Alshon Jeffery’s amazing return overshadowed by Eagles’ collapse

NASHVILLE – Alshon Jeffery had no idea he'd just put up the best numbers of his Eagles career, and he was only vaguely interested in the matter.

"How many yards did I have?" Jeffery asked the reporter who'd brought it up. The answer was 105, on eight catches (nine targets), including a 16-yard touchdown on which Jeffery just outmuscled a defender for the ball at the goal line.

"I only care about winning," said Jeffery, the Eagles' big-play wideout, who hadn't taken the field since the Super Bowl — the last of 19 games he played with a rotator cuff injury suffered early in training camp. Jeffery underwent surgery, rehabbed all through training camp and the preseason, and was finally cleared for contact last week, only to miss two of the three practices leading up to Sunday's game with a flu-like illness.

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"The coverage rolls to him, and it's a great opportunity for us to have a dynamic receiver out there," said Nelson Agholor, who failed to take advantage of that coverage rolling to Jeffery. Agholor caught five passes on 12 targets for a paltry 22 yards.

"I wasn't 100 percent," from the illness, Jeffrey said. "But it is what it is. We didn't win the game, but it is still something we can build from."

On Jeffery's first catch, 31 yards down the Eagles' sideline, he came down hard on his repaired shoulder.

"It knocked the wind out of me, but I'm all right, though," he said.

Carson Wentz called Jeffery "a guy that can make contested catches and make plays for you. He can give the offense a spark, you saw that out there today."

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It quickly became apparent Sunday that Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota had much better feeling and grip in his passing hand than he'd had a week earlier in Jacksonville, when Mariota threw for only 100 yards in a 9-6 win. He did not start that game but was forced to go in when Blaine Gabbert suffered a concussion. Mariota is fighting a nerve problem in his elbow.

"I'm feeling better," Mariota confirmed, after completing 30 of 43 passes for 344 yards, two touchdowns, and an Avonte Maddox interception while benefiting from an Eagles defense that seems unable to cover receivers on the road. "This athletic training staff here has done a great job of finding ways to make it feel better. I'm continuing to work on the strength."

Mariota also ran 10 times for 46 yards, breaking tackles on at least a couple of occasions.

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Last year, the Eagles' second loss of the season came on Dec. 3, in Seattle. But last year's Eagles were money in the red zone offensively, and tended to come up with the big play when they needed it defensively. Not so much in the two road losses this year. …  DeAndre Carter, restored to the active roster from the practice squad because Corey Clement couldn't play with a quad strain, ripped off a 42-yard punt return with a minute, 41 seconds left in regulation that set up the Eagles' tying field goal. … Jordan Matthews' 56-yard touchdown catch was his longest reception since 2015.

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