Eagles vs. Jaguars: 13 winners, 2 losers, 5 IDKs

The Philadelphia Eagles are 6-2 after beating the Jacksonville Jaguars!

Weird one.

The Eagles had a 22-point lead … that quickly got cut to six points with just 14 seconds coming off the clock.

A game where the Eagles …

• outgained their opponent by 232 yards
• possessed the ball for nearly 16.5 minutes longer
• finished +2 in turnover differential

… somehow came down to the wire with the Jags 13 yards away from scoring what feasibly could’ve been the game-winning touchdown.

Much to discuss from a game that was jam-packed with incredible highlight reel plays.

Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.

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WINNERS

KELLY GREEN

The Eagles are 3-0 in their Kelly Green uniforms since bringing them back as alternates last year. They would never lose a game if they made them their full-time look.

NAKOBE DEAN

Hard not to be happy for Dean. His road to this point hasn’t been easy. It was a red-shirt rookie season in 2022 before foot injuries limited him to just five games played in 2023. He was not guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup this season but he earned it after overcoming an uneven start to training camp. Dean has had his ups and downs this season but it seems like he’s really playing his best football recently.

Against the Jags, Dean helped to create an interception for Zack Baun before logging his own to prevent an epic Eagles collapse. What’s especially cool for Dean is that his pick was a result of growth:

We’ve written a lot about how Dean is at his best operating downhill but is less reliable dropping into coverage. That reputation hardly seems unfair considering his 100.5 passer rating allowed when targeted prior to Week 9.

But Dean clearly isn’t a total lost cause as a pass defender. The 23-year-old is proving to be a good, young linebacker capable of making big plays. His development has been a boon for the defense.

ZACK BAUN

The Eagles having not one but TWO good linebackers?! Is … is this allowed?

Baun was an absolute beast in this game from the jump. He was simply everywhere.

Baun filled up the stat sheet with a team-high 10 total tackles (team-high seven solo), one TFL, two passes defensed, and an impressive diving interception that set up the Eagles’ second touchdown drive.

BGN’s own Jonny Page has been beating the drum for Howie Roseman to sign Baun to an extension. What are the Eagles waiting for at this point? Baun’s been awesome.

Perhaps it’s Baun who isn’t in a rush but there has to be an attainable deal that makes sense for both sides.

SAQUON BARKLEY

Is it hyperbolic to say this is one of the most insane athletic feats that’s ever taken place on a football field?

I mean, REVERSE HURDLING someone alone is just so nuts!

Add in the context that he first made two defenders miss to get to that point to turn a 3rd-and-6 checkdown into a 14-yard gain.

Plenty of other players are not getting a first down here:

Or even here:

But Saquon is not plenty of other players.

He is special.

Barkley finished the game with 27 carries for 159 yards (5.9) and one touchdown that oddly enough came on a 3rd-and-17 coward’s draw. He also caught three of his four targets for 40 yards and a touchdown on the wheel route (undefeated). Nice of the Eagles to remember that Barkley can be a downfield weapon in the passing attack.

Barkley’s 199 yards from scrimmage is the third-highest single-game output of his career. He’s up to 1,071 yards from scrimmage in eight games. That puts him on pace for 2,276, which would be the 13th-most ever.

The weird undercurrent to Barkley’s sensational season is that he continues to be involved in costly plays. We’ll touch on his fumble more later on (spoiler alert: the refs are very much LOSERS). Even putting that aside, he slid down short of the sticks late in the game when he had a chance to pick up a crucial first down.

The positive has way outweighed the bad. But the bad has not been insignificant! And it would be nice if that stops being a thing.

DEVONTA SMITH

Smitty really stepped up with A.J. Brown going out. He caught four of his six targets for a season-high 87 yards (21.8 average) and one touchdown.

That one-handed grab was sensational. Watching the play from the press box, it looked like Hurts put a bit too much on the throw to allow his receiver to have a chance at it. But impossible is nothing for Smitty:

The catch itself is incredible regardless of context. Add in that it was 3rd-and-22 and this grab gave the Eagles a 12-point lead with 7:43 left in the game … it’s even better.

Really, really good player.

JALEN HURTS

Hurts’ final numbers: 18/24 (75% completion), 230 yards (9.6 average), 2 TD, 0 INT, 132.3 passer rating … 13 carries, 67 rushing yards, 1 TD.

Though he was a net positive, there were some ups and downs for Hurts in this game.

The good:

• Made some great deep ball throws
• Made some challenging tight window throws over the middle
• Effective as a runner both on scrambles and designed carries
• Clutch: played a big role in the eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive
• Did not turn the ball over yet again

The bad:

• Left at least a fourth down conversion and perhaps even a touchdown on the field when he got the ball out late to a crossing A.J. Brown, who had a step, for a Jags deflection that resulted in a turnover on downs
• Seemed to hold the ball a little too long, which played a role in three sacks taken
• Had a dangerous pass that was originally ruled a pick before review showed the ball hit the ground early

Considering the Jags were allowing the highest average passer rating in the NFL entering this game, the expectation was for Hurts to have a good day through the air. He did more to help the Eagles win than to lose.

