The Birds are 4-0!

The Philadelphia Eagles are 4-0 after defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field! Final score: 29 to 21.

The Birds started slow, falling behind 14 to 0 in part due to a pretty bad Jalen Hurts pick six. Early on, it looked like Doug Pederson was on track to get revenge against his former team.

But the Eagles broke off 29 points, aided by FIVE takeaways. Some of the Jags turning the ball over was pure sloppiness on their end. Some of it was great defensive effort. Overall, it was another strong showing by Jonathan Gannon’s defense. His unit has allowed just 27 offensive points over the last three games combined.

The Jags did try to get back into the game, capitalizing on a blown coverage by the Eagles late in the fourth quarter. But the Birds continued to ride their running game with Philly’s offensive line paving the way for Miles Sanders to have success on the ground. Sanders finished with 27 carries for 134 yards (5.0 average) and two touchdowns. He also had two receptions for 22 receiving yards.

Haason Reddick was the one to officially close the game out. He came up big with his second forced fumble of the day and his third of the season to allow the Eagles to run the clock out.

This was an important win for the Eagles. The Jags might not be a juggernaut but they were arguably the best team the Eagles have faced to this point. It was also critical for the Eagles to show some resiliency after facing adversity early on.

The Eagles will try to advance to 5-0 with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals up next on the schedule.

Read on for a recap and stay tuned for BGN’s postgame coverage, including the BGN Radio postgame show!

PREGAME

• The Eagles honored Doug Pederson as the Jaguars came out of the tunnel. No tribute video.

• The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to defer. Jags up first.

FIRST QUARTER

• The Jags ran for five yards and then Marcus Epps knocked down a Trevor Lawrence pass to set up third down. On 3rd-and-5, Christian Kirk dropped a pass that was short of the sticks anyway. Three-and-out.
• The Eagles took over at their own 21-yard line after Britain Covey let the ball bounce and then tried to return it for a 2-yard gain. The Eagles got to 4th-and-1 from their own 30-yard line and snuck it with Hurts. Risky but good aggressive call to go for it there. A couple players later, Hurts threw to a tightly covered Zach Pascal for some reason and the ball was tipped into the air for a pick six. Looked like a pretty bad decision. Also not the best effort from A.J. Brown to prevent the score on the return. EAGLES 0, JAGUARS 7.

• The Eagles drove 18 yards before having to punt after Hurts’ third down target for DeVonta Smith along the sideline was broken up by the Jags. Thought DeVonta could’ve came back to the ball but also thought it could be complete with more zip on the pass.
• Arryn Siposs punted the ball from the Eagles’ 47-yard line for a touchback. So, a 27-yard difference. Maybe try to find a punter who doesn’t just kick it into the end zone? On 3rd-and-5, Lawrence had plenty of time to find a wide open Jamal Agnew. The Jags drove into the red zone with ease. James Robinson got stripped by Patrick Johnson but the ball bounced right to Kirk, very fortunate for Jacksonville. On 2nd-and-goal, the Jags ran a play that was similar to Nelson Agholor’s touchdown against the Bears in 2016 where he motioned inside and then back outside to shake free for a wide open score. Dougie P playing the hits. EAGLES 0, JAGUARS 14.

• Hurts rolled right and found A.J. Brown for a 31-yard gain. The Eagles got to 3rd-and-5 from their own 42-yard line and ran it with Sanders. That run set up a 4th-and-3 with Hurts rolling left, getting hit, and throwing out of bounds for a turnover on downs. Not good!

