Jaguars’ Miracle Comeback bid falls short of Doug Pederson’s Eagles Homecoming

The Jacksonville Jaguars knew what was at stake Week 9 tilt vs. the Philadelphia Eagles.

They also knew the facts surrounding the match. The Eagles were an emerging team that was finally on the right track, while the Jaguars entered the game with numerous injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

If the Jaguars are to accomplish the monumental task of shutting down a dominant Eagles team, the avoidable mistakes that have plagued the team all season must be limited.

Of course, that didn’t happen as the Jaguars went into halftime trailing 16-0 and with just 32 yards and one first down to their name.

This was all a taste of what was to come, with the Jaguars eventually going 28-23. It was a mix of everything that led to the Jaguars’ second straight loss, dropping them to 2-7. They struggled to run the ball, the receivers had multiple drops and the defense continued to struggle as a tackling unit.

One thing that cannot be taken away from the Jaguars is their commitment and fight. Despite costly mistakes from time to time, the Jaguars scratched and clawed until the final two minutes, when Jake Elliott missed a 57-yard field goal to give the Jaguars the ball back with 2:11 left and a 28-23 deficit.

A pass interference call and a 22-yard gain from activated practice squad receiver Austin Trammell put them at the Eagles’ 13-yard line, but the Jaguars fell apart on the final player when Trevor Lawrence was intercepted by Nakobe Dean.

The Jaguars quickly fell into a 7-0 hole due to a predictable and disastrous self-inflicted error, caused directly by the Jaguars’ injury problems at wide receiver. After the Jaguars forced an early punt on the Eagles’ first drive, Trammell fumbled the game’s opening kickoff on the team’s own 20-yard line.

The only reason Trammell The fact that he was in such an important position on the field was of course because the Jaguars lost Christian Kirk due to a collarbone injury. With incumbent returner Devin Duvernay also injured, the Jaguars would have had Parker Washington return.

Shortly after, the Eagles scored their first first quarter points all year with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley. Barkley wasn’t done there either, kicking an Eagles field goal and taking a 10-0 lead with one of the most athletic plays in recent memory.

Of course, Barkley didn’t stop terrorizing the Jaguars there. After a Trevor Lawrence pass was bobbled by Travis Etienne and intercepted by the Eagles, Barkley scored his second touchdown of the day with a 19-yard score on a rush in the 3rd and 17 red zone.

Jacksonville’s offense continued to struggle in the second half, as the Eagles scored their third rushing touchdown of the day with an 18-yard rushing touchdown from Hurts to go up 22-0 early in the third quarter.

The Jaguars didn’t record their second first down of the day until the 9:14 mark of the third quarter on a 16-yard run by Etienne that was quickly followed by an 18-yard gain from Lawrence to Trammell. After Lawrence converted 3rd-and-12 with a completion to Washington, the Jaguars found themselves on the Eagles’ 15-yard line.

Jacksonville finally hit paydirt for the first time on a quarterback sneak by Lawrence, capping a 61-yard drive in which the Jaguars got five first downs. Thanks to a two-point conversion by Brian Thomas Jr. the Jaguars cut the lead to 22-8.

On the Eagles’ next offense, a Barkley fumble was picked up by Travon Walker and the former No. 1 pick retrieved the ball 35 yards for his first career touchdown. After Lawrence connected with Evan Engram for the two-point conversion, the Eagles’ lead was cut to 22-16 within minutes.

The Jaguars got a big stop on the next drive by forcing a turnover on downs, but an incomplete pass to Washington on 3rd-and-3 forced a Jaguars punt and gave the Eagles new life.

The Eagles responded with two critical throws to DeVonta Smith, one of which came on 3rd and 6 and one of which resulted in a 46-yard gain, putting the Eagles in field goal territory. Smith then caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 28-16.

Jacksonville fought back on the next drive, with Lawrence overcoming a third-down sack and Brian Thomas Jr. hit on a 4th-and-13 to keep the drive alive. After a big completion to Engram on the next play, Lawrence recorded his second rushing touchdown of the day to make it 28-23 with 4:04 remaining.

The 2-7 Jaguars will host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10.

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