Eagles

Quick Takes: Five takeaways from the Eagles 28-23 win over Jacksonville

Well, that was something!

After being down 22-0 early in the third quarter, the Jaguars put up 23 second-half points and damn near pulled off the comeback.

Thankfully, the Eagles intercepted Trevor Lawrence in the endzone late to hang on and defeat Jacksonville 28-23, improving to 6-2 on the season.

Saquon Barkley filled the stat sheet, Nick Sirianni made puzzling coaching decisions, and DeVonta Smith balled out to clinch the Eagles’ fourth consecutive victory.

Here are five takeaways from Sunday’s game.

Saquon Barkley isn’t human

Barkley got off to a hot start out of the gate, racking up over 100 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns in the first half. His first touchdown came five minutes into the game on a 20-yard pass from Jalen Hurts, giving the Eagles their first points in a first quarter this season.

Barkley later ran into the endzone untouched on 3rd and 17 for his second touchdown. The highlight of the day was his spin move into a backward hurdle, a play we likely won’t see ever again.

Despite a mental lapse late where Barkley should’ve ran for a first down rather than stay inbounds, it was another stellar performance from the Eagles’ prized offseason addition:

  • 27 carries
  • 159 yards
  • 3 receptions
  • 30 receiving yards
  • 2 total TDs

Barkley is just the third Eagle since the 1970 NFL merger to reach 1,000 scrimmage yards in the first eight games of a season, joining LeSean McCoy (2011, ’13) and Brian Westbrook (2007).

DeVonta Smith is a GAMER

If it wasn’t already known, DeVonta Smith is box office.

After A.J. Brown left the game with a knee injury, Smitty took over when the offense needed an answer. His one-handed touchdown catch on 3rd and 22 rivals Garrett Wilson’s grab from earlier in the week for catch of the year.

No words are left to describe DeVonta Smith’s catching ability and body control — he’d be the best receiver on more than half of NFL teams today.

Smith led his team in receiving with 87 yards on four receptions.

Nick Sirianni overly aggressive

If the Eagles somehow lost this game, Nick Sirianni would’ve been the headline of this recap. Being aggressive is one thing; trying to out-balls Doug Pederson is another.

Instead of taking a 17-0 lead and making it a three-possession game, Sirianni went for the tush-push two-point conversion and failed. He tried it again after the Eagles took a 22-0 lead and failed.

Then, on 4th and 1 from the Jacksonville 25-yard line, Sirianni opted against a 42-yard field goal, as well as the tush push, and called a Hurts rollout that resulted in an incompletion. No points.

On the Eagles’ final drive, Sirianni trotted Elliott out for a 57-yard field goal after icing him all game. Elliott missed the kick, handing the ball to Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars offense with a chance to win the game.

I don’t want to take too much away from Sirianni (his team is 6-2), but you can’t leave that many points on the field.

WR3 Jahan Dotson has arrived

Jahan Dotson made a play for the Eagles — this is not a drill.

Dotson came into today’s game with 35 receiving yards this season; he eclipsed that total in one play on a 36-yard connection from Jalen Hurts.

Hurts spoke about Dotson’s patience last week, stating the former first-round pick is just waiting on his opportunity.

That opportunity came in the third quarter, and he delivered. Hopefully this is a sign of Hurts trusting Dotson in big moments, especially if A.J. Brown is out for an extended period of time.

“Yeah, I think he’s showing up and I think he’s being patient,” Jalen Hurts said. “You know, some things aren’t always reflective of where he is, but he’s working, he’s taking it day by day. I think like anything else he’s just waiting on his opportunity, waiting on his number to be called.”

Hurts playing turnover-free football

Jalen Hurts turned in a mistake-free day under center for the fourth straight week:

  • 18/24
  • 230 pass yards
  • 66 rush yards
  • 3 total TD
  • 0 turnovers
  • 132.3 rating

Hurts is now up to 12 total touchdowns and zero turnovers since the bye week, leading the Eagles to a 4-0 record over that span.

After a shaky start to the season under new OC Kellen Moore, Hurts has regained elite form and looks quicker than ever.

The sky is the limit if he plays at this level every week.

 Mandatory Credit: USA Today

Victor Williams is the host/producer of The Philly Pod on iHeartRadio and leads all Eagles coverage as co-founder of The Liberty Line.

Read More

Comments (0)

Leave a Reply

Back To Top

Discover more from The Liberty Line

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading