Eagles vs. Jaguars: Who Wins and Why in Week 5

The Eagles have lost two in a row and sit at 2-2 as they get ready for a Week 5 game in London. It’s a long way to go to right the season. Adding to the difficulty are the Jacksonville Jaguars, who lead the AFC South at 3-1.

“We're early on in this season, and our job is to continue to find out what we do best, what we don't do quite as good, and try to attack that way,” said head coach Nick Sirianni. “…Our job in situations is not to panic; it's to find solutions. In those situations, the rest of the world could be panicking. We have to be able to look and find solutions.”

Here's a deeper look into Sunday's international matchup, and if the Eagles have what it takes to win.

Eagles offense vs. Jaguars defense

Philly is a battered bunch, and it starts at receiver, where they could be without DeVonta Smith, Tay Wicks, and Hollywood Brown, and that won’t help them going against the Jags' 31st-ranked pass defense.

Jacksonville is second in the NFL at stopping the run, and the Eagles aren’t expected to have running backs Saquon Barkley or top backup Tank Bigsby, who was put on injured reserve earlier in the week. That leaves Will Shipley and Dameon Pierce.

The RB backups will be only as good as the offensive line, and that is in shambles after the stunning retirement of Lane Johnson and the surprising trade of Cam Jurgens.

The Eagles will likely have two players make their first NFL starts—Willie Lampkin at guard and Jake Majors at center, depending on the health of center/guard Drew Kendall, who is battling a knee injury. Even Kendall, however, has just four career starts. Rookie right tackle Markel Bell is expected to make just his second career start.

Eagles defense vs. Jaguars offense

Vic Fangio’s defense played 83 snaps last week and 72 the week before, and now faces quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who is third in passer rating this season at 111.2, seventh in completion percentage at 69.2, and has eight touchdowns to just two interceptions.

Moro Ojomo flexes. — The Eagles' defense could face an uphill battle after essentially going through a marathon in the two previous games. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It has an effect,” said the DC, about the high number of snaps, “but we got to find a way to finish.”

Eagles vs. the London factor

The Eagles decided to wait until Friday to fly to the U.K. That doesn’t give them much time to adjust to the time change. The Jaguars are much more in tune with playing in London, since they do it every year; they left on Thursday.

It’s been eight years since the Eagles played a game in London. They beat the Jaguars that year, 24-16, at Wembley Stadium, but their top cornerback, Jalen Mills, suffered an injury and was lost for the rest of that season. Sunday’s game will be at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Players have criticized the surface quality, pointing out issues such as deep dips or seams along the numbers and turf connections. Former Eagles practice squad player Lewis Cine tried to keep his career going after a compound fracture in his leg on that field, and the one-time first-round pick of the Vikings was never the same player.

Eagles vs. third downs

Jacksonville has the league’s third- best third-down conversion rate, turning third downs into first downs 51.1 percent of the time. The Eagles’ defense is middle of the pack at stopping offenses on third down, getting stops just 40 percent of the time.

On offense, the Eagles didn’t convert a third down in 12 tries last week and are 0-for-17 dating back to a Monday night loss in Chicago. The Jaguars are a difficult third-down defense for the Eagles to get well against, ranking fifth in the league.

Verdict

Jaguars 24, Eagles 17

Season record: 4-0

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