A week from hell: 5 takeaways from Eagles-Jaguars a day later

The Eagles have experienced a torturous week. Injuries, retirements, trades, questions, a flight across the Atlantic Ocean, and a gut-wrenching loss that should not have happened.

But maybe there were moral victories out of Sunday morning’s 19-17 loss in London to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Eagles were eight seconds away from a miraculously shorthanded win.

“I don’t even know what that means now,” a depleted Jordan Mailata said postgame. “I don’t even know. My brain hurts. This week has been a week from hell for me. I don’t even know the concept of a moral victory right now. I’m just trying to look internally to see how I contributed to this loss so I can correct it. We weren’t good enough. We know that.”

Mailata, the lone remaining starting member of the historic offensive line that helped Saquon Barkley rush for 2,000 yards and a Super Bowl two seasons ago, leadership and expertise are so needed at a time like this. The Eagles have lost three straight games. No one is totally sure how anyone can recover from something like this.

“Dude, I’m tired,” Mailata said. “I’m so tired.”

Here are my five takeaways a day after the loss:

1. Defense did enough to win

Why not start positive? The defense was excellent in London.

“Our defense played a hell of a game,” Jalen Hurts said postgame.

They allowed 408 net yards, but the Eagles kept the Jaguars out of the end zone on three red-zone possessions, held Jacksonville running backs to 3.2 yards per carry, pressured Trevor Lawrence fairly well throughout, got a monster two-sack performance from Jalen Carter, Quinyon Mitchell recorded his first regular-season interception, and held the Jags to two-for-10 on third down after halftime.

Definitely cannot put this on the defense.

“Our defense fought throughout the game,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Proud of the way they played [Sunday].”

The Jaguars drove down to the one-yard line just before halftime but did not score, thanks to Carter being disruptive, a pass break-up by Mitchell, and a big tackle for loss by Zack Baun, then settled for a field goal on a third-quarter drive to the 16, then failed to score in the fourth quarter after they had a first-and-goal on the six. The Eagles’ fans, who made Tottenham Hotspur Stadium feel louder than Lincoln Financial Field, also rattled the Jaguar offense.

Baun, returning to action after his concussion, had 11 tackles, two quarterback hits, and that tackle for loss. Carter was a monster, recording his third career two-sack game, forcing two fumbles that were both recovered by Jacksonville, three tackles for loss, a pass deflection, and five tackles. Cooper DeJean also had a big game, making 10 tackles and two for loss. Mitchell also had two more pass deflections along with his pick.

The Eagles’ defense was on the field for 35:02 and essentially allowed 16 points to a powerful offense.

The Chicago Bears loss was unsightly; the end of the Los Angeles Rams game was disheartening, but with the injuries and misfortune, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit has stood tall and was excellent on Sunday.

2. Lemon continues to grow

Another buoyant one: Makai Lemon looked good.

Every game, he is being utilized more properly and is starting to form into an NFL-level receiver. It was beginning to look dark for this year’s 20th overall pick, but he is starting to make plays.

Lemon had career highs with four catches for 36 yards Sunday, including a clutch 18-yard gain for a first down on a third-and-10 in the third quarter where he came for the ball and strengthened his way through a big hit.

Lemon is able to contribute when he does not get the ball with his blocking. He gets himself open and is strong for his smaller frame.

Another step in the right direction for the 22-year-old.

3. The second halves are becoming almost hard to believe

The Eagles have now gone 18 consecutive second-half drives without a touchdown. That goes back to the end of the Tennessee Titans game in Week 2 to Hurts’ game-winning touchdown pass to Darius Cooper.

Insane.

They finally scored in the second half with what we thought was a game-winning Jake Elliott field goal with eight seconds remaining, but the Eagles’ offensive struggles after halftime are just bonkers.

The Eagles are averaging 99.4 yards in the second half; they are 10-for-38 on third down. They have scored just 23 points, 20 of them in the first two weeks. They do not have a touchdown in the third quarter all season. They have not had 100 yards in a second half since Week 2. Their second-half point differential is -37.

