JaguarsTalk: Philadelphia Eagles vs Jacksonville Jaguars
JT: It seems Doug Pederson has some more winning to do in Philadelphia, but for now it’s time for some Steve Miller Band.
I want to fly like an Eagle
To the sea
Fly like a Jaguar
Let my spirit carry me
I want to run like a Jaguar
‘Till I’m free
Oh, Lord, through the revolution
I’m pretty sure Steve Miller wouldn’t mind the evolution of those lyrics to fit Doug Pederson’s current coaching situation. I’m in the middle of Pederson’s book, Fearless, and the respect that he holds for the Eagle’s ownership, fans and players tells me that the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars is not going to treat this like any other game. Let me rephrase that, Pederson will treat this like every other game as far as preparation and practice but he certainly has this game mentally circled. Like it or not, NFL coaches are not robots, they are human just like you and me (probably less like me but that’s beside the point). This game will mean just a tiny bit more to both Pederson and the Jaguars players. Why the Jags players? Because if they haven’t already, by week four of this upcoming season, the players will have bought into Pederson’s philosophy, hook, line and sinker (speaking of which, if anyone out there runs a deep sea fishing charter please hit us up. A JaguarsTalk company fishing trip should be in the works). Jacksonville Jaguars players will want to win every single game, but especially this one, for their coach.
Pederson likes to go into every game with a trick play or two on the menu, how amazing would it be if the Philly special reared its head this week? That would be phenomenal. If we are being honest, all would just be happy to leave Philly with the dubya, but one can dream about the Philly special being the play that puts the Jags over the top. You reading this Coach? Pederson is aggressive. In his book…OK enough. I keep writing about his book, Fearless, because it speaks volumes, not only about Pederson as a coach and a man, but about his life/coaching philosophies. It is an excellent insight into how this upcoming Jaguars season will unfold. I highly recommend every fan read it before the season starts and I fully intend to write a column about Fearless in the near future. This current column, however, is not that one so I will attempt to keep my typing focused on the week four breakdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.
I know we have said it before but it bears repeating, these game breakdowns are enjoyable to write because we are trying to look into the future and predict how players are excelling and maturing and about how the team is gelling. I’m not taking into account injuries and I’m basing game analysis on the win/loss record that we here at JaguarsTalk have predicted. So with all of that out of the way let’s take a look at Jacksonville’s week four match-up against Philadelphia.
As of when this column was written the Eagles starting offense was:
QB - Jalen Hurts
RB - Miles Sanders
WR - A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins
TE - Dallas Goedert
LT - Jordan Mailata
LG - Landon Dickerson
C - Jason Kelce
RG - Isaac Seumalo
RT - Lane Johnson
And the Jacksonville starting defense was:
LDE - Fatukasi
NT - DaVon Hamilton
RDE - Roy Robertson-Harris
WLB - Josh Allen
LILB - Devin Lloyd
RILB - Foye Oluokun
SLB - Travon Walker
LCB - Darious Williams
SS - Rayshawn Jenkins
FS - Andrew Wingard
RCB - Shaquill Griffin
Maybe this is because I’ve been paying so much attention to Jacksonville and I’m very intrigued by their defense. Maybe I’ve swallowed the “on paper” Kool Aid and that’s why I can’t see many offenses getting past the Jaguars newly acquired defensive monsters. Whatever the reason, I can’t see the Eagles putting up a lot of points on the 2022 Jacksonville Jaguars. Also, I really wish this were a home game for Jacksonville. I think it’ll be very close and the twelfth man could make a difference.
Jalen Hurts is a 6’1” 223lb runner QB. Hurts has been known to get jittery under pressure and tuck and run a little early. This issue, as his maturation continues, will settle down more and more with each passing year. In 2021 Hurts threw 16 touchdowns for 3,144 yards. He also threw 9 interceptions with a QBR of 48.5. Jalen Hurts was in the bottom half of the league in almost every category. Now, the Eagles have the third easiest schedule in the NFL based on opponents' 2021 winning percentage, but this fact means nothing except that Philly may just be looking past the Jags. A quick Eagles football search turned up a column titled “Philadelphia Eagles 2022 schedule: Easy first month could lead to fast start.” It seems that the Philly press is already looking past Pederson and the Jags. I do not think that view will change very much as JaguarsTalk has Jacksonville heading to Philly with a 1-2 record. Tangent time: I am finding, from many different sources, that this will be a boom or bust year for Jalen Hurts. Philly has the New Orleans Saints’ first round pick in 2023. So If Hurts doesn’t break out in 2022 then the Eagles are QB shopping come draft time. That is a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Personally, Hurts is not long for a starting career in the NFL, and the beginning of his 2022 downfall starts in week four against one of the best defenses they will face all season. I said that with authority so the Jags D better back that up.
