Eagles ultimately avoid blowing big lead to beat Jaguars, 28 to 23

The Philadelphia Eagles are 6-2 after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday! Final score: 28 to 23.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the Eagles made this one harder than it had to be.

A 22 to 0 lead with 9:25 left in the third quarter should’ve felt better than it did with the offense leaving points on the field due in part to more questionable decision-making by Nick Sirianni.

The Jags got back into the game with the combination of a 10-play, 61-yard touchdown drive that was immediately followed by a Saquon Barkley fumble recovered for another score. Of course, that Barkley fumble seemed to be an awful ruling since it looked like he was tripped up by a Jaguars defender before his arm hit the ground and the ball bounced out.

Give the Eagles offense, heavily powered by Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith, for coming up with another touchdown that gave the Eagles a 12-point lead. But Fangio’s defense allowed a Jags answer. And then the offense was unable to close the game out, instead only setting up a Jake Elliott 57-yard field goal that was missed.

Fangio’s defense allowed the Jags to get 13 yards away from the go-ahead score before Nakobe Dean came up with a huge interception to seal the deal. Exhale.

Next up for the Eagles? The NFL trade deadline is at 4:00 PM Eastern on Tuesday, November 5. We’ll see if the Eagles make a move or not prior to then.

All focus then shifts to Dallas Week. The Eagles will be headed to AT&T Stadium to take on a Cowboys team that’s lost three straight to fall to 3-5. The Eagles can really put a nail in their rival’s coffin with a win next weekend. And the Cowboys might be without Dak Prescott and/or CeeDee Lamb after they both got banged up in Week 9.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Jags won the coin toss and elected to defer, putting the Eagles up on offense first. Ben VanSumeren immediately reported as eligible, officially logging a start at fullback. Jalen Hurts overthrew a leaping A.J. Brown over the middle on the first play from scrimmage. Saquon Barkley’s first touch went for five yards up the middle. Facing 3rd-and-5, Hurts hit Grant Calcaterra at the marker for the game’s first first down. Facing 3rd-and-2, a Kenny Gainwell run picked up just one yard. Facing 4th-and-1, the Eagles lined up for a Brotherly Shove … and DeVonta Smith motioned out to the slot … but Jack Stoll moved early for a false start. A Braden Mann punt resulted in Sydney Brown forcing a fumble on the Jags’ returner for a Kelee Ringo recovery! The Eagles took over at the plus 20-yard line. A Hurts throw to … BVS … resulted in no gain. Then Hurts uncorked one to Barkley on the wheel route and the running back made the over-the-shoulder grab for the score! Great throw, great catch. EAGLES 7, JAGUARS 0.

• Zack Baun had a pretty nice pass breakup for a linebacker dropping into coverage against a wide receiver. Then he made a tackle for a short Jags gain. Dude is just everywhere. Facing 3rd-and-7, Trevor Lawrence was able to hit Parker Washington beyond the marker for a first down with Quinyon Mitchell allowing the catch. Facing 3rd-and-4, Josh Sweat got to Lawrence for an 8-yard sack. Milton Williams also had good pressure up the middle to force Lawrence to drop his eyes.

• The Eagles took over at their own 11-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-12 after Hurts tried to take off running but got sacked, Barkley committed a false start. Facing 3rd-and-16, Hurts completed a pass to Calcaterra short of the sticks. Zero yards gained, three-and-out. Will Shipley made a nice tackle on punt coverage.

• The Jags took over at their own 41-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-5 after Nakobe Dean helped to break up a pass, Lawrence’s third down throw was dropped. Three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 7-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-3 after two Barkley runs, Hurts found A.J. Brown — who had been motioning pre-snap against Tyson Campbell — for a first down. Barkley bowled over a Jags defender for another first down, this one into Jags territory. A Hurts run out of bounds brought up the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

• Facing 3rd-and-6 after Barkley got stopped for a loss, Hurts hit Barkley in the flat … and the running back forced not one, not two, but THREE missed tackles — including one where he jumped over a guy … BACKWARDS. Lmao, never seen that one before, that’s insane! Facing 3rd-and-7, Hurts stepped up and broke through multiple tackles to get beyond the marker for another first down into the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts held the ball for a long time and took a 9-yard sack after running backwards. Jake Elliott was still able to make the 43-yard field goal. EAGLES 10, JAGUARS 0.

