RECAP: The One That Got Away — An October Game Meant for Halloween as Jaguars Beat Eagles, 19–17
The NFL continues to make waves on the global stage after an opening weekend in Sydney, Australia, with the 49ers–Rams game, and with scheduled games this season in Spain, France, Germany, Mexico, and Britain.
The Eagles played in London on Sunday for the first time since 2018—one year after winning Super Bowl LII with Britain native Jay Ajayi. Two years after winning another (Super Bowl LIX), they seem far away from that reality.
Sunday’s game was about the Eagles’ defense. Another early-game turnover on a failed fourth-down set up a 51-yard touchdown for Jacksonville’s Parker Washington. Then the Eagles’ defense locked down, including a tremendous stand near the goal line with 6:35 left in the fourth quarter — and forced 2 turnovers.
On offense, the Eagles looked in sync in the first half, with a 55-yard drive in the second quarter capped by a Will Shipley 3-yard touchdown—who then left with an ankle injury. Then , Hurts found Darius Cooper for a 62-yard touchdown connection in the second quarter.
With less than a minute remaining in the opening half, the Jaguars had a 1st and goal from just outside the one. At first — it looked like the Eagles recovered the football on a fumble by Chris Rodriguez, Jr. Then the Eagles turned the Jaguars back on the two final plays of the half. On the last play of that strange sequence, Jalyx Hunt was injured. During the game , the Eagles lost Tyler Steen, Will Shipley, and Quinyon Mitchell for portions of the game.
After the 4th-quarter stand with 6:35 left , Jacksonville responded with a touchdown with 3:20 left and took a 16–14 lead, but missed the PAT. That’s when the game got really interesting. The Jaguars had gone on a 53-yard drive and scored on an incredible one-handed 27-yard catch by Parker Washington with 3:20 remaining. Jalen Hurts then drove the Eagles 32 yards with only seconds remaining to set up what looked like a game-winning 48-yard field goal.
But instead of kicking the ball out of bounds , the Eagles allowed a 53-yard return on the kickoff by Ameer Abdullah, setting up a 57-yard field goal to win the game.
In the third quarter, the Eagles got a chance when Hurts overthrew a wide-open Dontayvion Wicks. The game also marks 18 straight offensive possessions in the second half without a touchdown.
And why the Eagles didn’t simply kick the ball out of the endzone is what we’ll be asking all week.
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