They got 32 yards, a field goal, and two first downs in the final 30 minutes in London. In this three-game slide, the Eagles have totaled 38 yards, four first downs, and three points in the second half.

The Eagles are No. 32 in yards in the second half this season. The difference between them and the No. 31 team, the Minnesota Vikings, is greater than the difference between the No. 31 and the No. 12 team.

Jalen Hurts is 36-of-75, a 45.1% completion rate, with 363 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a 60.0 rating in the second half of games this year.

This has been the “top priority” for weeks. Well, it is turning into an almost year-long issue.

“I can’t give any promises on anything,” Hurts said about his concern level. “Honestly my words don’t really mean anything. It’s about what we go out there and do. For me, I’m trying my best to figure it out, and we just need to maintain that commitment to figuring it out because obviously we’re a few plays away from being 4-1 here, so got to grow.”

4. The run game was completely nonexistent

When you are without RB1 Barkley, RB2 Tank Bigsby, and your RB3, Will Shipley, suffered a partial tear of his plantar fascia late in the first quarter that could sideline him for multiple weeks, and the offensive line had two Week 1 starters playing, the run game is not going to succeed. But it was pretty inadequate on Sunday.

The Eagles rushed for only 22 yards on 18 attempts. That is 1.2 yards per carry. It is their lowest yards per carry since 2015 against the Dallas Cowboys, when they rushed for seven yards on 17 carries. These guys are in the NFL for a reason. That cannot happen.

Dameon Pierce led the team with 14 yards on 11 attempts, Shipley had six yards on five attempts, and Hurts, who continues to be severely underused in the run game, gained two yards on two attempts. Their longest run was a six-yard gain by Pierce.

Oh, and in the second half, they had eight carries for six yards.

Yes, Jacksonville has a very good run defense, but this is not winning football. This was pathetic.

Speaking of pathetic…

5. The reason he is here is that he wins. He lost this game.

Eight seconds left. Up a point. You are kicking off to a team that returned the opening kick-off for a touchdown, which ended up being called back.

Kick it into the endzone and trust your defense for eight seconds, obviously, right?

Not in Sirianni’s eyes.

“I’m not going to go too much into that,” Sirianni said about his thought process at the game’s end. “I don’t really want to get into exactly what that is. At the end of the day I didn’t make the right decision, and it cost us the game. There’s no other way around it. There’s nothing really else to say about that. It’s just I didn’t do my job good enough in that situation.”

Ameer Abdullah returned Elliott’s kick for 53 yards, was tackled with a second remaining, and the NFL’s strongest leg, Cam Little, drilled the game-winner from 57 yards, turned to the Eagles fans, and celebrated.

What a disaster.

“You feel like you let everyone down,” Sirianni said. “It’s just like you would feel if you missed a free throw at the end of the game or if you had a drop. I’ve been in both of those places. Those ones stick with you, and that will stick with me for a long time.”

The Eagles had an offensive drive with about three minutes remaining where they went three-and-out in a whimpering minute. They were able to get the ball back and scored the three points thanks to Elliott’s leg. Maybe they should have killed some more clock.

“It’s not my place, and we’re prepared,” Hurts said. “I’m prepared as a quarterback to not worry about those things. I’m honoring the play call, honoring the things that are coming in the game. When I’m up at night, yeah, I think, man, should have I said something or should I have took a step back and said, wait. But ultimately, there’s a commitment to that and going out there and executing. So this was one where it did not work in our favor.”

If the Eagles went out and won this game, it would have portrayed Sirianni’s best traits: being a leader of men and steering through adversity. His .678 winning rate and Super Bowl ring do not lie.

But what about when he is not winning? He does not call plays. He has nothing to do with the defense. Since the halfway point of his first season in 2021, he has always been good at his message, building a winning culture, and instilling belief.

How can he do that now? The Eagles had this game won until his decision overruled the result.

How do the Eagles bounce back from something like this? They are below .500 for the first time since 2021. It is going to have to come from their coach, who is known for winning.

But it raises the question: when the wins are not coming, what does he even do?

“I’m going to put my chest out, and I’m going to stick my head up, and I’m going to get better from it,” Sirianni said. “I’m going to own it and move forward.”

Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox: