Eagles vs. Jaguars predictions: Our writers make their picks for Week 9

The Eagles host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. Here are our writers’ predictions for Week 9.

The Jaguars have settled down some after an 0-4 start, but they’re coming off a tough 30-27 loss to the Packers at home and suffered some casualties. The Eagles, meanwhile, are playing their best football with three straight victories — the most impressive coming on Sunday at the Bengals. They can’t overlook a Jacksonville team that could be playing for coach Doug Pederson’s job.

» READ MORE: Doug Pederson shares his advice for Nick Sirianni

The Jaguars will need to play near-perfect football — assuming the Eagles play close to the level they played at the last few weeks — to win in Philly. Nick Sirianni’s team maybe hasn’t earned that amount of trust — at least not yet — but there are matchup advantages up and down the roster. I can see Pederson getting his group to hang into the fourth quarter. But I think the Eagles have figured out enough to beat Jacksonville, even if they don’t bring their “A” game.

Prediction: Eagles 34, Jaguars 23

Jacksonville’s only chance seems to be relying on its running back to try to control the clock. The Jaguars shouldn’t have enough manpower on defense to stop Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown, and DeVonta Smith. The Eagles have been relying on their run game, and while Jacksonville has been solid against the run, the Jags haven’t faced a running back of Barkley’s caliber. They avoided Joe Mixon when they played Houston and later faced a Colts team that didn’t have Jonathan Taylor. Josh Jacobs of Green Bay, arguably the best runner the Jaguars have faced, went for 127 yards on 25 carries last week.

The Eagles should be able to run the ball effectively and also throw it. It’s hard to imagine Jacksonville scoring enough points to keep up. A big one looms next week in Dallas, but this is only a trap game if you’re obsessed with being a contrarian.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Jaguars 16

The 2-6 Jaguars are limping into their matchup against the Eagles. Christian Kirk, who is No. 2 on the team in receiving yards, broke his collarbone last week and is out for the season. Brian Thomas, the team’s top receiver, was limited in practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with a chest injury. Left guard Ezra Cleveland (ankle) is out, and and right guard Brandon Scherff (knee) is questionable to play. A number of other players are banged up, including third receiver Gabe Davis (shoulder).

Plus, the Jaguars are already in sell mode. They traded left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday. So, there’s a chance that the Jaguars roll out three backups on the offensive line on Sunday, which could mean feasting time for the Eagles’ pass rush. They struggled with allowing pressure early in the season, conceding 11 sacks in the first three games. Getting Trevor Lawrence, who has the seventh-lowest time to throw average in the league, out of a rhythm early could open up opportunities for the pass rush to pin its ears back.

The Eagles boast favorable matchups on both sides of the ball, even without Jordan Mailata, Dallas Goedert, and Darius Slay. So long as the Eagles don’t stoop to the level of their opponent, they should be able to nab their fourth straight win since the bye week.

Prediction: Eagles 34, Jaguars 21

The state of this Jaguars team offers the Eagles a chance to maintain the level of play we’ve seen from them in the last few weeks. If they play to that level, there will be plenty of pathways toward their fourth consecutive win and another lopsided scoreline.

If Jacksonville can’t generate pressure, Brown and Smith should be able to shred this Jaguars secondary. One of the few reservations may be the Eagles’ turnover luck since the bye week. If Hurts can go four straight games without giving the ball away, the Eagles have the talent to win. But, as Sirianni harped on earlier in the season, turnovers can be the great equalizer especially against an overmatched team like the Jags.

If the Eagles play like they did against the Giants or Bengals, this has the makings of a blowout. I’m not sure if they will, though, so I’ll pick a slightly closer game.

Prediction: Eagles 28, Jaguars 23

The Eagles host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon. Here are our writers’ predictions for Week 9.

The Jaguars have settled down some after an 0-4 start, but they’re coming off a tough 30-27 loss to the Packers at home and suffered some casualties. The Eagles, meanwhile, are playing their best football with three straight victories — the most impressive coming on Sunday at the Bengals. They can’t overlook a Jacksonville team that could be playing for coach Doug Pederson’s job. The Eagles offense should have a decided edge vs. Ryan Nielsen’s defense. The first-year coordinator’s unit is last in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) and defensive-adjusted value over average. Nielsen switched the Jaguars’ front from a 3-4 to a 4-3 and likes to employ a heavy amount of man coverage. He prefers to rely on his four-man rush and doesn’t blitz a lot.

