Jaguars @ Eagles
Final Score: Eagles 29, Jaguars 21
Writer: Ryan McDonough (@RyanTalksFF on Twitter)
In a game that was being touted for its intrigue of what many perceive to be young and upcoming teams, the Eagles escaped with a win on Sunday afternoon. The victory did not come easily, as brutal weather conditions and an early 14-0 deficit made this matchup much tougher than expected. Jalen Hurts did not look as sharp as usual, leading to the Philadelphia offense to lack the explosiveness it has come with this season. Nick Sirianni relied on his ground game, leaning heavily on Miles Sanders to secure the victory with tough running and several broken tackles.
Despite the loss and blown lead, Doug Pederson’s squad still looked impressive in the head coach’s return to the city that he led to a Super Bowl victory. Trevor Lawrence was another casualty in terms of fantasy production due to the weather, but still had flashes of big plays with his developing relationship with Christian Kirk.
After going down 14-0 in the first quarter, the Eagles put up 20 points in the second and never gave up the lead after that. In a messy, rainy, sloppy ball game, Philly remains undefeated.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Quarterback
Trevor Lawrence: 11/23, 174 Yards, 2 TD, INT | 2 Carries, 7 Yards, 4 Fumble (Lost)
Trevor Lawrence did everything he could on Sunday to keep his team in the game, but he is very much what I like to call a “perfect-conditions quarterback.” This season Trevor has looked great in the games that he has above average protection, a decent run game, and plays in good weather conditions. Today was not one of those days, and it resulted in the sophomore quarterback to try to create a lot more than he is accustomed to. Here is the result of one of these attempts:
https://twitter.com/FTBeard7/status/1576629085781958657?s=20&t=nLM1SLI-JJxyPPBLyRZcEA
In addition to another ugly fumble, Lawrence also through this pick after somehow missing James Bradberry before throwing the ball.
The #Eagles one healthy CB James Bradberry, picks off Trevor Lawrence.pic.twitter.com/3EXCP8eW5k
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 2, 2022
I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Lawrence is incapable of moving past this moniker that I have given him, he is only a second-year quarterback after all. In order for these Jaguars to get over the hump and be the young upstart team that many perceive them to be, Trevor has to take that step and win these gritty games.
Running Back
Travis Etienne Jr.: 8 Carries, 32 Yards | 1 Target
James Robinson: 8 Carries, 29 Yards
JaMycal Hasty: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards
In a game that had such harsh weather conditions, one would probably expect to see a team with two solid running backs get a lot of touches to reinforce ball security. The only problem with this was that there was no hole just about all game for either Travis Etienne or James Robinson. To put it in context, Etienne had one rush of 11 yards (accounts for over 33% of total yardage for him on the day), and Robinson had a rush of 9 yards (accounts for just under 33% of his yardage). The Jags couldn’t get anything going through the air today, but that really starts with the lack of production from these two with their struggling offensive line.
Fantasy twitter seems really confused about which way to lean on Etienne, as he was able to out snap Robinson for the first time this season.
Jaguars RBs Week 4 snap counts and routes run (per @PFF):
Travis Etienne 24 (15)
James Robinson 22 (8)Etienne entered Week 4 playing just 44% of the snap with Robinson at 57%.
— Underdog NFL (@Underdog__NFL) October 3, 2022
With that being said, there wasn’t a whole lot of production as a result of it. The snap count could be something to keep an eye on going forward, but it didn’t appear that using Etienne as a pass catcher was high on the priority list in today’s action, which is evidenced by JaMychal Hasty getting more targets than him today.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Christian Kirk: 1 Carry, 3 Yards | 9 Targets, 2 Receptions, 60 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Jamal Agnew: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 50 Yards, 2 TD
Dan Arnold: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 26 Yards
Evan Engram: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 16 Yards
Marvin Jones Jr.: 1 Target
This series of statistics is interesting to me for two reasons:
A) If there is any indicator of how Trevor Lawrence was throwing the ball today, Christian Kirk‘s stat line is most definitely the best one. Out of the 9 targets that he good, a number that would typically bode well for him and be exciting for his fantasy managers, he only caught TWO of those passes. Kirk really struggled to secure his catches a couple of times due to the weather, but made a timely 45-yard reception set up what ultimately became the Jaguar’s last score of the day.