Miles Sanders is a good running back, Dallas Goedert is a good tight end, and DeVonta Smith is a pretty good wide receiver. None of these players, however, instill extreme fear in a defense. The one Philly player that does is newly acquired A.J. Brown. A.J. Brown, formerly of the Tennessee Titans, is a known commodity to Jacksonville and thus the Jaguars know exactly how good he is. With the addition of Brown, some sportscasters have already questioned whether Philly now has the best wide receiver combo in the entire NFL. The problem for the Jaguars is that Philly’s biggest threat, their receivers, is defended by Jacksonville’s biggest unknown, their DBs. This would pose a problem if not for the fact that the Jaguars (you are going to get tired of hearing this) defensive front seven is really good (on paper, for now). By week four the Jags 4-3 D will shut down Miles Sanders and force Hurts to win the game with his arm or legs. The speed of the JAX backers will eliminate the threat of a scrambling Hurts as well as any threat provided by Dallas Goedert. At this point in the season Travon Walker and Josh Allen will be fighting over who gets credit for a Hurts sack. I just don’t see Philly’s offense doing much with the overall speed of the Jaguars defense. That said though, Eagles offensive right tackle Lane Johnson is an impressive beast of a lineman who will most definitely act as a tough measuring stick for the JAX pass rush. He will give us a very good idea of how the Jaguars front seven is progressing. I mean, the man benches 450lbs+ like it’s his job and for fun he fights bull sharks for hours, completely demoralizing natures most fearsome predator into giving up on life (a fishing story Johnson told on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football”). However at this point in the young season, even with Lane Johnson flexing his pro bowl muscles, Jacksonville’s front seven should prevail. Thus, if DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown do get open, it better be early in the route because the pass will be coming quickly. Needless to say the success of the Jaguars DBs is completely dependent upon the ability of the front seven to hurry Jalen Hurts (this will be a theme throughout the year).
How about the Eagles defense? Fortunately Jacksonville has solidified their QB protection. Brandon Scherff, Luke Fortner (who will be starting by week four), Walker Little, Shatley, Taylor, Robinson, and Bartch are formidable. Fletcher Cox will be a handful for sure but Jawaan Taylor and Scherff will be able to subdue him so that Lawrence will have time to practice his sandwich artistry (if you know, you know). Eagles DB Darius Slay against Christian Kirk will be a very interesting matchup to watch, but what may be just as interesting to watch is newly acquired, pro bowler, Philly DB James Bradberry. Last season with the New York football Giants Bradberry corralled seven interceptions and had 25 pass breakups. Granted, these numbers were acquired by playing the NFC East which hasn’t been the powerhouse it once was, so take them with a grain of salt. I think that the difference makers in this game will be Jags TE Evan Engram and the speed of Travis Etienne, used as a receiver.
JaguarsTalk thinks this game is a fairly even match. A lot of sports “experts” have predicted the Eagles to win nine games this season, with week four's tilt against Jacksonville being one of those wins. The Eagles may very well win nine games this year but one of them will not be in week four against Jacksonville. The Jags will be hitting their stride by week four. Gelling will have taken place and the linebackers will be feeling their oats (still no idea where that saying came from). Doug Pederson will enjoy this one as the Jaguars will go into Philly and ground the Eagles 23-17. Book it.
Speaking of “book it” keep an eye out for the upcoming column on Doug Pederson’s book Fearless. As my old Lieutenant used to say when he was instructing us, “I’m dropping jewels here, folks.” Well, so does Pederson. It’s worth the read. Let me know your thoughts on this Eagles game down in the comment section.