SECOND QUARTER

• Agnew was open deep for a touchdown but Lawrence overthrew him. C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed a tackle to bring up a Jags 3rd-and-3. On third down, Josh Sweat came up with a tackle for no gain. Big Balls Doug went for it on fourth down and ... Lawrence dropped the ball (!) for a Cox recovery. Never hurts to get lucky.
• The Eagles opened their drive with a screen intended for Kenneth Gainwell, which went for a loss of two yards. Feels like the Birds force it to him too often. Hurts made a nice throw over the middle to Brown for a first down. Then a screen to Goedert went for a 26 yards after he was wiiiide open. Hurts hit Brown for a score ... but it was called back for a total bullshit holding on Dallas Goedert. Look at this weaksauce:

The Birds got pushed back to their own 20-yard line but they didn’t let it stop them from scoring. A Hurts run on third down took it down to the 3-yard line. The Eagles went for it and Hurts powered through heavy contact for the Eagles’ first score. Hurts’ legs came up big there. Needed that TD. EAGLES 7, JAGUARS 14.

• The Jags went three-and-out after Doug went with a coward’s draw on 3rd-and-10. The Eagles thank you, Doug.
• The Eagles drove to 3rd-and-1 from the Jags’ 29-yard line and converted with another Hurts sneak. Trey Sermon took his first touch with the Eagles and gained 14 yards, nice run by him. Two plays later, Sanders took a draw and followed strong blocking (especially from Jason Kelce) into the end zone. Big theme of that drive, Philly beating the Jags up front. Tie game! EAGLES 14, JAGUARS 14.

• The Jags had a botched snap on 3rd-and-1 that ended up being ruled as a recovery for the Eagles, though it was originally hard to see exactly who came up with the ball on the replay. Apparently it was Haason Reddick. Second big Jags fumble that led to an Eagles takeaway.

• The Eagles took over at the Jags’ 35-yard line. They got to 3rd-and-2 from the 13-yard line and Sanders ran for one yard. On 4th-and-1, the Eagles easily converted with another sneak. Two players later, a draw to Gainwell resulted in an Eagles touchdown. The RB had a ton of room to work with up the middle. Jake Elliott missed the extra point with the wind doing him no favors, however. EAGLES 20, JAGUARS 14.

THIRD QUARTER

• Hurts opened the second half with a 22-yard completion to Brown. The offense got set back, though, with (defensive) Josh Allen driving Jack Driscoll back into Hurts and causing a sack with the tackle stepping on the QB’s foot to trip him up. The Eagles ended up having to punt.
• The Jags went three-and-out after T.J. Edwards notched a sack on Lawrence rolling left, Josiah Scott forced a PBU, and a third down pass short of the sticks went incomplete.

• The Eagles took over at their own 22-yard line after the wind aided a Jags punt that went for 66 yards. They went three-and-out after Hurts’ third down pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage. Andre Chachere made a really nice solo special teams tackle on punt return coverage. Making the most of his playing time after being called up from the practice squad.
• Jordan Davis stuffed the crap out of Travis Etienne for a TFL. But then Lawrence hit a WIDE open Evan Engram in the middle of the field. Birds were fortunate he went to the ground because he had a lot of room to run if he stayed upright. The Eagles had the Jags in 3rd-and-3 ... until the refs called Josiah Scott for defensive holding to allow a first down. Jacksonville drove into the red zone. Their drive came to an abrupt end, however, when Lawrence floated a pass that was picked by a diving James Bradberry. The corner’s second career interception as an Eagle came at a really nice time to prevent points.

• The Eagles took over at their own 12-yard line. Sanders broke a 35-yard run. Sermon got a second carry that went for five yards, plus an extra 15 for a facemask penalty. Disaster almost struck with Hurts dropping a shotgun snap, not looking totally ready for the ball. Birds were fortunate to recover. Hurts wasn’t happy with Kelce after the play. The Eagles moved to 3rd-and-8 from the Jags’ 22-yard line. On third down, Hurts tried to take off running up the middle but Jacksonville’s defensive line closed in on him for the sack. The Eagles could’ve let the quarter expire but they took a timeout to allow them to attempt a field goal at the south end of the field. Elliott made the 43-yard kick ... but the Jags were flagged for running into the kicker. Elliott looked hurt after taking that hit. The Eagles accepted the penalty to end the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

• The Eagles started with a fresh set of downs at the Jags’ 13-yard line. Goedert dropped a potential first down conversion (perhaps touchdown?!) and the Eagles ended up having to settle for a 28-yard field goat attempt, which Elliott made. So, the penalty allowed the Birds to take about an extra minute off the clock while still making it a two possession game. And, hey, second half points!!! EAGLES 23, JAGUARS 14.

