Eagles grades vs. Jaguars: Jalen Hurts, defensive line give Birds a chance before a late collapse

Instant grades on the Eagles’ performance in their 19-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars:

Jalen Hurts showed gumption despite all the injury issues the Eagles had on offense. He should have had another comeback, game-winning drive, but misfortune occurred on the ensuing kickoff with eight seconds left. Hurts completed 21 of 40 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown. He again avoided a turnover.

Hurts had some shaky moments, though. He took a third down delay of game penalty in the third quarter and then just missed hooking up with a wide-open Dontayvion Wicks on a busted coverage after the Jaguars zero blitzed the quarterback.

In the second quarter, Hurts tossed a dime to Darius Cooper on third-and-10 and his receiver did the rest on a 62-yard touchdown reception. He had a nice 11-yard gain off play-action pass and beat the blitz on two long third downs later on the Eagles’ first touchdown-scoring drive.

Tanner McKee was the backup quarterback for the second straight week and likely moving forward after Andy Dalton was released on Friday. The Eagles went without an emergency third quarterback. Rookie Cole Payton was therefore active for his first NFL game as a non-quarterback. He played on special teams as the “up” back during punts.

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It was another tough day on the ground. Will Shipley got his first NFL start with Saquon Barkley (hamstring) and Tank Bigsby (on injured reserve after core muscle surgery) sidelined. Dameon Pierce and Carson Steele were signed off the practice squad as a result of the injuries and backed up Shipley.

Shipley ran 2 yards into the end zone for his first career regular season rushing touchdown. He ran for only 6 yards on five carries, though, before leaving with a foot injury in the second quarter.

Pierce ran for 6 and 5 yards on his first two carries. He had a bad exchange with Hurts that resulted in a 5-yard loss in the second quarter. Pierce maybe should have cut upfield on a third-quarter run that was stretched for no gain. He ran hard, but rushed for only 14 yards on 11 carries.

Dontayvion Wicks delivered in high leverage situations again with two third-down conversion catches and another when he drew a pass interference penalty that set up the Eagles’ first score. Wicks managed to get both feet inbounds on a 19-yard pass in the third quarter. But could he have laid out for that Hurts heave in the fourth quarter? Makai Lemon had a nice snag over the middle on an 11-yard catch in the first quarter. Lemon couldn’t pull in a fourth-and-3 throw in the third quarter, but he converted on third-and-10 on the next drive on an 18-yard catch-and-run. He also had a good lead block on a screen pass to Shipley in the first drive.

Darius Cooper toasted his man on third-and-10 and then cut inside the post safety on the 61-yard touchdown. It was his third touchdown catch in two games. He saw only 1 more target. Cooper committed pass interference with an illegal block in the fourth quarter. Receiver DeVonta Smith missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury.

Tight end Dallas Goedert was back in action after missing two games due to a MCL knee sprain. He had a huge 17-yard grab over the middle on what was almost the Eagles’ game-winning drive and led the Eagles with six catches for 38 yards. Zach Ertz had zero catches on two targets. Johnny Mundt blocked fine, but struggled at the point of attack on a stretch run in the third quarter.

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It was a game of “who’s not” on the offensive line after a remarkable week that included right tackle Lane Johnson’s retirement and center/guard Cam Jurgens getting traded to the Ravens. The unit was already down left guard Landon Dickerson (knee) and then they lost another starter when center Drew Kendall suffered a knee sprain in the Rams game last week.

Left tackle Jordan Mailata and right guard Tyler Steen were the only Week 1 starters left. Rookie Markel Bell was in Johnson’s spot for the second straight game, Willie Lampkin was promoted to left guard for his first career start, and Jake Majors was signed off the practice squad to fill in for Kendall.

Despite all the shuffling, the unit performed admirably. It just wasn’t enough. The O-line still had issues opening holes in the run game and allowed too much pressure at times. It was better vs. the blitz. Lampkin had a crucial lead block on Shipley’s 2-yard touchdown run. Bell had some impressive snaps in pass protection

Majors struggled to sustain his block when Shipley was dropped at the line in the second quarter. He also rolled a shotgun snap to Hurts that forced a throwaway on third down in the third quarter, then had another bad snap — this one nearly over Hurts’ head — late in the game.

Steen injured his shoulder, but eventually returned after visiting the locker room. Fred Johnson was his temporary replacement.

The pass rush, led by Jalen Carter, finally delivered on its potential. The defensive tackle more than earned his paycheck, especially in a dominating first half. He didn’t wear as large of a soft cast on his injured right wrist as he had previously.

Carter got off to a strong start. He drew a holding penalty and strip-sacked quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the Jaguars’ first possession. He recorded another strip-sack a few drives later with a strong outside pass rush. Carter was impressive against the run, too, and had a tackle for loss in the second quarter. Moro Ojomo also got push up the middle.