• Facing 4th-and-1 from their own 39-yard line, Doug Pederson kept the offense on the field … and the Jags ran a fake sneak that was instead a Lawrence pass attempt incomplete meant for Evan Engram. Good coverage by Cooper DeJean to bring up the stop. Back-to-back weeks with DeJean making big plays on fourth down! Impressive stuff by the rookie defender.
• The Eagles took over at the plus 39-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts completed a pass short of the sticks to Calcaterra. He had Barkley open earlier but didn’t see him. Facing 4th-and-3, Nick Sirianni correctly decided to go for it … and Hurts’ fourth down pass to Brown was broken up. A better ball from a clean pocket there is at least a first down and probably a touchdown. Hurts should’ve thrown it earlier.

• The Jags took over at their own 22-yard line. Facing 3rd-and-6, pressure forced Lawrence to throw on the move and DeJean had good coverage to help break up a would-be first down completion.

• The Eagles took over at their own 24-yard line. Cam Jurgens got called for holding to wipe out a positive Barkley run. Then Mekhi Becton allowed a TFL. Hurts ripped a good throw to Brown over the middle in traffic to set up a manageable third down. Facing 3rd-and-6 after the two-minute warning, Hurts failed to get the ball out early and took another drive-ending sack.
• Baun made a diving interception on a Jags tipped ball for another Eagles takeaway! What a beast.

• The Eagles took over at the plus 42-yard line with 1:38 on the clock and three timeouts to work with. They quickly moved into the red zone. Facing 3rd-and-8 from the 10-yard line, Hurts hit Johnny Wilson but the rookie receiver got called for pass interference on a push off to knock the offense back. No matter, however, with Barkley ripping off a 19-yard rushing touchdown on 3rd-and-17! Not exactly a great look for the Jags’ defense there. Sirianni had the offense line up for two … but it seemed obvious that it was an attempt to draw the Jags offside … and, sure enough, it was. Sirianni took a timeout and sent out the kicking team for the XP. The Jags were called offside, however, and Sirianni sent the offense back on the field for a two-point try. The normally unstoppable Brotherly Shove was … stopped. Wow. Still a two-possession game. Usually like going for two from the 1-yard line but kicking the extra point to almost definitely go up three possessions feels like the play in that case. EAGLES 16, JAGUARS 0.

• The Jags took a knee to run out the first half.

THIRD QUARTER

• The Jags took over at their own 17-yard after a holding penalty on the kickoff. Facing 3rd-and-5 after a good tackle for no gain by Reed Blankenship, Lawrence got pressured into a scrambling incompletion by Jalen Carter and Josh Sweat. Another three-and-out forced by Vic Fangio’s defense.
• The Eagles took over at their own 22-yard line. A false start by Mekhi Becton knocked the Eagles back but Barkley gained 13 yards. Hurts picked up a first down with a short run. Hurts aired it out deep to Jahan Dotson (!!!), who somehow made a circus catch for a 36-yard gain into Jags territory. Dotson only entered this game with 35 yards all season! Hurts took a designed run with Fred Johnson lead blocking for 18 yards into the end zone! The Jags got flagged for unnecessary roughness, setting the Eagles up for another two-point try from the 1-yard line. The Brotherly Shove was stopped again. Still a good 7-play, 78-yard touchdown drive to take 3:56 off the clock and go up three scores. EAGLES 22, JAGUARS 0.

• The Jags took over at their own 39-yard after a 41-yard return by Tank Bigsby. Etienne broke off a run into Eagles territory. Facing 3rd-and-12 from the plus 27-yard line, Lawrence completed a pass right at the marker for a first down. The Jags then got into the end zone with a run but the refs determined that Sirianni got his challenge flag out before the snap. Sirianni challenged the catch … but the ruling was upheld. Lawrence hit Engram to give the Jags 1st-and-goal at the 1-yard line. The Jags ran the ball once for no gain before sneaking it in on the next try. Doug Pederson had the Jags for two and a trailing C.J. Gardner-Johnson gave up the catch to Brian Thomas Jr. in the end zone. Still very much a game with 20:26 of clock remaining. EAGLES 22, JAGUARS 8.
• Barkley took a carry and tripped after running into the offensive line and fumbled for a Jags recovery that Travon Walker took to the end zone. The play was under review … and the ruling was confirmed with Barkley being deemed not tackled despite a Jags defender clearly tripping him?! The Jags went for two and got it. And just like that, a six-point game. Disastrous sequence made possible in part by some unconscionably bad officiating! EAGLES 22, JAGUARS 16.

• Hurts threw too high of DeVonta and got picked off by Cisco. Upon review, the ball clearly hit the ground before it was picked and the Eagles retained possession. Facing 3rd-and-9, Hurts took off running into wide open space for a 21-yard gain just past midfield. Two Barkley runs resulted in another first down. Facing 3rd-and-2 after a missed throw by Hurts, Barkley’s run was ruled short of the marker. Facing 4th-and-inches, the Eagles kept the offense on the field instead of kicking the field goal to take a two-possession lead … and went away from the Brotherly Shove to instead run a play-action play with no one open and Hurts running around and throwing the ball away. Bad.