The Jaguars have two above-average edge rushers in Travon Walker (6-½ sacks) and Josh Hines-Allen (three sacks). Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson will see Walker the most. He shut him down two years ago. Hines-Allen is more versatile than Walker and will be another tough test for Fred Johnson, who’s still filling in for Jordan Mailata at left tackle. I’d expect the Eagles to again pick their spots to help Johnson in pass protection. Jacksonville has been decent at defending the run — even with light boxes. The Eagles have made it clear since the bye that they’re going to try and get Saquon Barkley his in the early going. But I’m not sure it makes sense to hammer it on the ground with the advantages receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith should have vs. man-to-man defense. Cornerback Tyson Campbell is back from injured reserve and is Jacksonville’s best man defender. He may shadow Brown.

Like the rest of his team, quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been steadier after a difficult first month. He likes to get the ball out quick, averaging 2.66 seconds to throw. He will also air it out more than most. He averages 9.1 air yards per attempt, which is seventh-highest in the league. The Eagles defense has done well to limit explosive passes in recent weeks, but it has to be ready for gadgety plays. Lawrence likes to work from the pocket, but Pederson will move his quarterback to buy him time behind a so-so offensive line.

Lawrence can be prone to turnovers, and when his mechanics are off, his passes tend to sail. He lost starting receiver Christian Kirk to a season-ending broken collarbone last week, and his top target, rookie Brian Thomas, is questionable with a chest injury. If healthy, Thomas can stretch the field and win in the air. The Eagles will be without cornerback Darius Slay. Isaiah Rodgers will be his replacement. He gives up 5 inches in height to Thomas. Vic Fangio’s unit has gotten into a groove since the bye, but it’s not without flaws. Evan Engram could be a handful for safety Reed Blankenship or whoever is tasked with covering the tight end.

Pederson’s run offense has been efficient. Tank Bigsby is a slasher and gets a lot of yards after contact. He has done well in starter Travis Etienne’s absence. Etienne is expected back, though, giving the Jaguars complementary inside (Bigsby) and outside (Etienne) runners. Fangio’s run defense has been much better since the first two games. He’s figured out some of his personnel. But I’d expect the Jaguars, who use a fair amount of play-action, to target off-ball linebackers Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun with fakes.

The Jaguars will need to play near-perfect football — assuming the Eagles play close to the level they played at the last few weeks — to win in Philly. Nick Sirianni’s team maybe hasn’t earned that amount of trust — at least not yet — but there are matchup advantages up and down the roster. I can see Pederson getting his group to hang into the fourth quarter. But I think the Eagles have figured out enough to beat Jacksonville, even if they don’t bring their “A” game.

Prediction: Eagles 34, Jaguars 23

Jacksonville’s offense seems to have figured something out, but as the other Jeff points out above, the defense is woeful. The Jaguars are in a stretch of allowing at least 30 points in three of four games, and the only game they held a team under 30 was against the 1-6 New England Patriots in part two of Jacksonville’s two-week residency in London. And while the team in general is playing better, and perhaps staving off Pederson’s inevitable firing, the Jaguars are a 2-6 football team heading into Lincoln Financial Field as an underdog of more than a touchdown.

This one should play out accordingly.

Sure, Lawrence is playing better, but the Jaguars are down Kirk and may be without Thomas. Even if Thomas plays, it’s hard to imagine he’ll be at 100%. And assuming the Eagles are able to move the ball and score points against a defense that isn’t offering up much resistance, Lawrence should be playing catch-up without enough firepower to make up the difference. While Slay is out, the Eagles finally have the depth at cornerback to withstand his absence. And though the Jaguars have been decent when it comes to protecting Lawrence, they should be in obvious pass situations enough for this surging Eagles pass rush to get after the quarterback.

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Jacksonville’s only chance seems to be relying on its running game to try to control the clock. The Jaguars shouldn’t have enough manpower on defense to stop Jalen Hurts, Barkley, Brown, and Smith. The Eagles have been relying on their run game, and while Jacksonville has been solid against the run, the Jags haven’t faced a running back of Barkley’s caliber. They avoided Joe Mixon when they played Houston and later faced a Colts team that didn’t have Jonathan Taylor. Josh Jacobs of Green Bay, arguably the best runner the Jaguars have faced, went for 127 yards on 25 carries last week.

