Eagles-Jaguars: Eagles fend off Jags to win fourth in a row; A.J. Brown left the game with a knee injury

Running back: A-

Saquon Barkley was the best player on the field once again. He rushed 27 times for 159 yards and caught three passes for 40 yards. He had rushing and receiving touchdowns. Barkley dropped jaws again with what may have been the first-ever successful backward hurdle in NFL history. Barkley’s ridiculous leap came at the end of a check-down 14-yard catch in which he had already broken one tackle and spun away from another.

He made a difficult over-the-shoulder catch in the end zone and just inside the boundary for the Eagles’ first points in the first quarter this season. Just before the break, Barkley ran for a 19-yard touchdown on a third-and-17 draw vs. the Jaguars’ phantom defense.

What can't Saquon Barkley do?

After hurdling backwards over a defender earlier, Barkley added to the Eagles' lead with a 19-yard touchdown run on a third-and-17 running play where the Eagles were likely just trying to get into field goal range.

You won't see many plays with worse defending on this NFL Sunday.

The Eagles finally scored points in the first quarter, their first time getting on the board in the first 15 minutes of a game all season.

Jalen Hurts hit Saquon Barkley on a 20-yard wheel route two plays after Sydney Brown's forced a fumble while on punt coverage.

The Eagles lead, 7-0, after the first quarter, and the Jaguars, as expected, don't look like a team that's going to score many points.

As Doug Pederson prepares to make his return to Philadelphia, he still doesn’t plan on visiting the Philly Special statue of himself and Nick Foles.

Asked by reporters earlier this week if he would visit the monument to one of the most iconic plays in Super Bowl history, Pederson laughed and responded, “No, it’s on the other side of the stadium. You want me to tailgate, too, and just say hi to people?”

“Actually I have not seen the statue in person,” Pederson added. “My brother who passed away a couple years ago, he actually [did], when he was up there. Both of my brothers have actually been there and taken pictures.”

In the fleeting moments between periods of Eagles practice, Quinyon Mitchell has developed a telling ritual.

As the team breaks for special-teams drills, the first-round rookie cornerback heads toward an unoccupied field, finds his position coach, and resumes their shared pursuit of speeding along his development as quickly as possible.

Lined up across from Mitchell and sometimes impersonating whichever wide receiver he’ll be facing most often that Sunday is Eagles defensive backs coach/pass-game coordinator Christian Parker. He’s the 32-year-old, Jordans-wearing, watch-collecting assistant coach behind the Eagles’ resurgent secondary and the one who initially caught Mitchell off guard with the insistence that they don’t waste time on the practice field.

On the latest edition of Gameday Central Extra, EJ Smith and Olivia Reiner discussed several Eagles topics, including what the team might do ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline.

Here's what EJ had to say on the show ...

"I mean, what stands out to me is edge rusher, tight end, defensive tackle. Really pass rusher in general is what I would say stands out. You know, tight end — I don’t think there’s necessarily like a clean fit for tight end. There’s some guys that you could add. But I think that they would be looking more for like an impact player than just a guy who could kind of join the rotation.

In LeSean “Shady” McCoy’s six years with the Eagles, he consistently put on record-breaking performances, becoming one of the best running backs to wear green and black. Before McCoy’s induction in the Eagles Hall of Fame during the Birds' matchup with Jacksonville, McCoy — and former teammate DeSean Jackson — sat down with The Inquirer and had a lot to say about their careers, Saquon Barkley’s talent, and where A.J. Brown ranks as the best all-time Eagles wide receiver.

But first, here are McCoy's thoughts on going into the Eagles' Hall of Fame ...

The Inquirer: What does it mean to be inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame?

One of the cruelest developments in recent NFL history could come to pass this weekend and in the days that follow. If the Eagles dismantle the Jacksonville Jaguars in Philadelphia on Sunday, which, as seven-point favorites they are predicted to do, their play could bring about the firing of the most successful coach in franchise history — again.

Doug Pederson will be forever adored in Philly as its only Super Bowl winner, and his “Philly Philly” play call in Super Bowl LII will always be a thing of legend, but his seat in Jacksonville is hotter right now than Florida in August.

The Jaguars have lost 11 of their last 14 games dating back to a 2023 collapse. They’re 2-6 this season, and lost by 37 in Buffalo and by 19 in Chicago.

The Eagles are 7.5-point favorites against the 2-6 Jaguars, who are coming off a 30-27 loss to the Green Bay Packers with Lawrence turning the ball over twice in his own territory.

As the Eagles aim for their fourth straight win since the bye week, they welcome back a familiar face to Philadelphia — Doug Pederson. Will the Eagles keep their momentum going? Will Pederson spoil the Eagles moment at home? Here’s what local and national media experts are saying ...

Inquirer beat writers

Today's game between the Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars is scheduled to kick off at 4:05 p.m. Eastern on CBS. Andrew Catalon will handle play-by-play alongside Jason McCourty and former Giants running back Tiki Barber, calling his first Birds game since getting into an offseason dustup with Saquon Barkley.

AJ Ross will report from the sidelines at the Linc.

In March, Barber and Barkley got into a media squabble over some tongue-in-cheek remarks Barber made on 94.1 WIP sister station WFAN in New York City, where he cohosts the afternoon show alongside Evan Roberts.