LONDON — In one of the most memorable and painful losses in regular season history for Nick Sirianni, the Eagles lost 19-17 after a last-second 57-yard field goal by Cam Little only eight seconds after it looked like Jake Elliott had hit a game-winner of his own. Stay tuned for much more, including the Postgame Show, on PHLY.
1. As has become typical, the Eagles offense failed to muster much of anything in the second half, going three-and-out on four of their first six possessions of the second half. After the Jaguars scored to take a 16-14 lead with just over three minutes remaining, the Eagles got the ball on their own 35. Dallas Goedert dropped a short pass on first down. Then, on second down, the Eagles blew another protection, as they have so often this season, leading to an 11-yard sack of Jalen Hurts. One feckless short completion to Goedert on third down forced them to punt the ball away. After one final defensive stand, they got the ball back again, this time on their own 38, with one timeout and 1:35 left.
Jalen Hurts, you sly dog. Completions to Tay Wicks on back-to-back plays picked up the initial first down following a Markel Bell false start. Then a 17-yarder over the middle to Goedert moved the Eagles into theoretical field goal range. After a close call on a throwaway near the sideline and short completion to Makai Lemon and a dumb shotgun handoff to Dameon Pierce was stuffed, Jake Elliott lined up for a 49-yard field goal to win the game. Ice.
Alas, the game will be remembered for the failed kickoff coverage that eventually led to the game-winning field goal. What a difference one second makes.
2. Coming into the game, the Eagles were without their top two running backs (Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby), their top wide receiver (DeVonta Smith), three of their top six offensive linemen (Landon Dickerson, Drew Kendall and the traded Cam Jurgens), their top defensive end (Jonathan Greenard) and their starting safety (Marcus Epps). During the game, they would lose another running back (Will Shipley), another offensive lineman (Tyler Steen), another safety (Michael Carter II) and, most crucially, another defensive end (Jalyx Hunt).
How do you nearly win a game with so many players injured?
Your remaining stars have to shine bright. Which is exactly what the Eagles’ trio of defensive stalwarts did. Jalen Carter played one of the most impactful halves of his career with two forced fumbles on sacks, another tackle for loss and general havoc-wreaking. Those three combined sacks and TFLs matched a career high.
At the second level, Zack Baun was a menace, helping to pressure Trevor Lawrence in the absence of Jalyx Hunt and flying downhill as a run defender, including his tackle on the final play of the first half. Behind him, Quinyon Mitchell reeled in his first career regular-season interception and had a handful of other key plays in tight coverage.
3. What a wild sequence to close the first half that began with Nick Sirianni taking a questionable timeout before the Jaguars converted a 4th and 1 from the 19-yard-line with just over one minute remaining in the second quarter.
Then things really went upside down just after Brenton Strange did, thanks to a body-flipping hit from Drew Mukuba at the 2-yard-line. On 1st and goal from the 2, Jalen Carter knifed into the backfield to slow Chris Rodriguez’s progress. As Rodriguez went to the ground, Moro Ojomo seemed to punch the ball out almost concurrent with the runner going down by contact. Nick Sirianni implored the officials to review the play, then called a timeout to double down on that insistence only to be brushed off. Then the league called in an official review, but the play stood.
On second down, with 11 seconds left and the Jaguars out of timeouts, Lawrence faced pressure and threw the ball against the uprights. On third down, with his long snapper injured, Liam Coen again neglected a field goal attempt as Lawrence threw to the corner for Brian Thomas, where Quinyon Mitchell broke up the pass and the clock wound to zero. Only, apparently it didn’t, as the referee announced there was one second remaining.
On the half-ending fourth down play, Lawrence motioned the backfield empty then handed off to a reversing Bhayshul Tuten, who was blown up by Zack Baun. It was a monumental goal-line stand, albeit a pyrrhic one given the injury suffered on the final play by Hunt.
4. It’s hard to overstate the degree to which this felt like an Eagles home game, only somehow stripped of the usual LINC angst thanks to some combination of low expectations and the joy of travel. The stadium was filled with loud Eagles fans, as was the city all weekend. It’s not a stretch to say they affected the game given their noise on the Jaguars’ fourth-quarter possession that ended on a fourth down in the red zone. There is nobody like them.
