianni undid any goodwill he otherwise would’ve earned by mismanaging the end of the game.
I don’t know if having Elliott kick the ball out of the end zone is the no-brainer many have made it out to be. To be clear, that was my preference because 1) the Jags didn’t have any timeouts remaining (unlike the Ravens did in a somewhat similar scenario against the Cowboys in Week 3) and 2) I’d rather trust the defense, which was playing well, than a kickoff coverage unit that was looking shakier by contrast and was also missing some regular contributors (see: an ejected Jeremiah Trotter Jr., an injured Michael Carter II).
Again, I think Sirianni made the wrong call in that spot. But I think there’s a debate to be had about his decision. It wasn’t an unconscionable choice.
What should NOT be for update: Sirianni’s poor clock management that created the situation where the Eagles were kicking off to the Jags instead of ending the game on Elliott’s field goal attempt.
Former Eagles assistant Ryan Paganetti (great follow on Twitter) outlined it well:
Sirianni is hardly the only coach who doesn’t ace game management. Look at Liam Coen! The Jags didn’t have a great day in that regard. But Coen provided value for his team with his contributions as an offensive mind. Sirianni isn’t bringing that to the table. Outside of player motivation, I’m not really sure what edge Sirianni is giving his team. Rather, he’s been a liability.
And, make no mistake, he WILL be held accountable for the Eagles’ struggles if they continue. Especially as it relates to their offensive woes:
Coming off the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX win in 2024, Sirianni was given a mulligan for the failures in 2025. He probably won’t be afforded similar grace for 2026 if he doesn’t come up with answers.
SEAN MANNION
Let’s be clear: the Eagles aren’t as bad as they are on offense because of one person and one person alone. It’s a collective failure that largely includes Sirianni and Hurts as well. And we must acknowledge that they’re dealing with a lot of key injuries and absences on that side of the ball.
But Mannion is the play-calling offensive coordinator and the offense flat out sucks.
Here’s a bunch of numbers to contextualize their ineptitude:
Prior to the Eagles’ final drive that resulted in a go-ahead field goal, the offense had produced just 10 yards on 15 plays on their previous four drives. Four punts. They just couldn’t move the ball at all.
And the Jags have a good defense; they entered this game allowing the second-fewest points in the league. But they have allowed teams to move the ball on them; they were allowing 354.5 yards per game, the eighth-worst mark in the NFL. The Eagles mustered 232 yards against that unit.
THE EAGLES’ RUN GAME
The Eagles ran the ball 18 times for 22 yards. That’s an electric 1.2 yards per carry.
It’s understandable that the team didn’t have an amazing day on the ground. With Will Shipley getting hurt early on, they were without their top three running backs. They were starting their third-string center, their third-string left guard, and their second-string right tackle.
But was it reasonable to expect the Eagles to be at least a little bit better than this? I’d say so. Dameon Pierce showed some juice in offseason practices and he’s had NFL success in the past; it’s not like he’s a total dud.
It also could’ve been a nice time to get Hurts more involved as a runner. Perhaps that much was off the table since Hurts was listed on Friday’s injury report with a calf (though he was a full participant in practice) and he was seen riding the stationary bike between drives on Sunday. But it’s not like Hurts has given the Eagles much with his legs in recent weeks. After logging 46 yards as a runner in Week 1, he’s averaged 15.3 yards per game since then.
THE EAGLES’ KICKOFF COVERAGE
I mean, even if you want to blame Sirianni (which is more than fair), the kickoff coverage unit still had to do better than they did in Week 5. They were fortunate that the game’s opening kickoff that was returned for a touchdown got called back. They allowed the setup for the Jags’ game-winning field goal.
(Side note: How the heck is Ameer Abdullah still in the NFL?)
JEREMIAH TROTTER JR.
Seems like ejecting Trot Jr. and Bryan Thomas Jr. (how do the Jags also have a Brian Thomas Jr.?) was harsh, it’s not like he was out there throwing punches:
Still, Trot Jr. owns some level of blame for putting himself in a position where the refs made this call. Not only his absence hurt the Eagles’ special teams unit, but he was also apparently supposed to play on defense:
He wasn’t available for his team when they could’ve used him out there.
JIHAAD CAMPBELL
Campbell has struggled and that much is reflected by the Eagles planning to have Trot Jr. eat into his playing time.