JAHAN DOTSON

Dotson entered this game with just 35 yards over seven games played. His sole target in this one resulted in a circus catch for 36! Not an easy play to make.

Maybe throw to him more often than never?

COOPER DEJEAN

There were some “Coooooooooooooooop” chants at the Linc on Sunday. The rookie slot cornerback earned those with two key passes defensed. One was for a third down stop and another resulted in a turnover on downs. That’s back-to-back weeks with DeJean involved in a fourth down stop. He’s only a rookie who started playing a significant role less than a month ago!

SYDNEY BROWN

Brown really changed the feel of the game.

It was yet another slow start by the offense, going just 14 yards in six plays and punting the ball.

But Brown’s forced fumble — which was recovered by Kelee Ringo — allowed the offense to take over in the red zone. Two plays later, the Eagles were in the end zone to score their first quarter points since December 31, 2023.

Shining on special teams only strengthens Brown’s case to get more playing time on defense.

JOSH SWEAT

The Eagles’ defense had two sacks and three quarterback hits in this game. Sweat accounted for all of them. He also had two of the Eagles’ three TFLs. The Jags trading their starting left tackle before this game undoubtedly helped him but, hey, he took advantage of the situation.

Sweat is up to five sacks, five TFLs, and seven quarterback hits over his last five games. That’s pretty good production.

KELLEN MOORE

The Eagles gained 447 yards, their second-highest output this season behind the 460 they had in Week 3 (in a game where they only scored 15 points, lol). The offense wasn’t far off from tying their season-high in points (37) they set last week had Nick Sirianni’s decision-making not taken nine points off the board (more on that later).

The use of play-action on Hurts’ 46-yard completion to DeVonta felt especially refreshing to see.

VIC FANGIO

The Eagles’ defense was dominant in the first half, allowing the Jags to gain just 31 yards on 18 plays.

Doug Pederson and Press Taylor had more success after halftime, which isn’t totally shocking since the Jags have been more of a second half team this season.

Fangio’s unit pulled their weight by surrendering just two touchdowns and coming up with three takeaways, including Dean’s game-sealing pick.

The Eagles have only allowed four touchdowns over their last four games. And they’ve made the opposition work hard for those scores. The amount of plays on those scoring drives: 17, 13, 10, and 9.

DOUG PEDERSON

Doug’s always a winner in my book. The first and only head coach to win a Super Bowl with the Eagles.

And he gave his former team a nice gift in this game! That is, by punting from 4th-and-3 at the plus 49-yard line while down six points early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles took advantage by retaking a two-possession lead with their eight-play, 91-yard touchdown drive that put them up 12 points.

#ThankYouDoug

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LOSERS

THE REFS

The Barkley fumble was bogus.

The play:

The postgame explanation with pool reporter Zach Berman interviewing vice president of instant replay Mark Butterworth:

Q: Why did you determine that the on-field ruling of a fumble was in fact a fumble (1st-and-10 at the Philadelphia 30, 5:26 remaining in the third quarter)?

A: “On that play, the running back was touched by a defensive player, number 51, and then he did have contact with number 69 on the offense. It was deemed a stumble on the field, so because it was a stumble, when he went down, he would not be down by contact and therefore it was a fumble.”

Q: So, what would have qualified as down by contact when number 51 touched him there?

A: “If no other player hit him and they ruled it not a stumble, and he went down after contact by number 51 of the defense with no other contact and he went immediately down, then he would be down by contact.”

Wait.

What?

First of all, the word “stumble” (or any variants) simply does not appear in the 2024 NFL rulebook, which you can view yourself. Where is that language even coming from?

And there’s an admission that Barkley is first touched by the Jags defender … but that contact is negated since Barkley then bumps into Landon Dickerson? But how is it determined that the defender’s contact didn’t cause Barkley to trip into Dickerson? And since when does contacting your own teammate negate a defender’s initial contact? You’re really telling me Barkley could’ve gotten up and started running after falling like that had he not fumbled?!

Also, how the heck was the ruling “confirmed” on this play? The review determined it was conclusively a fumble? Though still bogus, it would’ve been easier to understand if they said the ruling “stands” on the field with inconclusive evidence to overturn it.

Here’s the reality: Barkley was contacted by a defender and it contributed to him going down. He should’ve been down by contact. This was botched. And it almost cost the Eagles big-time.

AVONTE MADDOX

Maddox got flagged for defensive pass interference on a 3rd-and-10 that allowed the Jags to move 18 yards to the plus 35-yard line on their final drive.

Whenever Maddox is on the field, teams have not been shy to go after him. The Eagles really shouldn’t be playing him unless injuries force their hand.

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I DON’T KNOWS

NICK SIRIANNI

I wrote this last week:

Over the past two weeks, Sirianni has managed to STAY OUT OF THE WAY. And that’s huge!

Don’t be the story. Don’t make the team worse.

It’s a low bar to clear, for sure. And ideally you’d like the head coach to give the team an edge. But, at the very least, don’t mess things up.

