The Philadelphia Eagles had a massive amount of hype surrounding them coming into this season. With an up-and-coming QB in Nick Foles, one of the best two running backs in the game in LeSean McCoy, and a youthful yet talented defense, some debated if they were the cream of the crop in the NFC East. They were expected to take care of business against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that has a few talented pieces such as Toby Gerhart, Allen Hurns, and Red Bryant, but aren't close to a playoff berth push.
However, the pundits looked like fools early. Chad Henne, the Jags' embattled QB, put up a massive game early on, with some help from his WR friend in Allen Hurns. Hurns had a fantastic game early on, with 2 TDs before halftime. Henne utilized his exceptionally young corp of WRs to the fullest, with Hurns (recent U of Miami star), Marqise Lee (recent USC star), and Mike Brown (recent Liberty U star) all getting productive passes.
For the Eagles in the first half, Nick Foles fumbled the ball twice in what was quite the embarrassing performance. Chip Kelly's team looked befuddled by the Paul Posluszny-led Jacksonville linebacker corp. However, Philly defensive coordinator Billy Davis had his gameplan down pat. The offense may have put them in horrible positions, but for the most part, they stood tall. However, at halftime, the Jaguars had a 17 point lead.
Chip Kelly knew that it wouldn't be insurmountable. It's an inconsistent Jaguars team that just wasn't tested properly in the first half. Execution was what the Eagles needed to come back, and they knew it. In the 2nd half, the explosion commenced. New Philly resident Darren Sproles made his first massive splash, with a whopping 49 yard run for the first Eagles touchdown of the game. Soon afterwards, Nick Foles started to find his groove, as he connected to his tight end Zach Ertz for a 25 yard strike. The rest of the 3rd quarter was quiet for the Eagles and Jaguars, and both defenses made key plays.
The 4th quarter, however, exposed the Jacksonville defense in an unbelievable fashion, especially J-Ville's secondary. After a long field goal on Philly's first drive by Cody Parkey, and an unsuccessful Jacksonville drive, the Eagles had the ball trying to break the tied ballgame. On the first play of the drive, Foles launched a rocket straight to Jeremy Maclin, his first TD since the 2012-13 season, as he missed all of last season to an injury. This was a climax moment of the game, and Lincoln Financial Field was rocking.
The bleeding didn't stop there for Jacksonville. A field goal made it 27-17 Philly with 6 minutes left in the game. With a minute and a half left in the game, in a play that rives the Maclin touchdown for the lowlight for the Jags' day, Chad Henne fumbled the ball after being sacked by Trent Cole at Jacksonville's 31 yard line, and Fletcher Cox scooped it up, taking it to the house to make it 34-17. That would end up being the final score, as Jacksonville now leaves town heartbroken.
This could be considered a warmup game for the Eagles. They came into the game obviously rusty, and with some halftime adjustments, they came out of their doldrums to put Jacksonville in their place. For Jacksonville, there are positives that Gus Bradley can take from the game. His group of WRs look like studs, and his defense had flashes of brilliance. Next week will be intriguing to see if coach Bradley lets rookie QB Blake Bortles take some snaps from Chad Henne. The QB race is far from over.
Next week the Jags continue their NFC East tour by heading to flailing Washington, while the Eagles take off to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Colts on Monday Night Football.