Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Game Review – JAX 19, PHI 17

Posted October 14th, 2026 | No Comments »

We have talked about the agonizing nature of this loss enough. The final minutes have been dissected over and over so I’ll spare you more of that. I’m interested in a fresh perspective. Think of the game from the mindset of a Jacksonville fan.

The Jags came into the game as 7-point favorites. They were taking on an Eagles team missing their top two RBs, best WR, best pass rusher and a Hall of Fame OT. The OL featured three guys making their first or second NFL starts. The Eagles weren’t underdogs by accident. And yet the Jags needed a pair of impressive TDs by Parker Washington, a long KOR and a last second FG to beat the Birds.

The Eagles made QB Trevor Lawrence uncomfortable throughout the game. He finished just 24 of 39. He was sacked twice and picked off once. Coach Liam Coen made some questionable game management decisions. The Eagles were better on third downs and in the red zone, despite the makeshift OL. The Jags couldn’t hold a late lead against the banged up offense.

As bad as the ending was, there were some real positives. The Eagles played hard. They competed. They made some critical plays in the game, on offense and defense. If the team can play like that with Saquon, DeVonta and Jonathan Greenard in the lineup, they might start winning some games and get this thing turned around.

COACHING

Nick Sirianni talked about his team needing to lock arms during the week. He knew this would be an uphill battle and the guys would have to really come together as a team. Sirianni had the guys ready to play and they embraced the challenge. Kudos for that. The end of the game is a different story. We can debate whether he should have kicked off or just put the ball out of the end zone. There are merits to both points. I think he made the wrong choice, in part because the Jags returned the opening KO for a TD, only to have it taken away by a penalty.

I think the Eagles should have done a better job of working the clock once they got into FG range. Burning 2 seconds would have changed the outcome.

Vic Fangio mixed in blitzes effectively. He used a variety of personnel and had really good answers in the red zone. Jacksonville was 0 for 3.

Michael Clay’s unit was up and down. The Eagles were good on returns. They did not cover well.

OFFENSE

QB

Jalen Hurts was up and down. He finished 21-40-220 with a TD. The highlight was his TD pass to Darius Cooper. 

There were several good throws to Wicks. Jalen had one terrific play vs the blitz. A free rusher came off the left side. Hurts fired the ball to his hot receiver and that resulted in a 1st down. Hurts also came up big at the end of the game. He moved the offense down the field for the go-ahead FG.

There were some problems as well. It still doesn’t feel like Hurts is seeing the field like he should. He’ll pass up some open throws. Other times he gets rid of the ball quickly, too quickly. I understand that pressure has affected him, but the offense needs to be run in the proper rhythm. There were a couple of troubling plays. One came when there was a bad snap. Hurts tried to throw the ball away without having clean control and it almost ended in disaster. Later he threw the ball away from the end zone, which almost resulted in a safety. The officials generously said Goedert was in the area.

RB

Sunday made me appreciate Saquon and Tank more than usual. Will Shipley got hurt in the game and that meant Dameon Pierce became the workhorse. Shipley finished 5-6-1 and he caught a pass. Pierce was 11-14 and caught 2 passes. He as good in pass pro on multiple plays. Neither RB showed good vision. The blocking wasn’t ideal, but these guys weren’t seeing holes that were there.

WR

Dontayvion Wicks was 5-63 and made a couple of tough catches. He was wide open for a long TD, but Hurts missed him by inches (hurried throw due to blitz). Darius Cooper was 2-71-1. Makai Lemon finished 5-43, playing his best game so far. He showed good RAC ability on a catch that went for a gain of 18. Lemon also made a catch on the final drive. If only he had been able to get a knee down before going out of bounds.

TE

Dallas Goedert returned and went 6-38. He was a bit rusty, but made a huge catch on the final drive. He was targeted 9 times to lead the team so Hurts was happy to get his favorite target back. Zach Ertz was targeted twice, but didn’t have a catch.

OL

Mailata – Lampkin – Majors – Steen – Bell

Willie Lampkin made his first career start and got most of the attention. He struggled early on before settling in. He gave up the most pressures of any of the linemen. I think his biggest issue was getting his hands on defenders too slowly at times. He will need to be more aggressive moving forward. He did have some good blocks and showed some promise. His lack of size was an issue at times. I hope we get to see a few more starts so we can get a better feel for what his ceiling is.

Jake Majors made his first start and I thought he played even better than Lampkin. Majors is a terrific fit for the wide zone scheme. He’s at his best when he fires off the ball and uses his movement skills to get to his target. He is quick off the ball and keeps his feet moving. Majors did have a pair of bad snaps. He needs to clean those up. Very encouraging for a guy who no one paid attention to last spring.