Jordan Davis led a run defense that held Jaguars running backs to just 3.1 yards a carry. He drew a holding penalty on a run play in the third quarter.

Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith Jr. got pressure from the edges, although neither recorded a sack. Hunt batted down a pass in the second quarter. However, he injured his knee and ankle on the last play of the first half and didn’t return. Smith had a third down neutral zone infraction in the third quarter. Backup edges A.J. Epenesa and Arnold Ebiketie flashed in relief. Epenesa batted a third-down pass late in the game, while Ebiketie was able to blow up a stretch run in the third quarter.

Outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard had a questionable status despite not practicing all of last week. He tested out his injured ankle before the game, but was inactive for the third of his first five games as an Eagle.

Zack Baun was a menace to the Jaguars, leading the Eagles in tackles. He made a fourth-down stop in the backfield of Tuten on a sweep just before the half. Baun read his keys and made a stop in the flat on a short pass in the third quarter. He forced Lawerence into a throwaway on a fourth-quarter blitz. Jihaad Campbell delivered a nice pop on Lawrence in the second quarter, but couldn’t bring down Tuten on a fourth quarter 13-yard run up the middle.

Lawrence might have thrown for over 300 yards and tossed a go-ahead touchdown late, but the Eagles secondary didn’t play poorly. Quinyon Mitchell was excellent. He broke up a pass in the end zone just before the half. He made a diving interception in the third quarter for his first career regular-season pick. Mitchell hurt himself on the play, but returned.

Riq Woolen had tight coverage throughout the day, including on Parker Washington’s dazzling 27-yard touchdown. It was just that kind of day. Cooper DeJean was good against the run with a couple tackles for loss, but not so good in coverage. DeJean got beat on a third-quarter third down and failed to bring down receiver Josh Cameron, who picked up 32 yards.

Andrew Mukuba’s overaggressiveness was the primary reason Parker Washington took a short pass off a play-action bootleg and went 51 yards for the game’s first touchdown. But not a single other Eagles defender laid a hand on the receiver as he weaved his way through the secondary.

Michael Carter II took all the nickel personnel snaps for a second straight week with Marcus Epps (groin) out. He got dragged past the first down marker by Tuten on fourth-and-2 just before halftime. Carter left after the play with an abdomen injury and was replaced by Kenny Moore. Earlier, Moore took his first snaps with the Eagles as the sixth defensive back in dime personnel.

Do your one job. After four-plus games of impressive play, the special teams fell apart by allowing a 53-yard kick return after the Eagles went up, 17-16, with eight seconds left. It was unclear initially who might have blown his assignment, but the first kickoff might have been a harbinger for the end. The game got off to a riveting start when it appeared as if a short Jake Elliott kickoff was returned for a 90-yard touchdown. Offsetting penalties nullified the play, but Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and the Jaguars’ Bryan Thomas Jr. got into a fight at midfield that had players from both benches run onto the field. Only Trotter and Thomas were ejected, however.

Britain Covey, fittingly, had a good start in the country that gave him his first name. He went 18 yards on his first punt return and 42 yards on his first kick return. Punter Braden Mann was solid, per usual, and averaged 46.3 net yards on six punts. Elliott made both his extra points and was so close to being the hero with a go-ahead 48-yard field goal.

Coach Nick Sirianni had his team prepared and playing hard till the final whistle despite being severely undermanned. While Liam Coen’s team made mistake after mistake and he made one dumb game-management decision after another, Sirianni and his team were the opposite — until the fateful end. The coach is responsible for all facets, including coordinator Michael Clay’s special teams, but it was a gut-punching way to lose.

Early in the game, he passed up a 55-yard field goal and went for it on fourth-and-1. Sirianni likely felt he had to be aggressive considering the Eagles’ personnel deficiencies, but it backfired on him. The Eagles ran an inside zone read play from the shotgun — rather than the old standby Tush Push — and Shipley was denied. The Jaguars scored a touchdown two plays later.

Sirianni did have some dubious decisions late, however, by allowing there to be eight seconds left on the clock after Elliott’s field goal and not having him kick off into the end zone.

Sean Mannion has to be graded on the curve with so many key players injured and out. But the first-time offensive coordinator had another questionable play-calling performance coming out of halftime. He probably should have abandoned the run earlier when he realized the Jaguars weren’t going to let the Eagles run the ball.

But Mannion, ultimately, came though with the game on the line and directed Hurts on what was nearly the game-winning drive. He was notably aggressive in the first half and didn’t settle for a field goal in the second quarter on third-and-17, dialing up a deep post route that forced Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter tocommit pass interference on Wicks.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit had almost nothing to be ashamed of. It kept the Eagles in the game despite being on the field far more than the offense. Fangio out-witted Coen for long stretches. He got two huge goal-line stops from his defense.