B) Jamal Agnew opened a lot of people’s eyes with his performance today. The shifty gadget player lead his team in receptions and hauled in two touchdown scores. Agnew has never really had the same vertical speed as guys like Kirk, but is far and away one of the most underrated receivers at maneuvering in close space. His 5’10 frame lets him get low like a running back, but he possesses an enhanced ability at going up for jump balls. Agnew definitely made the most of his opportunity with Zay Jones missing today’s action.His two scores can be seen below:
.@jamalagnew is SHIFTY!#JAXvsPHI on CBS pic.twitter.com/FzBtsKeIPW
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 2, 2022
.@jamalagnew makes a man miss and punches it in!#JAXvsPHI on CBS pic.twitter.com/8BariX6R7R
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) October 2, 2022
Philadelphia Eagles
Quarterback
Jalen Hurts: 16/25, 204 Yards, INT | 16 Carries, 38 Yards, TD
If you read my article on my three boldest predictions for this NFL season, you can reference the fact that I called Jalen Hurts having an MVP-caliber year. Today’s game will not be one that I bring to the attention of my critics in defending that take.
Hurts didn’t look terrible by any means, but the rain really limited him in making this offense pop in the same way we have been accustomed to over the first couple of games this year. Hurts’ versatility to shift back to his old ways of being a designed ball carrier really allowed for the Eagles to make a smooth-ish transition to come away with the victory.
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 2, 2022
Don’t count on Hurts carrying the ball this many times again this season (barring torrential downpour or other inclement weather) but he should be able to more than make up for it with his production through the air.
Running Back
Miles Sanders: 27 Carries, 134 Yards, 2 TD | 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 22 Yards | 1 Fumble (Recovered)
Kenneth Gainwell: 5 Carries, 19 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 1 Reception, -2 Yards
Trey Sermon: 2 Carries, 19 Yards
The Miles Sanders roller coaster just continues to roll on, as the guy continues to relatively randomly put up monster fantasy weeks. Today, Sanders looked like an absolute man on a mission, breaking several tackles, being patient for holes to develop, and impressively only fumbling the ball once despite the rainfall and abundance of touches. Sanders getting involved through the air opens up a whole new dimension to this Eagles offense, as they had become somewhat predictable in tipping play calling wither personnel shifts.
Run @BoobieMilesXXIV run #JAXvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/b2ZQluPaiW
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 2, 2022
.@BoobieMilesXXIV won't be denied.#JAXvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/qGlWHBTUYX
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 2, 2022
Kenneth Gainwell has been the primary pass catcher out of the backfield thus far, but has proven to be a more than capable zone runner when his number is called. The Eagles’ offensive ceiling can only improve if both of these backs continue to develop into well-rounded ball carriers.
Kenny G up the middle for 6😎#JAXvsPHI | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/zKw609paHa
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 2, 2022
Wide Receiver/Tight End
A.J. Brown: 7 Targets, 5 Receptions, 95 Yards
Dallas Goedert: 6 Targets, 5 Receptions, 72 Yards
DeVonta Smith: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 17 Yards
Zach Pascal: 1 Target
Quez Watkins: 1 Target
A.J. Brown just continues to dominate. There’s really no other way around it. The guy will flat-out catch anything that you throw at him. If there was a single guy that could be pointed to in terms of being the person that opened up this Eagles offense, it is Brown and his work just about everywhere on the field. He catches the ball over the middle taking tough hits, he catches the ball up and over guys on the sideline, he takes screens in the red zone and makes guys miss, he is everywhere. Brown actually would have had a touchdown score today if it weren’t for a phantom offensive pass interference called on his blocker on a screen play in the second quarter.
Dallas Goedert put up another solid outing as he continues to solidify himself as one of the most underrated tight ends in the league. Goedert has shown a vast improvement in his ability as a blocker, which could lead to more slip touchdowns for him down the road if it continues to yield success for the ground game.
DeVonta Smith was kept quiet today after a big outing last week, but it is a tall task feeding all of these mouths given the weather conditions. His numbers today shouldn’t be anything to worry about.