• The Jags took over at their own 25-yard line.

FOURTH QUARTER

• Facing 3rd-and-1 at their own 34-yard line, Lawrence’s third down pass was complete for a first down. Facing 3rd-and-3, Lawrence’s pass was high and incomplete with CJGJ in coverage underneath. Pederson helped the Eagles by deciding to punt on fourth down from the plus 49-yard line.
• The Eagles took over at their own 9-yard line. Barkley got tripped up from behind on what looked like it might’ve been a house call. Facing 3rd-and-6, Hurts hit DeVonta on a slant with a tight window throw for a first down. Good ball. Next play, Hurts took a play-action drop back and uncorked one to DeVonta for a 46-yard gain into the red zone! Much-needed big play. The Eagles got knocked out of the red zone with Hurts taking a designed run for a loss and Fred Johnson getting called for holding. For some reason, the Eagles decided it was a great time to get a designed screen touch for Ainias Smith on 2nd-and-22. Why? Facing 3rd-and-22, Hurts threw to DeVonta in the end zone … and the receiver made an awesome one-handed catch for the touchdown! WOW. How did he stay in?! The Eagles went for another two-point conversion to go up 14 … but were stifled for a third time. EAGLES 28, JAGUARS 16.

• The Eagles instantly allowed an 18-yard catch that was almost more before an expedited review ruled the Jags receiver’s knee down before he got up running for more. The Eagles missed a chance to tackle Etienne for a loss to instead allow a first down run. Facing 3rd-and-5 at the plus 37-yard line, Sweat got to Lawrence for a crucial sack. Facing 4th-and-12, Lawrence’s pass to Brian Thomas Jr. was caught beyond the marker with Isaiah Rodgers allowing the catch in front of him. So … much … cushion. Then Lawrence made a real nice throw over a leaping Baun to give the Jags goal-to-go from the 4-yard line. Then Lawrence ran into the end zone to make it a one-score game with 4:04 left. . EAGLES 28, JAGUARS 23.
• The Eagles took over at their own 32-yard line with 3:57 left in the game. Barkley ran for eight yards. Barkley ran again for 15 yards. Barkley ran for two yards and the Jags took their first timeout at 2:23. Lane Johnson got called for a false start to knock the Eagles back to 2nd-and-13. Barkley ran for nine yards (and slid to stay in-bounds when it looked like he could’ve had a chance at the first down) and the Jags took their second timeout at 2:19. Facing 3rd-and-4 at the plus 39-yard line, Barkley ran for no gain and the Jags took their final timeout at 2:16. Jake Elliott’s 57-yard field goal was … no good, off the right upright. Rare of No. 4 to miss a clutch kick like that.
• The Jags took over at their own 47-yard line with 2:11 on the clock and zero timeouts. Rodgers deflected a pass that he was nearly able to pick off. Fangio sent a blitz that rattled Lawrence and helped force an off-target throw. Facing 3rd-and-10 right after the two-minute warning, Lawrence’s pass was incomplete but a very late flag came out for DPI on Avonte Maddox (why was he in the game?!). Then Lawrence completed a pass to the plus 13-yard line. Lawrence threw a fade ball into the end zone … that got picked by Nakobe Dean! WOW. BALLGAME.

• The Eagles ran victory formation to officially seal the deal!

FINAL SCORE: EAGLES 28, JAGUARS 23.

EAGLES LINEUP NOTES

• Ben VanSumeren officially logged a start at fullback.
• Nolan Smith started at defensive end even with the Eagles opening in nickel defense, where Bryce Huff usually is ahead of Smith.
• Huff didn’t log his first defensive snap until 3:40 remaining in the second quarter.

EAGLES INJURY NEWS

• Jalen Hurts was a bit slow to get up after a sack midway through the second quarter. He was not evaluated in the medical tent and returned upon his next opportunity.
• A.J. Brown was down after taking a bit hit late in the second quarter. He remained in the game. Brown went to the tunnel during the Jags’ first drive of the third quarter.
• Ben VanSumeren (concussion) walked to the locker room with trainers late in the second quarter. He was originally ruled questionable before being downgraded to out.
• Fred Johnson took a low hit from Andre Cisco (which was flagged) and was down on the ground for a bit after the Eagles’ third touchdown. Jack Driscoll entered at left tackle. Johnson was evaluated in the medical tent and re-entered on the next drive.