November 03, 2024
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Saquon Barkley executes a regular old boring front-facing hurdle.
In Week 9, the Philadelphia Eagles were staring down the barrel of a disastrous loss, but won a wild game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. As always, win, lose, or tie, we hand out 10 awards.
There were some absolutely insane plays made by the Eagles in this game, but the one that will be remembered for decades was Saquon Barkley's reverse hurdle over a defender.
THE 180 HURDLE??? DID SAQUON JUST INVENT THIS?!
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/tYThjnbdgG
The spin move alone before the hurdle would've been a really cool highlight, but then Barkley was like, "Yeah, Imma go ahead and do something nobody has ever seen before."
Barkley is an otherworldly athletic specimen, and he has been better than the Eagles could have possibly hoped. On the day, Barkley rushed 27 times for 159 yards, and the following TD on a give-up play on 3rd and long:
Hand it off to @Saquon on 3rd and 17, score touchdowns.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/eO99QBW9ZO
He also caught 3 passes for 40 yards and a TD on a nice catch in the end zone from Jalen Hurts on a wheel route.
THE EAGLES SCORE IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/3RSzbOQvfQ
Smith had 4 catches for 87 yards, and this incredible catch:
Earlier on that drive, Hurts found Smith for a 46-yard reception.
With A.J. Brown missing the entire second half, the Eagles needed Smith to step up, and he made several big plays.
The Eagles got out to a 22-0 lead, but squandered it, and needed the defense to make a play. Dean stepped up, and picked off Trevor Lawrence.
Nakobe Dean intercepts Lawrence in the end zone! First career INT#JAXvsPHI pic.twitter.com/RtANcTJs77
— NFL (@NFL) November 4, 2024
We should also probably note the amazing catch made by Dotson
Sheeeeeesh, Jahan Dotson.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/ioVlA3yrs7
I mean, he reached behind the defender's back, tipped it up and over his head, and then reeled it in. I've never seen a player do that, either.
The Eagles would score a touchdown on that drive.
Sirianni was aggressive all evening, and it bit them. Personally, unlike some previous games, I thought that all his "go for it" decisions were correct.
• Up 10-0, Sirianni went for it on 4th and 3. Easy call. Go for it. Go score. They didn't convert, and it ended up being a turnover on downs. It happens.
• Up 16-0, the Eagles kicked the PAT, but the Jags were offsides. Sirianni took the point off the board and went for 2 from the 1-yard line. They got stopped on a Brotherly Shove. Or maybe they didn't? It looked to me like Hurts got in the end zone. But whatever, officially, they got stopped. The Brotherly Shove has been very successful this season, even without Jason Kelce. You're probably assuming somewhere around 80-90 percent likelihood of getting the two with a one-yard shove, and at this point in the game you don't know yet that the Jags apparently have some good defensive plan for it. Yes, a PAT puts you up three scores, but it was still only the second quarter. Keep getting more points. I was fine with that call.
• Up 22-0, the Jags were flagged for a dirty low hit by Andre Cisco on Fred Johnson as Hurts was running into the end zone, which meant that if the Eagles were to go for 2, they would once again do so from the 1-yard line. Again, their Brotherly Shove got stopped. And again, I think you trust the best play you have to get you more points.
• Up 22-16 late in the 3rd quarter, Sirianni went for it on 4th and less than 1. A field goal would have put the Eagles up two scores, and, of course, a touchdown is, you know, even better. Late in a game, kicking a field goal there is the obvious decision. But in the third quarter and needing less than a yard, go for it, and yeah, run the Brotherly Shove again. Instead they ran some foofy rollout that the Jags sniffed out. I do think the play call in that spot was bad.
• And finally, up 28-16, Sirianni went for 2 to go up by 14 with 7:43 left in the game. No-brainer. They didn't get it.
So, yes, they left points on the board, but they were all reasonable decisions. The Eagles won a Super Bowl because they were aggressive on 4th down. But sometimes those aggressive decisions will backfire. Sometimes you have to take the bad with the good.
Of course, the man who steered the Eagles to that Super Bowl, Doug Pederson, was on the opposite sideline against the Eagles. On a 4th and 3 in the fourth quarter from the Eagles' 49 yard line with a chance to take the lead, Pederson uncharacteristically punted, and the Eagles scored a touchdown on their ensuing drive.
In other words, yes, the Eagles lost points because they were aggressive, but the Jaguars may have also lost points because they weren't.
On a Barkley run, Ventrell Miller (51) got a piece of Barkley's ankle, tripping him up and causing him to fall to the ground. After Barkley was down, the ball popped out.
The Jaguars picked up the ball and ran it back for a score.
But, OK, bang-bang play, no big deal. It would surely get corrected on review, right? Nope. Here was the explanation from the officials on the play after the game:
Uh… What? pic.twitter.com/IfNMmDLISU
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) November 4, 2024
Just say you got it wrong, guy.
Baun had 10 tackles and an INT. He's just always around the football. He has been good all year long and Dean is starting to play better as well. The Eagles might actually have a decent linebacker tandem.
On a side note, we should also mention that Sydney Brown made a great early play when he forced a fumble in punt coverage that led to the Eagles' first touchdown of the game.
Hurts was 18 of 24 for 230 yards, 2 TDs, and 0 INTs, with 13 carries for 67 yards and a TD on the ground. He hasn't turned the ball over since Week 4.
Hurts wasn't perfect. He missed an open A.J. Brown on what could have been a big play, and he nearly threw an INT on an overthrow, but he also delivered a pair of very good throws to Smith deep down the field, and otherwise seemed to make good decisions.
Since their last loss Week 4 in Tampa, the Eagles had a quartet of opponents in the Browns, Giants, Bengals, and Jaguars with a combined record of 10-26. They took care of business in all four games.
In Week 10, they'll face another struggling, banged-up team, but also kind of an important one in the Dallas Cowboys before facing the NFC East-leading Commanders Week 11 on Thursday night.
Now the fun really begins.
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