• Reddick strip-sacked Lawrence after destroying the Jags’ right tackle ... and then recovered it for another Eagles takeaway. His specialty!

• The Eagles took over at the Jags’ 24-yard line. Sanders found the end zone for a second time with a run on 3rd-and-3 from the 5-yard line. The Eagles went for a two-point conversion to make it a three possession game ... but DeVonta couldn’t haul in Hurts’ floater to him. EAGLES 29, EAGLES 14.

• On 3rd-and-10, the Eagles allowed a 45-yard completion on a coverage bust to a wide open Kirk with CJGJ making the tackle at the end of the play. Then Lawrence hit Agnew for a touchdown. Still a ball game. EAGLES 29, JAGUARS 21.

• The Eagles entered Jags territory with Hurts hitting Goedert for a 22-yard gain over the middle. Then they ran to 3rd-and-5 on the Jags’ 35-yard line. On third down, Sanders followed his blocking for another conversion. Big. The Eagles ran again and the Jags burned their second timeout, having taken their first earlier in the second half. The Eagles ran again and the Jags burned their final timeout, leaving 2:10 on the clock with the Eagles facing 3rd-and-6 at the 24-yard line. Hurts ran to bring up 4th-and-3 and the two-minute warning. The Eagles went for it (!) on fourth down ... and Hurts’ pass to Brown was in his hands but bobbled and broken up by the Jags. Aggressive call didn’t work out. One can wonder if Elliott’s injury and/or the weather played into that decision.
• The Jags took over at their own 21-yard line ... and Lawrence was immediately strip-sacked by — who else! — Haason Reddick to allow a Javon Hargrave recovery. Game!

• Victory formation to close it out. The crowd at The Linc was pretty lit as the game was ending. Players were pumping up the fans. Good vibes all around.

FINAL SCORE: EAGLES WIN, 29 to 21

LINEUP NOTES

• Jordan Davis officially logged a start at defensive tackle.
• Josiah Scott got the start at nickel cornerback in place of Avonte Maddox.
• Britain Covey replaced Quez Watkins as the Eagles’ kick returner.

INJURIES

• Darius Slay walked to the locker room after the Eagles’ first defensive drive.
• Jordan Mailata jogged to the locker room as the Eagles were opening up their second offensive drive. Jack Driscoll replaced him at left tackle.
• Patrick Johnson got banged up in the second quarter. Suffered a head injury and did not return.
• DeVonta Smith limped into the medical tent in the third quarter. He stayed in the game.
• Jake Elliott got banged up when the Jags got flagged for illegally running into him. He was able to finish the game.
• Isaac Seumalo got banged up early in the fourth quarter. He was holding his knee on the ground before getting up and slowly limping off the field. Sua Opeta came in to replace him.

GAME PREVIEW

The Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL’s only remaining undefeated team, are hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon.

The weather is not so welcoming in Doug Pederson’s first trip back to the Linc. It’s a rainy and windy day in South Philly.

One could argue the inclement conditions work in the Jags’ favor. With the Eagles viewed as the superior team, any kind of unexpected variance or weird element introduced to the matchup could potentially be an equalizer.

Whether the weather is a factor or not, this is a big game for the Birds. The Jags appear to be the toughest opponent they’ve faced thus far. And so it will be very interesting to see how the Eagles fare.

Bleeding Green Nation will be covering this game with live updates in the form of highlights, commentary, analysis, etc. Make sure to follow along and refresh the page often.

(NOTE: This is NOT a game thread; it’s a live blog that will turn into a game recap. Use BGN’s designated game threads for each quarter to discuss in-game happenings. The first quarter thread is HERE.)