ANDREW MUKUBA
Mukuba bit hard on the Jags’ play-action on Jacksonville’s first touchdown, which allowed Parker Washington to go basically untouched 51 yards to the end zone. Costly mistake.
TEAM HEALTH
The Eagles entered this game with a bunch of key injuries and they got further banged up in London. Full list here.
I DON’T KNOWS
JALEN HURTS
I’m not interested in crushing Hurts for this loss.
I’m also not interested in letting him entirely off the hook because he Left The Field With The Lead.
As previously acknowledged, this was far from an ideal spot for Hurts. His supporting cast just wasn’t very good. He had to deal with a lot of quick pressure.
But things aren’t always going to be perfect for the quarterback. And while the offensive struggles weren’t his fault alone, he was the quarterback of an offense that managed to score just three points in the second half of this game.
Again, I don’t want to crush him, because he did some really good things in this game. As was the case over the first two weeks, he carried the offense at times by making crucial completions on third-and-long. Which, as we said back then, just isn’t a sustainable way to succeed in the NFL. But he made important throws, including when he led the Eagles into range for what seemed like it was going to be the game-winning field goal.
He also missed a big opportunity to hit Wicks for a wide open touchdown. It wasn’t an easy throw with an all out blitz bearing down on him. And perhaps Wicks, who isn’t the fastest receiver to begin with (nor helped by his hamstring injury), needed to do a better job of tracking that ball and laying out for it. Regardless of who’s to blame, the play was not made, and it’s not like the Eagles had a ton of margin for error given the state of their offense.
Hurts is not the only reason the Eagles’ offense is struggling. But the Eagles paid him a lot of money to be a big reason why the offense is succeeding and that’s not what’s happening right now. He’s played well at times but they need even more from him.
MAKAI LEMON
Lemon seems to be progressing in the right direction. He set new career highs in snaps played, targets, receptions, and receiving yards in this game. Good to see!
But with Cooper coming on and DeVonta Smith coming back sooner than later, it’ll be interesting to see how the receiver rotation shakes out. I don’t know what Lemon’s role looks like then.
Also, perhaps it’s too harsh to criticize a rookie for not staying in bounds like he failed to do on the Eagles’ final drive, but him going out and stopping the clock ended up being a costly error.
WILLIE LAMPKIN
There are things to be encouraged about from Lampkin’s first NFL start:
But I also think it’s fair to say he has room to improve and isn’t yet a slam dunk long-term option by any means.
Lampkin graded out as the Eagles’ second-worst player on offense by Pro Football Focus (only ahead of Markel Bell), allowing a team-high five pressures.
I still like Lampkin’s potential. I don’t know if moving to center might help him but that doesn’t seem to be on the table with the Eagles preferring Drew Kendall (when healthy) in that role.
JAKE ELLIOTT
Elliott made what should’ve been the game-winning field goal from 48 yards out. Clutch kick.
Including training camp practices (28/31), preseason games (7/7), and the 2026 regular season thus far (16/16), Elliott is 51/54 on all kicks dating back to the offseason. That’s encouraging.
However, his final kickoff (which 1) shouldn’t have been necessary and 2) should have just been kicked out of the end zone for a touchback but he was instructed to do otherwise) was not good! The trajectory allowed Ameer Abdullah to get a running start en route to a 53-yard return that set up the Jags’ walk-off field goal.
COOPER DEJEAN
This felt like one of DeJean’s better games this season. He finished second on the team in total tackles with 10, including two TFLs. He notched a team-high five defensive “stops,” which are tackles that constitute a failure for the offense. Felt like more good than bad from him.
On the downside, he was charted with five missed tackles. That’s a lot.
DAMEON PIERCE
Pierce had 11 carries go for 14 yards. Of course, it’s not like Will Shipley was much better before he got hurt. Shipley had five carries go for six yards. I did expect to see a little more out of Pierce since he offered some intrigue in offseason practices and the preseason. But perhaps the poor run blocking left him hopeless.
In any case, we could see more of Pierce in Week 6 with Shipley reportedly set to miss multiple games and Saquon Barkley’s availability currently unknown.
A weird thing from this game: Pierce saw five of the Eagles’ 37 targets (13.5%). They resulted in two catches for negative two yards!
In fairness to the coaching staff, I suppose they realized that the Jags entered this game allowing the second-most receiving yards to running backs this season.
But, like, I don’t know that you needed to make getting the ball to your fourth-string running back, who was on the practice squad prior to this week, a focus in this game.