Sirianni did not manage to stay out of the way in this one. His game management continues to be a talking point.

Let’s look back at the decisions in question:

• Score: Eagles 10, Jaguars 0. 4th-and-3 at the plus 22-yard line. Sirianni decided to go for it and I think that was the right call. Try to go up three possessions with a touchdown, settling for a field goal doesn’t do a whole lot. Hurts should’ve had Brown for at least a first down, if not more, with a throw from a clean pocket that doesn’t get out so late.
• Score: Eagles 16, Jaguars 0. Two-point try from the 1-yard line after the Jags were offside on Jake Elliott’s extra point kick. Normally, I’m a fan of going for two from the 1-yard line. In this instance, however, the kick is a pretty good bet to get you a three-possession lead. There’s a big difference between being up 16 and being up 17. Is there a huge difference between being up 17 or 18? I’m interested to see what the analytic models say but securing the three-possession lead seems optimal to me. Instead, the Eagles went Brotherly Shove and were ruled short (even though it looked like Hurts may have gotten over the line).
• Score: Eagles 22, Jaguars 0. Two-point try from the 1-yard line after an unnecessary roughness penalty on Barkley’s touchdown run. Sirianni was right to go for it here as he aimed to make the Jags score three touchdowns and three two-point conversions just to tie the game. The Brotherly Shove got stopped again, though.
• Score: Eagles 22, Jaguars 16. 4th-and-inches at the plus 25-yard line. Sirianni made the right call to go for it. However, the play needs to be the Brotherly Shove, not whatever nonsense the Eagles tried to run that had Hurts cutting the field in half instead. Getting stopped twice on the Brotherly Shove earlier shouldn’t have caused the Eagles to totally abandon it. And if the Eagles stopped trusting it, well, then they should’ve tried a field goal for a two-possession lead.
• Score: Eagles 28, Jaguars 16. Two-point try from the 2-yard line. Not a big difference between being up 13 or 12. But there is a big difference being up 14. Obvious call to go for it … but it didn’t work out.
• Score: Eagles 28: Jaguars 23. 4th-and-4 from the plus 39-yard line. This is a tougher one. A little far to definitely go for it. Too short to punt. And a 57-yard field goal attempt isn’t a guarantee, as evidenced by Jake Elliott’s miss. Though it’s rare for him to miss such a clutch kick. But if your identity is be aggressive, you probably want to give your offense a chance to end the game.

So, I don’t think Sirianni botched things quite as badly as many others do; it wasn’t all bad. But there were still too many mistakes here. Considering his limited role, he should be acing his game management decisions … and he hasn’t been doing that this season.

As a result, it feels like there are too many times when the team has to win in spite of their coach. That’s something they can do against inferior opponents in the regular season. But it’s not going to fly when the margin for error shrinks.

Going back to abandoning the Brotherly Shove, the following admission …

… makes me think of what I said after the Eagles’ Week 2 loss:

Nick Sirianni’s inconsistent approach is hard to understand. […] Seems haphazard and lacking conviction. If you’re gonna be aggressive, let that be your identity you live and die by. No half measures.

His decision-making process seems over-reliant on anecdotal evidence and doesn’t inspire confidence.

I don’t know if Sirianni can be trusted to be a non-issue.

A.J. BROWN

Brown left the game with a knee injury and did not return. Sirianni had no update on him.

The Eagles really need him to be healthy.

4.5 games with A.J. Brown this season: 30 points per game

3.5 games without A.J. Brown this season: 18.3 points per game

The Eagles can beat a struggling Cowboys team that might be missing Dak Prescott and/or CeeDee Lamb without Brown. I don’t know if they can beat the Washington Commanders without him, though.

BRYCE HUFF

Huff’s first snap didn’t come until late in the second quarter. He played just six snaps total.

After the game, Sirianni was asked if he’s healthy. The answer:

“Bryce came off the field after warm-ups. Again, I won’t talk too much about injury, but his hand was bothering him, and he was getting treatment in the locker room after warmups. So, we were trying to protect him there.”

Hm.

This injury coincides with Huff’s snap count percentage steadily dropping from Week 6 (54%) to Week 7 (47%) to Week 8 (38%).

Fangio clearly has not loved playing Huff. Is it possible the Eagles could move him before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline? I don’t think it’s likely. But I don’t know that we have the full story here.

C.J. GARDNER-JOHNSON

It seemed like CJGJ was involved in giving up some big plays, which has been too common this season. He definitely got beat on one of the Jags’ two-point conversions.

It’s hard to imagine CJGJ losing playing time since 1) the Eagles paid him a decent amount of money and 2) I don’t know how that would be received.

But is there a point where it makes sense to get more Sydney Brown more involved? And could it be at CJGJ’s expense?

AINIAS SMITH

This is less about Smith’s performance and more about the bizarre desire to shoehorn the rookie wideout into the offense. Getting him a designed touch on 2nd-and-22 was quite the choice. I don’t know that the Eagles really need to force feed him.