Eagles-Jaguars: What Did We Learn?

Eagles 34, Jaguars 17 – Just as everyone drew it up. "Oh, God, no," Chip Kelly said when I opened up the post-game press conference with that very thought. As poor as it looked in the first half, the Eagles offense was more like itself in the second half. Overall, the defense was consistent. And special teams delivered an "A" performance. But let's not kid ourselves; the Jaguars are not very good. If Nick Foles plays even mediocre in the first half, the Eagles win in a landslide.

1. We still don't know enough about Nick Foles. The Eagles quarterback had his worst half since the Cowboys game last October. The good news is that he settled down after the break, completed enough throws, and most important, didn't turn the ball over as the Eagles came back. Foles was 12 of 24 for 139 yards in the first half. He tossed an interception and fumbled twice. His three turnovers in the first 30 minutes were 75 percent of the way to the four he committed all of last season. Foles' protection wasn't great. Jason Peters seemed to be having the most issues against the Jags' pass rush. But Foles was holding onto the ball too long, a problem that reared its head at times last season. He missed open receivers downfield, the most prominent came on two Jeremy Maclin deep routes when he had enough time in the pocket. I recall him checking down to LeSean McCoy once when Brent Celek was open at the next level. In the second half, Foles completed 15 of 21 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. He played much better, but he still overshot or threw wide of open receivers. The Eagles won, and that's what ultimately matters, but Foles can't put the Eagles in that kind of hole against teams like next week's opponent, the Colts.

2. Fletcher Cox and Mychal Kendricks may be poised to take a leap in Year No. 3. They were arguably the Eagles' best defenders. Take out Cox' 17-yard fumble return for a touchdown, and he was still the most consistent linemen. He tied Kendricks for the team lead in tackles with six, according to the score sheet (which isn't always accurate). He was constantly around the ball as a run stopper, had a few hurries and read a screen. Cox was learning a new position in a new scheme last year, but the light bulb might have gone off for the gifted defensive end. Kendricks was everywhere. He recorded a sack and another tackle for loss, made several tackles a few yards downfield when he had to shed blockers, and batted a pass at the line. Again, the Jaguars offense may be one of the worst in the league, but Kendricks looked in control and played like he did at the end of last season.

3. Maclin didn't seem slowed by his knee injury at all. Foles threw to Maclin ten times and he only caught four, but the receiver was hardly at fault for the misses. He had a few catches in traffic, and most important, showed that he could stretch the field. Too bad Foles couldn't take advantage of the times Maclin broke free deep. But it showed that the receiver still has some burst after tearing the ACL in his knee last year. The Jaguars had a busted coverage on the 68-yard touchdown catch, though. Maclin was beyond the back line by more than ten yards. Foles threw one to Maclin in the end zone that he could have had, but there was contact. I'm not sure if he could have made a better effort. All in all, it was a solid return after a nearly two-year hiatus.

4. Darren Sproles is indeed a running back. Kelly made a point of declaring Sproles a running back in the spring even though many thought he would be used primarily as a pass-catcher out of the backfield. I'm not sure I completely believed him, but the Eagles obviously like Sproles in their running scheme because they can create so much space with their zone blocking. He finished with 11 carries for 71 yards, including a 49-yard touchdown run on fourth down and 1 that gave the Eagles their first points and sparked a comeback. It was the most carries Sproles has had in a game in nearly three years. He also caught four passes for 14 yards and averaged 15.5 yards on four punt returns.

5. Eagles may have stumbled onto something with Cody Parkey. The rookie had a near-perfect start to his NFL career. He kicked a 51-yard field goal – it would have been good from much further – and booted five touchbacks on seven kickoffs. One flew over the back of the end zone. He also kicked a 25-yard field goal. Parkey's 51-yarder equaled Alex Henery's career best. The Eagles may have only gotten him three weeks ago in a trade with the Colts, but Kelly said he's liked everything about him. "I felt good about him since he won the starting kicking job," Kelly said. "I've been around him every day. I love his demeanor. I love his attitude."

6. The Zach Ertz we've been hyping is legit. The second-year tight end finished with three catches for a career-high 77 yards and a touchdown. His 25-yard leaping score was a thing of beauty. Foles lofted it up high and Ertz had his back turned to the end zone, but he pulled it in and crossed the goal line. He seemed to get more snaps than he did most of last season, but we don't have access to the snap counts yet. I recall a few third downs when Celek came off for Ertz. As for his blocking, it still needs works. On one screen pass to McCoy, Celek handled his man, but Ertz missed his and McCoy managed only a few yards.

7. Special teams may end up being the most improved unit. Aside from Parkey, the rest of Dave Fipp's units were great. Punter Donnie Jones booted 5 of 6 punts inside the 20. Brandon Boykin downed one of the punts on the one-yard line. Chris Maragos made a strong tackle on one of the kickoffs that the Jaguars returned. Sproles had lanes to run through on both of his 22-yard punt returns. The Eagles devoted significant resources to improving their special teams this offseason and it paid off – at least in the opener.

8. Bill Davis has a little more flexibility with his defense. I don't know if there was any correlation between holding the Jaguars to 17 points and Davis' mixing up his personnel, but there weren't any breakdowns when Nolan Carroll came in for Bradley Fletcher and Earl Wolff spelled Nate Allen. The Eagles defense played the most number of snaps last season, so it would behoove Davis to give his players some breaks if he has capable backups. I'd like to see more of Carroll – and he was the sixth defensive back in the dime package – but Davis will go with Cary Williams and Fletcher for now. DeMeco Ryans came off in the dime, and may have gotten other breathers had Najee Goode not left with a pectoral muscle injury. The defense, save for a few busted coverages and bites by Williams, was sound. The pass rush moved quarterback Chad Henne off his feet many times and picked up three sacks (Allen, Kendricks and Trent Cole). Brandon Graham played both the Jack (Connor Barwin) and Predator (Cole) spots as the third outside linebacker. He notched two tackles for loss when he shot into the backfield.

9. The offensive line is going to have to get by with some glue. I wrote a more extensive column on the o-line situation, but it seems like Evan Mathis and Allen Barbre will likely be out next Monday against the Colts. With Matt Tobin still ailing from a high ankle sprain, Andrew Gardner (right tackle) and Dennis Kelly (left guard) will be the likely replacements.

10. And a few quickies … McCoy was held to 21 carries for 74 yards. He led the team with six catches for 41 yards. The Eagles are obviously trying to rest him in the early going, but I would have liked to have seen more of him. … Jordan Matthews had a nice debut, catching two passes for 37 yards. Foles missed him when he was open a few times. … Top pick Marcus Smith dressed but didn't play, according to the official score sheet. He may not have dressed – or possibly tight end Trey Burton – if running back Chris Polk wasn't still out with a hamstring injury.