The Eagles should be able to run the ball effectively and also throw it. It’s hard to imagine Jacksonville scoring enough points to keep up. A big one looms next week in Dallas, but this is only a trap game if you’re obsessed with being a contrarian.

Prediction: Eagles 31, Jaguars 16

The 2-6 Jaguars are limping into their matchup against the Eagles. Kirk, who is No. 2 on the team in receiving yards, broke his collarbone last week and is out for the season. Thomas, the team’s top receiver, was limited in practice on Wednesday and Thursday with a chest injury. Left guard Ezra Cleveland (ankle) and right guard Brandon Scherff (knee) seem doubtful to play. A number of other players are banged up, including third receiver Gabe Davis (shoulder).

Plus, the Jaguars are already in sell mode. They traded left tackle Cam Robinson to the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday. So, there’s a chance that the Jaguars roll out three backups on the offensive line, which could mean feasting time for the Eagles pass rush. They struggled with allowing pressure early in the season, conceding 11 sacks in the first three games. Getting Lawrence, who has the seventh-lowest time to throw average in the league, out of a rhythm early could open up opportunities for the pass rush to pin its ears back.

Etienne, the Jaguars’ top running back, is expected to return this week after missing the last couple of games. Tank Bigsby has been a bright spot in his place, forcing a missed tackle on 38.8% of his carries this season (No. 2 in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats). The Eagles have cleaned up their tackling in recent weeks, and they must continue on that trend, otherwise Bigsby could make them pay.

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio is feeling good about the Eagles defense. Is there a trade that could help it further?

The Jaguars’ biggest defensive strength is their pass rush. Hines-Allen is particularly disruptive, winning 19.5% of his reps on non-penalty pass rush snaps (No. 7 in the league among edge rushers with at least 137 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus). He lines up primarily on the right side of the defensive, indicating that Fred Johnson has another tough assignment this week after facing Trey Hendrickson against the Bengals. Travon Walker, who lines up opposite Hines-Allen, leads the team in sacks.

The Eagles boast favorable matchups on both sides of the ball, even without Goedert, Mailata, and Slay. So long as the Eagles don’t stoop to the level of their opponent, they should be able to nab their fourth straight win since the bye week.

Prediction: Eagles 34, Jaguars 21

The state of this Jaguars team offers the Eagles a chance to maintain the level of play we’ve seen from them in the last few weeks. If they play to that level, there will be plenty of pathways toward their fourth consecutive win and another lopsided scoreline.

Jacksonville enters this matchup as one of the worst defenses in the NFL by most metrics. The group ranks 32nd in DVOA, 31st in yards per attempt allowed, and 29th in both yards and points allowed. Conversely, the Eagles seem to be uncovering their best self on offense behind a dominant running game and a passing game that leverages the bind opposing defenses are in with accounting for the group’s collection of stars.

Nielsen has called blitzes a league-low 14.9% of the time, but his four-man rush hasn’t been effective either. Jaguars edge-rushing duo Walker and Hines-Allen are a talented pair, but the Eagles showed against Cincinnati that they can rely on Fred Johnson most of the time and mix in the occasional chip block to steady the backup left tackle.

If Jacksonville can’t generate pressure, Brown and Smith should be able to shred this Jaguars secondary. One of the few reservations may be the Eagles’ turnover luck since the bye week. If Hurts can go four straight games without giving the ball away, the Eagles have the talent to win. But, as Sirianni harped on earlier in the season, turnovers can be the great equalizer especially against an overmatched team like the Jags.

On the other side of the ball, the toll of last week’s loss to the Packers should tame this Jacksonville offense considerably. Thomas has been excellent this season, but would be a one-man show without Kirk even if he’s able to play through a chest injury.

The battle up front is the one worth watching. The Jags benched and traded away left tackle Robinson earlier this week and were without both of their starting guards during Thursday’s practice. If the Eagles’ defensive front is matched up against a patchwork offensive line, it should be able to get to the turnover-prone Lawrence early and often.

If the Eagles play like they did against the Giants or Bengals, this has the makings of a blowout. I’m not sure if they will, though, so I’ll pick a slightly closer game.

Prediction: Eagles 28, Jaguars 23

Eagles play in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from Lincoln Financial Field.