USA Today
Eagles Move to 4-0, Beat Jaguars Behind Miles Sanders, Five Forced Turnovers
PHILADELPHIA – Doug Pederson got the loud ovation he had hoped for in his return to the city he delivered a Super Bowl, but it was his former team that got the victory.
The Eagles beat Pederson’s new team, the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars, 29-21, on a miserably wet and windy Sunday afternoon at Lincoln Financial Field.
They had to overcome a 14-point, first-quarter deficit to remain the lone undefeated team in the NFL at 4-0 with a date in the desert against the Arizona Cardinals next weekend.
"We’ve talked about adversity," said head coach Nick Sirianni. "Have we faced a lot of adversity? Not really. In three games, we probably haven’t. We had a battle up there in Detroit, but have we faced a lot of adversity? Not really.
"So, it was a great opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we’ve talked about this. We have discussed this. You players, the reason you are here is because you are built to be able to handle adversity. Not every game is going to be pretty. It’s going to be muddy sometimes.’ And it was muddy right there."
Once again, it was a second-quarter onslaught by the offense that got the job done.
After trailing 14-0 after one quarter, the Eagles exploded for 20 points in the second quarter. They have now scored 85 points in four second quarters.
The Jaguars entered the game having won two in a row to shoot to the top of the AFC South standings. They are now 2-2.
"I think this team didn’t flinch," said Eagles QB about overcoming a 14-0 deficit. "We found a way, we didn’t flinch, we persevered. We were unwavering with how we played, nothing was able to deny us.
"I’m so proud of how this team played, how we handled the conditions outside – you have crosswinds going 20-30 miles per hour – it’s in the 50s and it’s raining sideways, (but) we were pretty efficient in everything that we did. That’s a great team win.”
The defense rose to the occasion once again.
It forced five turnovers from quarterback Trevor Lawrence – four fumbles and one interception., which came from James Bradberry. The Jaguars had committed only one turnover in their first three games.
“I think number one, turnovers," sad Jags WR Christian Kirk, who had just two catches for 60 yards. "Turnovers hurt. And all the stuff we predicate ourselves on, standing in front of the chains, penalties, converting on third down – we just didn’t do it.
"You don’t want to blame it on conditions. We expect to go out and play our best ball regardless. It’s a tough one, that’s a good football team."
Bradberry's interception was huge, coming with 4:24 to play in the third quarter and the Eagles nursing a 20-14 lead. Jacksonville had reached the red zone, but on second-and-seven from the 16, Bradberry made the pick, his second of the season.
"I had No. 1 man and my guy ran a post route, the No. 2 guy ran a wheel route and I was looking at the quarterback and playing in between them, and once he threw it, I broke," said Bradberry explaining his important pick.
Haason Reddick had two strip-sack fumbles. He recovered one. The other came after the Eagles failed to convert a fourth-and-2 from Jacksonville's 21-yard line with 1:54 to play and up eight.
The big offseason free agent signing has 3.5 sacks in the last two games.
“I’ve been comfortable," said Reddick. "I’m not going to say that I’ve preached it, but I’ve said it many times: (defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon) always asks me what I’m comfortable with and what I’m not comfortable with.
"So, it’s never like I’m going out there and I’m not comfortable with something. I know exactly what I’m asked to do. If I’m uncomfortable with something, I have no problem letting (Gannon) know. But anything you see me doing out there on the field, I’m comfortable with."
Javon Hargrave recovered Reddick's second strip-sack, this one after the Eagles gave them a little lfie by not converting on fourth down inside two minutes, to seal the win.
"It feels good to play good defense, especially in conditions like this," said Hargrave, who has two fumble recoveries this season. "It was fun to go out there and play."
Reddick now has 3.5 sacks in the last two games.
The Eagles scored 22 points off those five turnovers.
Offensively, Miles Sanders ran for a career-high 134 yards. His previous high was 13 set last year. He also scored touchdowns from 10 and 5 yards.
His first TD from 10 yards out tied the game at 14-14. Kenny Gainwell’s 10-yard run gave Philly the lead at 20-14.
As a team, the Eagles ran for 210 yards on 50 rushes.
They did it against a defense that was No. 1 against the run coming in, allowing just 55 yards per game.
The Jaguars’ first score came on a 59-yard interception return by safety Andre Cisco after a deflected ball landed in his arms with 11:15 to play in the opening quarter.
On their next possession, Lawrence led a nice scoring drive that was capped with a 4-yard TD throw to Jamal Agnew.
The Jaguars didn't score again until 7:19 left in the fourth quarter.
Hurts recovered from a rocky first quarter by completing 16 of 25 passes for 204 yards.
The Eagles lost five players to injury, including two offensive linemen: left tackle Jordan Mailata (shoulder) and guard Isaac Seumalo (ankle). Jack Driscoll stepped in for Mailata while Sua Opeta filled in for Seumalo and made a nice block on Sanders’ second TD run of the day.
Others who were injured were Darius Slay (forearm), Patrick Johnson (head injury), and Kyron Johnson (head injury).
While it wasn't the outcome Pederson wanted, he was pleased with his welcome back moment from a Philly fan base that can be harsh.
“It was great," he said. "It was a great crowd. A great welcome. It was good.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
