Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson returns to Philadelphia on Sunday without at least one top wide receiver and faces a surging Eagles team that is a Hail Mary away from first place.
The Eagles (5-2) have won three straight games and were on the verge of overtaking Washington for the NFC East lead before a miraculous, last-second touchdown pass by the Commanders last Sunday moved Washington to 6-2.
Philadelphia cruised to a second consecutive road victory last weekend, winning 37-17 at Cincinnati following a 28-3 defeat of the New York Giants in Week 7.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts accounted for four TDs (three rushing) against the Bengals and did not turn the ball over for a third straight game. Saquon Barkley ran for 108 yards, surpassing 100 scrimmage yards for the sixth time in seven games, and is No. 2 in the NFL with 766 rushing yards.
The Eagles rank second in the league in rushing with 165.9 yards per game and fourth with 12 rushing touchdowns.
“I think the identity of this football team is physical and that’s what we’re going to try and play by each week, is physical,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “Now, when you say physical, that doesn’t mean you have to run it every time — you run it, you pass it, you can be physical in both aspects.”
Philadelphia meets a Jacksonville defense that ranks 29th in scoring (28.0 points per game) and total defense (382.1 yards per game).
The Jaguars (2-6) were unsuccessful in Pederson’s first return to Philly, where he coached from 2016-20 and led the Eagles to their only Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LII. Philadelphia welcomed him back with a 29-21 win against Jacksonville on Oct. 2, 2022.
In that meeting two years ago, the Eagles limited the Jaguars’ Trevor Lawrence to a career-low 11 pass completions and forced five turnovers by the quarterback — including four fumbles.
Lawrence may have bad memories, but Pederson said he looked forward to being back at Lincoln Financial Field, where he is honored with a statue depicting his “Philly Special” play call in the Super Bowl that helped to defeat the New England Patriots.
“Fans are great. Obviously, we won a championship there and I’ve still got a lot of close friends, family friends,” he said Wednesday. “That place is always going to be one of the spots for me that I enjoy going back to.”
As for the statue, Pederson said he didn’t plan to visit it. “Want me to tailgate, too?” he quipped.
Jacksonville last weekend lost by five or fewer points for the fourth time this season, falling 30-27 at home on Green Bay’s walk-off 24-yard field goal by Brandon McManus.
The Jaguars also lost receiver Christian Kirk for the season with a broken collarbone in the fourth quarter. He ranks second on the team in receptions (27) and receiving yards (379) behind rookie Brian Thomas Jr., who left that game with a chest contusion and was limited in Wednesday’s practice along with fellow wideout Gabe Davis (shoulder).
Jacksonville running back Tank Bigsby (ankle) was also limited Wednesday, but Pederson said he was hopeful for the return of starter Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) after missing two games. Etienne was also limited at practice.
For the Eagles, defensive tackle Jalen Carter (shoulder), guard Landon Dickerson (knee), tight end Dallas Goedert (hamstring) and cornerback Darius Slay (groin) did not practice Wednesday. Offensive lineman Mekhi Becton (concussion) was limited.
After losing the first three meetings against the Jaguars from 1997-2006, the Eagles have swept the last four to grab the lead in the all-time series.
