Game Preview – JAX at PHI

Lincoln Financial Field will have Doug Pederson and his young stud QB on Sunday. Pederson has a team on the rise, due to his coaching and the major culture change he’s brought to his organization. Last year’s coach (a former college coaching superstar) turned out to be a blowhard who didn’t adjust to the NFL very well. Pederson’s “guy next door” persona is perfect for his team and the players are showing that you can win and be happy.

Wait…is it 2016 or 2022?

I see a lot of the 2016 Eagles when I watch the current Jaguars team. The Eagles started 3-0 that year. They finished 7-9, but a 2-8 record during Lane Johnson’s suspension is the main reason they didn’t finish better. With Johnson, the team was 5-1.

Pederson was the right coach to take over the Jaguars and get them headed in the right direction. Urban Meyer simply didn’t understand NFL players. You can’t treat them the same way you can treat college kids. Men vs boys. Pederson is a former NFL player and has decades of experience around NFL players. He gets that side of it. He knows how to make players feel respected and comfortable.

He also has good talent to work with. This isn’t a case of Pederson getting some scrubs to be a loveable bunch and win games in magical ways. The Jags are good. They have legit talent all over the field.

There is only one team in the top five of both offense and defense DVOA.

The Jacksonville Jaguars.#NFL | #DUUUVAL pic.twitter.com/gkUrFsUgr5

— Football Outsiders (@fboutsiders) September 26, 2022

In the last two weeks, Jacksonville has outscored opponents 62-10. This isn’t luck. This isn’t a fluke. They are a good team.

The NFL season is a marathon. I have no idea if the Jags will be this good for the full season. Adversity will hit at some point and we’ll see how they handle things. That’s what happened with the 2016 Eagles and they struggled.

I’ve talked a lot about all the hype around the Eagles, but Jacksonville is getting a ton of attention this week. I love it. You want those players hearing how great they are, how unbeatable they are. Boost those egos. Let’s see if the noise distracts them.

JAX OFFENSE

Pederson embraces role players and that has this offense working well. They don’t have any dynamic skill players, but they have a whole slew of guys who can make plays when used correctly. They play a lot of small-ball. Trevor Lawrence seems fine with that and the Jags make it work.

Lawrence is showing the world why he was the top pick in 2021. He is big, strong and athletic. He has a strong arm, but can also make plays with his legs. While he’s not afraid to take chances downfield, Lawrence is comfortable throwing short and moving the sticks. He gets the ball out quickly and plays smart. He’s what Pederson wanted Carson Wentz to be.

James Robinson and Travis Etienne give JAX a good pair of RBs. Robinson is elusive and has good burst. He got the ball on 4th/1 and turned that into a 50-yard TD last week.

Zay Jones and Christian Kirk have combined for 37 receptions. Jones is the possession guy and Kirk more of the playmaker, even though he plays mostly in the slot. They also have Marvin Jones who can still make plays. TE Evan Engram is undersized, but Pederson coached a guy like that in Trey Burton so he knows how to use Engram.

The OL is a work in progress. I think the Eagles have an advantage in the LDE / RT matchup. Jawaan Taylor is big, but he’s not a polished pass blocker.

JAX DEFENSE

These guys are good. DEs Josh Allen and Travon Walker lead the way. Those guys are gifted athletes and playmakers. Veteran DL Roy Robertson-Harris does a little bit of everything. Even a role player like Arden Key is someone who must be accounted for.

Rookie LB Devin Lloyd is off to a great start. He has terrific range in pass coverage. He leads the team in tackles, has 6 PDs and 2 INTs. He’s not your normal LB. Foyesade Oluokun is the veteran who helps to control the middle of the field. He’s been highly productive throughout his career.

If there is a vulnerable spot, it is the secondary. Safety Reyshawn Jenkins and CB Tyson Campbell are the key players.

THE GAME

This is absolutely your game of the week.

This is a big test for both the Jags and Eagles. All the metrics show Jacksonville as a top team, but a loss would drop them to 2-2. The Eagles are the only unbeaten team left in the NFL and they want to keep that going.

Injuries will be a factor for the first time this year for the Eagles. RB Boston Scott and CB Avonte Maddox are both out. Trey Sermon will make his Eagles debut in place of Scott. We’ll see how much he’s used. Maddox is a big loss. He was expected to cover Kirk in the slot. The Eagles could move Chauncey Gardner-Johnson into that role, but I’m guessing they will leave him at safety and go with Josiah Scott inside. Maddox is key because of his ability to cover and tackle. Scott, or whoever takes over there, will need to play well for the Eagles defense to succeed.

The Jags small ball puts pressure on the defense to tackle well. The Chargers struggled with that at times last week and it really hurt them. The Eagles have tackled well since the opener and they’ll need to keep that up in this game.

The Eagles will not come up with 9 sacks this week. Lawrence has only been sacked twice so far this year. This will be the best DL he and the Jags have faced so it will be interesting to see how that goes. The Eagles need to get pressure on Lawrence to get him out of his comfort zone. The Jags have to focus on controlling Haason Reddick and Brandon Graham.

The Eagles offense vs the Jags defense is the real matchup to highlight. Those are two outstanding units. One thing I’m curious about is that the Jags haven’t faced a good OL yet (WAS, IND, LAC). That has helped JAX win up front each week. That will be a much tougher challenge against the Eagles. Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson can control edge rushers. That allows the Eagles to be more creative and aggressive. We could see more empty sets from the Eagles to try to spead out the Jags and get favorable matchups.

One clear advantage is the Eagles receivers against the Jags secondary. Jalen Hurts just needs to find the open guy and get him the ball. The Jags gave up two pass plays of 45 or more yards last week. If the OL gives Hurts time, there will be a chance for big plays.

The Eagles will want to get their run game back on track. WAS shut that down. The Jags don’t have the kind of DTs that WAS did, but they lead the NFL in run defense. I’m curious to see how the Eagles try to run and how aggressive they are with it. Jacksonville hasn’t faced a QB who can run like Hurts so that will be a factor as well. Hurts makes the Eagles offense incredibly hard to shutdown because they are so versatile.

This is the first game with some adversity for the Eagles. Being without Scott and Maddox isn’t like losing your QB or LT, but this will still be a good test. How will the coaches adjust? How will the backups do? Good teams overcome injuries and find a way to handle adversity.

The Eagles are the better team. They’re at home. They should win this game.

It will be fun to see how they handle this test. The Eagles handled the hype of the Lions game and being on the road. Then they handled the hype of the Vikings game. Remember that the guys in purple were getting a ton of praise after beating the Packers. And then the Eagles handled their matchup with Carson Wentz. They have passed each test this year.

Jacksonville is the best opponent to this point. They’ll give us an even better idea of how good the Eagles are.

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