Saquon Barkley and the Eagles can beat the Jaguars after near collapses

PHILADELPHIA – Eagles coach Nick Sirianni was speechless.

He stuttered, trying to find the right words to describe the “best play I've ever seen” as running back Saquon Barkley made a reverse hurdle run over the Jaguars' defender.

But that was one of four spectacular plays for the Eagles, all of which they needed because of some equally unspectacular plays. This included a Barkley fumble that was returned for a Jacksonville Jaguars touchdown.

Still, the Eagles were able to pull out a 28-23 victory on Sunday after nearly blowing a 22-0 lead on DeVonta Smith's equally astonishing one-handed touchdown catch in the back of the end zone while somehow getting both feet on the ball .

This happened with 7:43 left in the fourth quarter and put the Eagles ahead by 12 again. It should have been enough, but it took Nakobe Dean's diving interception in the end zone with 1:38 left as the Jaguars headed for the go-ahead touchdown.

“I don’t know what (those guys) ate today,” Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell said, “but it was just spectacular catches and spectacular plays today.”

The Eagles (6-2) won their fourth straight, but it was a costly victory as star wide receiver AJ Brown left with a knee injury early in the third quarter and did not return. Sirianni said after the game that he didn't have an update.

And it was an ugly win, as the Eagles missed several chances to keep the Jaguars at bay and it almost cost them in the end.

As it was, the Eagles needed all the spectacular plays, which included Jahan Dotson's juggling 36-yard reception.

Jalen Hurts also had some of these spectacular plays. He was 18 of 24 for 230 yards and 2 touchdowns, with a passer rating of 132.3. It was his fourth straight game with a rating above 119. It was also his fourth straight game without a turnover.

Barkley, meanwhile, had 159 rushing yards and 40 more receiving yards, including a great catch on a 20-yard TD pass early in the first quarter that ended the season's scoreless drought in the opening quarter.

Overall, the Eagles outscored the Jaguars 187-31 in the first half and 447-215 in the game.

“We had to dig deep,” Hurts said. “We had to face different challenges, we are just proud that we found a way in the end. I can’t say it was a completely complementary game, but we found a way to win.”

An easy victory became apparent early on, starting with Barkley's first touchdown. The Eagles were helped when Jacksonville's Austin Trammell missed a punt after being hit by Sydney Brown. Kelee Ringo rebounded on the Jaguars' 20th.

At the start of the second quarter, the Eagles made a field goal for a 10-0 lead. Barkley overcame Jaguars defensive back Jarrian Jones on that drive. It came on 3rd and 6 of the Jaguars' 44th.

Barkley caught a pass from Hurts and then reversed past Devin Lloyd. Then, with his back to the end zone, he executed a spread eagle over Jones. Barkley picked up 13 yards on first down.

“I’m not going to lie, not in a cocky way,” Barkley said. “But I believe God has blessed me… He gave me some instincts. Sometimes you just have to let go and let your God-given instincts take over.”

Barkley scored with 22 seconds left in the first half to again tie the Jaguars at 19 and give the Eagles a 16-0 halftime lead. That TD was set up by Zack Baun's interception at the Jaguars' 42nd line.

But the Eagles had a chance for points early in the quarter after stopping Jacksonville from 39 points on fourth down. The Eagles then had a 4th-and-3 from the Jaguars' 22 points, but Hurts threw incomplete.

The Eagles began the third quarter without Brown, but pushed down the field and scored on Hurts' 18-yard run. For the second time, the Eagles were stopped on a 2-point conversion attempt and led 22-0.

It seemed like the missed conversions didn't matter. Until the Eagles started self-destructing in the third quarter.

Lawrence led the Jaguars down the field with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to make it 22-8 with 5:26 left. On the Eagles' first play of the game, Barkley fumbled the ball after his arm hit the ground. Travon Walker picked up the loose ball and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown.

Within 14 seconds of play, the Jaguars cut the Eagles' lead from 22-0 to 22-16.

After the game, Vice President of Instant Replay Mark Butterworth told a pool reporter that the fumble was sustained despite Barkley being touched by a Jaguars defender. That's because Barkley then hit his teammate Landon Dickerson and tripped.

Because he hit Dickerson and then lost the ball, Barkley couldn't be brought down by contact.

“I knew it would pass,” Barkley said. “I have to do a better job of getting enough (yards) and making them take me down. I tried, but I couldn’t do it.”

Barkley admitted another fumble late in the fourth quarter. On a 2nd-and-13 from the Eagles 48 with about three minutes left, Barkley slipped at the 39, about 4 yards short of the first down. In hindsight, he said he should have tried to move on. Barkley was then stopped for no gain on third down.

The Eagles attempted a 57-yard field goal, but it missed, giving the Jaguars the ball at their 47-yard line with 2:11 remaining and a deficit of five.

The Jaguars were on the Eagles' 13th when Lawrence tried to replace D'Ernest Johnson in the back corner of the end zone. That's when Dean reached up to intercept it and save the Eagles.

“It didn’t work today. That’s just the way it goes,” Sirianni said of the fourth-down misses and the two-point conversion. “This is the hat I have to wear. If we get a fourth down and convert a fourth down, nothing is actually said. If we don’t do that, I understand there will be questions.”

That was the case, as what seemed like an easy victory for the Eagles turned into a tricky one.

“How we act in those moments, how we handle those moments, and then obviously we want to finish the game on our terms,” Hurts said. “I don’t think we did.”

But Barkley, Smith and Dean gave everyone something to remember.

Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl, on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.

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