The Philadelphia Eagles suffered a disappointing 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday in London, dropping their third straight game in a dramatic finish at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Philadelphia, missing Saquon Barkley and DeVonta Smith while dealing with a patchwork offensive line, built a 14-7 halftime lead on a Will Shipley two-yard touchdown run and a 62-yard catch-and-run score from Jalen Hurts to Darius Cooper.
The offense then stalled completely after the break, managing just three second-half points, while rushing for a dismal 2 yards on 18 carries and finishing with 232 total yards against Jacksonville’s 408-yard output.
Trevor Lawrence threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns (both to Parker Washington), including a 27-yard fourth-down score that put the Jaguars ahead 16-14 late in the game. Cam Little missed the ensuing extra point, thanks to a backup long snapper, allowing Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining to give the Eagles a 17-16 lead.
However, Ameer Abdullah returned the kickoff 53 yards to the Philadelphia 38-yard line, setting up Little’s game-winning 57-yard field goal as time expired. Nick Sirianni took the accountability afterward, saying he “lost us that game."
The Bulls
The Game-Wrecker: Jalen Carter set the tone with a first half for the ages against a pedestrian Jacksonville interior offensive line. The gifted Eagles' defensive tackle has two sacks, two forced fumbles, three tackles for loss, five pressures, and three run stops.
That's an NFC Defensive Player of the Month performance in 30 minutes of football and a signal that the Jaguars were in for a fight despite the game being dubbed an early Super Bowl contender vs. an injury-depleted mess.
Third-down life: The Eagles entered the contest having failed on their last 17 third-down attempts, dating back to Week 3 vs. Chicago. On Sunday in London, they converted their first third-down when Jalen Hurts found Dallas Goedert for a 5-yard gain on a third-and-three play.
Goedert missed the past two games with an MCL injury, and his presence was comforting for Hurts, who trusts the veteran tight end. Overall, Philadelphia finished 6-for-15 on third down. They also started 4-for-6 before finishing 2-for-9, so it's not all peaches and cream, but an incremental improvement.
Young o-linemen: The thought of center Jake Majors and left guard Willie Lampkin making their first NFL starts, and right tackle Markel Bell making his second start, was projected as too much to overcome.
However, all three took their opportunities and battled. It wasn't always pretty, but the trio played well enough for the Eagles' offense to operate in a similar fashion to what it usually does. The play was good enough to win, as evidenced by holding the lead with eight seconds remaining.
The Bears
Missed Opportunity: After playing well in Week 4 as a replacement for All-Pro Zack Baun, who could not get through the concussion protocol, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was set to start again. With Baun back, Trotter was going to start for the struggling Jihaad Campbell, who missed some practice time with a knee issue.
However, Trotter was tossed from the game on the opening kickoff, as he and linebacker Bryan Thomas Jr. were ejected for scuffling. It was way too heavy-handed by the officials, but Trotter can't put himself in that position. Campbell ended up playing the whole game next to Baun, indicating that his potential benching wasn't fully injury-related.
.500: The Eagles fell to 2-3 with Sunday's loss, making it the first time since 2021 that the franchise has been underwater during the regular season. Philadelphia isn't used to being in this position, which will make Howie Roseman's approach at the trade deadline even more interesting.
More injuries: You can add to the Eagles' injury list with two more notable contributors: Will Shipley and edge defender Jalyx Hunt.
Shipley, who was starting because Barkley and Tank Bigsby were both out, left with a foot injury in the second quarter and didn't return.
Hunt went down on the last play of the first half with what was described as an ankle and knee issue. After the game, he was seen by reporters in a walking boot, and the early concern is a high ankle sprain and an MCL issue, according to an NFL source. If that's the case, Hunt will be out for multiple weeks.
Kickoff coverage/end of game management: The kickoff coverage looked leaky from the opening kick, which was taken to the house by the Jaguars and wiped out by multiple penalties.
With eight seconds remaining after Elliott kicked a 48-yard field goal to seemingly steal the game, Philly kicked it to Ameer Abdullah, instead of playing it safe with a touchback. He returned it 53 yards and gave Little an opportunity from 57. Even with a backup long snapper who was wild high all day, the strong-legged Little was true.
It's also fair to highlight the two plays before Elliott's FG: an incompletion and a completion to Makai Lemon, where the rookie receiver went out of bounds. The Eagles' failure to force the Jags to use their final timeout there enabled them to use it to secure the eight seconds Abdullah and Little needed to play the heroes.
Stagnant Stocks
The travel narrative: The Eagles left South Philadelphia late Friday at 10:45 p.m. ET. The idea was to get to London, which is about a seven-hour flight and five hours ahead of the East Coast, in the middle of the day, power through Saturday, and keep the body clocks as normal as possible.
The plan was developed with the understanding that the Eagles have to come back next week and host Carolina on Sunday, so it was essentially a two-week plan. None of it impacted the game, despite many trying to shoehorn it as a potential issue before kickoff.
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