September 29, 2022
The Eagles demolished Carson Wentz and the Commanders in part 1 of reunion row.
Up next is former Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson and the Jaguars when they visit the Linc on Sunday.
Jacksonville is 2-1 and after shutting out the Colts then pummeling the Chargers, has taken the league by a bit of a surprise.
The Eagles though have been dominating much of the NFL conversation lately with a 3-0 start and dominant play from the likes of DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown, Darius Slay, and Jalen Hurts.
Will the Eagles keep rolling against the Jags?
Here's what our writers think...
TV: CBS (Spero Dedes, Jay Feely)
RADIO: 94.1 WIP (Merrill Reese and Mike Quick)
| Book | Spread | Money Line | Total (O/U) |
| DraftKings | PHI -6.5 | JAX +235 PHI -280 | 48.5 |
| FanDuel | PHI -7 | JAX +240 PHI -295 | 48.5 |
| BetMGM | PHI -6.5 | JAX +240 PHI -300 | 48.5 |
| UniBet | PHI -6.5 | JAX +235 PHI -305 | 48 |
| PointsBet | PHI -6.5 | JAX +230 PHI -275 | 48.5 |
The Jaguars are not a pushover anymore. Trevor Lawrence had the disadvantage of entering the NFL with a clown of a head coach, but he is settling in nicely in Year 2 under Doug Pederson. Lawrence has a nice trio of receivers led by Christian Kirk, and an intriguing one-two punch at running back in James Robinson and Travis Etienne.
Defensively, the Jags get after the passer, as Josh Allen and Travon Walker could be a star edge rushing duo in Jacksonville for the foreseeable future.
That said, the Eagles still match up favorably against this team:
The Eagles also own the most lopsided advantage in this matchup. The Jags' offensive line still has a ways to go, particularly on the interior, where the Eagles have looked stellar through the first three games.
I think picking the Eagles to score exactly 24 points is a smart strategy after they scored exactly that in their last two games. I also think that while the Eagles are better than the Jags and should come away with the win, the current 6.5-point spread is discrediting Jacksonville a bit too much. They have had two pretty impressive wins and they have an offense that can move the football. I think they'll cover the spread, and maybe score a garbage touchdown late after the Eagles get ahead early with one of their patented fast starts.
In my game-by-game NFC East predictions before the season, I had a 3-0 Eagles team losing to Doug Pederson's Jaguars. I will amend that call this week because of the way the Eagles have gotten off to this 3-0 start.
Jalen Hurts is airing the ball out. Their top-two receivers are perhaps the best duo in the whole NFL. The Eagles' veteran pass rushers have found the fountain of youth. If the biggest hole on your football team is the punter, then you're in a hell of a spot.
Pederson is a great coach, but over the last 10 months, Nick Sirianni has proved himself to be as well. This Jaguars team will make the postseason in 2022 under Pederson, but the Eagles will get the best of their former Super Bowl-winning head coach on Sunday.
Jalen Hurts continues to take shots down the field to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, helping the Birds build an early lead they won't relinquish. A late touchdown toss from Trevor Lawrence makes it closer than it was in reality.
I don't know which team will call it, but there will be at least one Philly Special too.
Two predictions for the game: a standing ovation for Doug Pederson — who deserves nothing less — and another Eagles win.
The Jaguars' defense has allowed just 10 points in the last two weeks and Trevor Lawrence is starting to look like the quarterback they hoped he would become. Doug Pederson is already working wonders down in Jacksonville and his new squad might be the Eagles' toughest matchup yet because of it.
Right now though, I think the Eagles have a far more complete, efficient, and experienced team.
Doug gets some standing Os and the Eagles improve to 4-0.
Hard to not root for Doug Pederson in any scenario, even against our team. The reality is that he’s motivated, has a great young team that is listening to him, and has a couple of guys on his staff that know the Eagles. Philadelphia’s key to victory is running the football. The Jags are one of the best teams in the NFL in stopping the run, especially up front. Unlike last weekend, the emotions will certainly go both ways, and plenty of Eagles players could be caught in the moment.
What saves this team is playing at home, and as slow of a start as it may be, they have more talent in the passing game. Hurts has struggled at home between road games and Jacksonville has the guy who drafted him coaching on the other side. Pederson will win the emotional battle, but the Eagles will squeak by and move to 4-0.
Doug Pederson returning to Lincoln Financial Field is the obvious storyline Sunday but if you peel back the onion a bit, you'll quickly realize it's Pederson's impact on Trevor Lawrence and the culture of what had been a lost franchise that will make Jacksonville the toughest test of the first month of the season for Nick SIrianni's talented team. The Jags will arrive in Philadelphia having outscored their last two opponents 62-10 and with the sixth-ranked offense in the NFL and the seventh-ranked defense. Arguably, only the Eagles (No. 1 on offense and fifth on defense) have been more well-rounded than Jacksonville.
Defensively, Pederson's choice of Mike Caldwell, an ex-Eagles linebacker (1998-2001) and assistant coach (2008-2012) as defensive coordinator has most impressed because Caldwell has already proven to be more leader than follower, eschewing the en vogue cover-2 shell before spinning off into quarters coverage, that has flooded the league. Instead, Cladwell has been predominantly single-high, man-to-man default but with oddly-aligned fronts that keep quarterbacks guessing. He was also Tampa Bay's linebackers coach last season when Todd Bowles came up with the game plan that had Jalen Hurts out of sorts in the playoffs.
The Jags are probably not quite talented enough to upset the powerful Eagles in Philly just yet but this should be the toughest test to date for Sirianni and Co and Jacksonville is a legit threat in the AFC South.
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