A tough start for the Eagles turned into a terrific second quarter, Philadelphia roaring back to take a 20-14 lead over the Jaguars.
Here's what I saw in the first 30 minutes.
The Good
• With seemingly everything working against them in the first quarter, the Eagles appeared well on their way to an uninspiring loss against Doug Pederson and Co. Badly in need of a play to shake things up, the Eagles eventually got their momentum-shifter on a fourth-down call for the Jaguars.
After stopping Jacksonville short of the sticks on third down, the Eagles got another stop on fourth down, benefitting from Trevor Lawrence simply losing his grip on the football as he tried to turn the corner on Fletcher Cox. Though a Jacksonville recovery wouldn't have made much of a difference on the play, Cox jumped on the football and finally gave the Eagles fans something to cheer about:
- MORE ON THE EAGLES
- WATCH: Jalen Hurts takes hard hit on TD run for Eagles
- Eagles-Jags update: CB Darius Slay (forearm), OT Jordan Mailata (shoulder) questionable to return
- Eagles weather update: Prepare for the Rain Bowl
(Keep in mind, the Eagles were arguably lucky to be in this position to begin with. Trevor Lawrence missed on what looked like a potential touchdown throw to Jamal Agnew earlier in the series, saving the Eagles from an even more disappointing start. But it's better to be lucky than good, I suppose.)
The offense finally seemed to wake up after that stop, primarily because they kept feeding the ball to AJ Brown. On a rain-soaked field, Brown appeared to be one of the few guys unaffected by the elements, creating separation in the secondary and then bouncing off of unsure tacklers once he hauled passes in. On his touchdown that was waved off on first-and-goal, Brown nearly juked a defender out of his shoes on his way to the end zone.
To get over the goal line and have it count, the Eagles would eventually call on Jalen Hurts' legs to drive them in. A nice third-down run from Hurts set up a big fourth-down decision for Sirianni, who trusted his QB to get the few yards they had left to cover. And with defenders closing on him in the pocket, Hurts managed to escape and put his body on the line, absorbing a big hit as he reached across the goal line for Philadelphia's first score of the day.
Though you never like seeing a QB taking hits like that, it's the sort of play that tends to inspire the rest of your teammates. A QB who will put it on the line to make sure the job gets done tends to win and keep the respect of his buddies, and the whole team was visibly fired up after he punched this one in.
• Loved Sirianni going for it on fourth down on their side of the field on the first possession of the game. Fourth-and-inches anywhere on the field is always up for consideration, but a lot of coaches would have taken a conservative approach at their own 30 that early in the game.
How people feel about your fourth-down decision-making often comes down to the result rather than the process. Big picture, I think Sirianni's decision-making process in these spots is pretty solid, and that will ultimately lead to positive results more often than not even if you have to live with some frustrating failures.
• I suspect the Eagles will need to keep going to Miles Sanders throughout the second half of this game. Against a Jacksonville group with plenty of team speed, Sanders looked good in the open field and turned some plays from nothing into something. Sanders struck the right balance between using his side-to-side agility and playing with decisiveness, growing in stature as we got closer to halftime.
It felt fitting that Sanders was ultimately the guy who punched it in to tie this game up late in the second quarter. After doing nearly all of the heavy lifting on the drive up to that point, Sanders sprung through the right side to finish it off, bringing the Eagles level:
Credit is due, of course, to the offensive line for their play in the first half. After losing Jordan Mailata to a shoulder problem on their first series of the day, it wouldn't have been shocking to see the Eagles struggle against a tough Jaguars front. But with Jack Driscoll filling in at left tackle, the group ultimately performed admirably, opening up creases for their runners and keeping Jalen Hurts relatively safe in the pocket for a lot of the first half. Hell, Trey Sermon was able to pick up 14 yards on his very first carry, a testament to the play of the big boys up front.
In these conditions, a strong rushing attack can carry you to victory. Keep feeding Sanders, and it feels like good things will happen.
• Lawrence gave the Eagles a second gift late in the half, fumbling a snap exchange and then failing to secure the football. At the bottom of a gigantic tangle of limbs, Hasson Reddick somehow managed to come up with the football, giving the Eagles a golden opportunity to score late in the half:
The Eagles would quickly get to work on offense, Hurts and Brown hooking up for a first down prior to the two-minute warning. It would take another fourth-down sneak from Hurts to extend the drive, but the Eagles would eventually find pay dirt once again, Kenneth Gainwell waltzing through an opening in the middle of the line for an easy touchdown.
It was a hell of a turnaround for this group, with the missed extra point basically the only blemish on an incredible second quarter. The Eagles are in the driver's seat heading into the second half.
The Bad
• There's nobody to blame on Hurts' first interception of the day except for the quarterback himself. He hesitated on letting the ball go while sitting in the pocket, and by the time he eventually stepped into a throw toward Zach Pascal, there was simply nothing there. The toss into double coverage was tipped high into the air, Andre Cisco easily hauling it in and then running it all the way back for six points.
It has been a terrific season for Hurts up to this point, but that's a play he'd obviously like to have back.
• The Eagles having to play this game without Avonte Maddox was a talking point heading into the game, and nobody seemed more aware of it than Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson. Jacksonville made targeting fill-in Josiah Scott a priority in the early stages of the game, and it helped push them downfield on the offense's first successful drive of the day.
Couldn't blame Scott on the opening touchdown for Jacksonville, however. With the use of motion, the Jags succeeded in tripping up CJ Gardner-Johnson before the ball was snapped, and Jamal Agnew ended up trotting into the endzone on an easy hook-up with Lawrence. This put the Eagles in a 14-0 hole, and it felt completely earned for the visitors, who had far outplayed the Eagles to open this game.
There was definitely an element of bad luck on Jacksonville's opening series — Patrick Johnson did well to force a fumble on a tackle attempt from behind, but the ball bounced right to Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk, allowing the enemy to hold onto the ball and eventually punch it in for six points. That would start evening out in the second quarter, and combined with improved play from the Birds, we find ourselves watching a good one in South Philly.
The Ugly
• It went from bad to worse quickly on Jalen Hurts' interception, with Mailata trotting into the locker room after slamming his shoulder into the turf on Cisco's pick-six return. Here's hoping it's nothing serious, but you always get worried when a guy that size hits the ground hard.
To make matters worse, Darius Slay took an early trip to the locker room while apparently dealing with an arm/hand injury, thinning a secondary that was already down an important piece in the slot. The Slay-Bradberry combo has been excellent to start the year, with Slay one of the team's brightest individual players in the first three games of the season. Fingers crossed for these two critical pieces of the team.
• Can't blame Jake Elliott on the extra point. The wind simply took that one wide.
Follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleNeubeck
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports