Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Game Preview – JAX at PHI

Posted November 2nd, 2024 | Comments Off on Game Preview – JAX at PHI

Doug Pederson is the only coach to deliver a Super Bowl win to the city of Philadelphia. On Sunday the Eagles could put a nail in his coaching coffin. Pederson’s Jags are 2-6 and face the 5-2 Eagles who have blown out their last two opponents. If Pederson can get his team to pull an upset, that would be huge for his job safety. A blowout loss would move him another step closer to the firing line.

Jacksonville is tough to figure out. They started 0-4. They’re 2-2 since then and almost upset the Packers last week. But they are dealing with some tough injuries and traded away their starting LT a few days ago. Was that a sign of them giving up? Is the team just making the most of a bad situation? It will be interesting to see how the players respond on Sunday.

This is a game the Eagles should win. They are 7.5 favorites and playing their best football of the season. The Jags have the #29 defense in points and yards. Their offense is 21st in scoring. They are a flawed football team.

Let’s start with the Eagles offense. We know they love to run, but this might be a game to come out throwing. Jacksonville has given up more than 250 yards rushing in all but two games. They only have 2 INTs all year so they don’t make plays. Opposing QBs have a passer rating of 111.8 against them (31st in the league). Kellen Moore should have Jalen Hurts throw to build a lead and then unleash Saquon Barkley.

Hurts had his best passing game of the season last week so this is good timing. He fed the ball to AJ, DeVonta and Grant Calcaterra. This might be a good time to mix in a couple of throws to Jahan Dotson. Fred Johnson will be at LT again. The Jags best rusher is Travon Walker (6.5 sacks), but he normally lines up across from the RT. It will be interesting to see if they move him around this week to try and get a favorable matchup. If Hurts has good protection, he can pick that secondary apart.

Barkley can also have a big day. The Jags have allowed 122 or more rushing yards in 4 games this year. With the Eagles wanting to score early, I’m expecting more of a passing attack to begin the game. Use play-action passes and see if you can get some chunk plays. Go get some first quarter points.

The Jacksonville offense is middle of the pack. With the defensive struggles, it feels like the offense has to be great for them to win. The offense has talent, but isn’t a great unit. Trevor Lawrence is maddening. He looks like a franchise QB at times and then will make some terrible throws that leave you shaking your head. He can be a dangerous QB when going downfield.

Lawrence loves to go to rookie Brian Thomas down the field. Thomas is averaging 17.4 yards per catch, but he’s banged up this week and won’t be 100 percent. The other key receiver is Christian Kirk. He just got put on IR so the Jags will need Gabe Davis to step up. He’s been disappointing so far this season after coming over in free agency. The Eagles will be missing Darius Slay. Isaiah Rodgers filled in well last week so he should be ready for this game. Rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean are both playing lights out.

The Eagles pass rush got regular pressure on Joe Burrow last week, but only had one sack. The Jags have allowed 18 sacks so they are vulnerable up front. LG Ezra Cleveland is out, which gives Jalen Carter a favorable matchup. The edge rushers need to win battles and get pressure from the outside. Lawrence is a good athlete and can run. You don’t want him getting loose outside.

Vic Fangio will want to keep his safeties deep to limit the deep passing game, but the Jags do have a talented RB. Tank Bigsby has run for 493 yards and is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. He is a tough, physical runner. The Eagles will need to tackle well.

Jacksonville has scored 27 or more points in 3 of the last 4 games so this will be a good challenge for the Eagles defense. They have been lights out for the past three weeks, only allowing a total of 36 points in those games. The Eagles had a pair of takeaways last week. Jacksonville has had 2 turnovers in 4 of their games. It would be a really good sign if the defense could come up with more takeaways and make that a regular happening.

One of the challenges this week will be the Eagles being ready for this game. It would be easy to overlook the Jags with Dallas being the next opponent. Fans and the media praised the Eagles all week. This is the kind of situation where a team can lose focus and be sloppy. If the Eagles control this game and win the way they should, that will be a great sign for the rest of the season. Good teams don’t get up for games. They play at a high level each and every week.

Pederson returns to the city where he had his best moments as a player and coach. Let’s hope the good times remain in the past and the Eagles put a beatdown on his Jaguars.

*****

The Eagles will be wearing their Kelly green uniforms on Sunday. Here is a clip of Reggie White wearing that glorious uniform and showing us why he was one of a kind.

92 remains the greatest Eagle of them all for me.

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