Markel Bell made his second start. He was solid, but still had some sloppy moments as well. His size and strength shows up consistently. He can overwhelm defenders at times. Bell wins when he gets his hands cleanly on defenders. His pad level still gets him in trouble occasionally. But he is fun to watch in the run game.

Tyler Steen got hurt and was replaced by Fred Johnson for a couple of series. Jordan Mailata was solid.

Hurts was only sacked once on 41 dropbacks so the pass protection was pretty good. The biggest problems came when the guys weren’t on the same page about who to block. The lack of continuity up front continues to lead to problems. OL need to play together to build chemistry.

The Eagles had 18 carries for just 22 yards. This was due to a few factors. The Jags came into the game as the #2 run defense so no one has had much success against them. The OL having a new look led to some issues so there wasn’t always a lot of room to run. There were some plays with good blocking, but the RBs did not see the lanes and/or hit them. Frustrating day.

***

DEFENSE

DL

Welcome back Jalen Carter. We finally got the guy we’ve been waiting to see this season.

Carter was disruptive throughout the game, helping his teammates to make plays. He finally looked like the difference-maker the Eagles paid him to be.

Jordan Davis had a good game. He had 3 tackles and was credited with 1 QB hit. I saw him get a second hit as well. Davis had some good moments as a pass rusher. That was good to see. Moro Ojomo had a bit of a quiet game. He wasn’t credited with a tackle or QB hit. Byron Young was solid off the bench.

ED

Jalyx Hunt played well before getting hurt. He was especially good vs the run. He had 3 tackles and also had a PD.

Nolan Smith had multiple pressures and finished with 1 tackle. He got pressure on the play where Q got his pick. Arnold Ebiketie took over for Hunt and played his best game of the year. He had a tackle and 2 QB hits. Like Hunt, Ebiketie was disruptive vs the run. He had chances to make a couple of plays, but wasn’t able to finish. AJ Epenesa batted down a pass.

LB

Zack Baun returned from a concussion and had a terrific game. He made plays all over the field. He was good vs the run, covered well and also had multiple good blitzes. Baun led the team with 11 tackles. He had a TFL and 2 QB hits. His best moment came on the final play of the first half.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr was going to get reps on D, but got ejected on the opening kickoff. Jihaad Campbell finished with 5 tackles and had a solid showing.

SAF

Drew Mukuba was up and down. He bit on a run too aggressively and that led to the 51-yard catch and run for a TD. Mukuba finished with 3 tackles. He made a good tackle on the TE near the goal line to prevent a TD.

I thought Michael Carter played well. He can cover and also does a solid job as a tackler. Carter got hurt and left the game. He finished with 6 tackles. Kenny Moore took over for him. Moore showed good quickness and agility, but looked slow at times. He couldn’t catch up with a TE on a crossing route despite being 40 pounds lighter. Not ideal. Moore finished with 5 tackles. He was solid in coverage and did a good job of communicating.

CB

Quinyon Mitchell mostly played well. He was credited with 5 tackles and 2 PDs. He had his first regular season INT.

My only complaint with Q came on the long catch & run. He casually jogged on the play initially, assuming someone would make the tackle. Had he hustled from the get go, Q might have been able to stop the TD.

Riq Woolen had 6 tackles and a PD. He had good coverage on a throw in the end zone and kept the WR from getting both feet down. He did give up a TD to Parker Washington, but that was good coverage. Washington just made an amazing catch. Tip your cap to him.

Cooper DeJean had an odd game. I thought he had his best coverage game of the season. That was good to see. He was very active against the run and as a tackler in general. He finished with 10 tackles and 2 TFLs. The problem with Coop was his tackling. He missed several and was sloppy even on some that he did make. He wasn’t wrapping up, but rather trying to take out guys by going through their legs. He’s got to do a better job of wrapping up in the future.

Jonathan Jones played a little. He got beat by a TE on one play. Not ideal for that guy to be juking a veteran corner and getting wide open.

***

ST

Jake Elliott hit his only FG, the 48-yarder at the end of the game. There were two long KORs and Jake missed tackles on both of them. No one expects kickers to turn into Dawk, but he’s got to do better on those.

Braden Mann averaged 50.5 yards on his 6 punts.

Britain Covey continued his strong season. He averaged 10.5 yards per PR, with a long of 18. He averaged 30.7 on KORs, with a long of 42.

JAX was missing their LS. The backup kept sending back high snaps. I thought for sure the Eagles would block a kick, but never could get to one.

The long KOR at the end…Smael Mondon had a chance to make the play, but just missed the tackle. JAX blocked it well and Abdullah didn’t hesitate. The cover guys have to show more urgency on that play, but also give the Jags credit. That was their only chance and they made it work.

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