The Philadelphia Eagles were in trouble Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday after opening and nearly blowing a 22-0 lead.
But DeVonta Smith bailed them out. The Eagles receiver helped Philadelphia with a pair of late fourth-quarter catches, including a sensational one-handed touchdown grab that extended the lead to 28-16. The Eagles held on for a 28-23 victory.
The Jaguars turned a 22-0 shutout into a six-point game in a matter of seconds in the second half. They scored a touchdown on a Trevor Lawrence quarterback sneak with 5:26 left in the third quarter. Fourteen seconds later, Travon Walker converted a Saquon Barkley fumble into a defensive touchdown to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 22-16.
The Eagles then turned the ball over on downs when they unsuccessfully threw the ball on fourth-and-inches. The miscues set Smith up for his late-game heroics.
On first-and-10 on Philadelphia’s ensuing possession, Jalen Hurts looked deep to Smith on a play-action pass. Smith had broken over the top of the Jaguars secondary and hauled in the pass for a 46-yard gain.
Four plays later, Hurts looked to Smith again, this time on third-and-22 at the 25-yard line. Ronald Darby had coverage on Smith as he streaked toward the end zone. But Hurts delivered a perfect ball over the coverage that Smith hauled in with his right hand. Smith held on to the ball as a fell out of bounds.
Replay confirmed that Smith maintained possession and got both feet down just before he landed out of bounds.
The catch, and the touchdown stood. The Eagles extended their lead to 28-16 with 5:08 remaining. But the game wasn’t done.
The Jaguars scored on their ensuring possession to cut the lead to 28-23. Then they had a chance for a go-ahead score in the final two minutes after a missed Jake Elliott field goal attempt.
But Trevor Lawrence threw an interception in the end zone with 1:37 remaining, finally icing the victory for the Eagles.
It’s a win that was made possible in large part by Smith’s great catch in the back of the end zone.
Smith finished the day with four catches for 87 yards and the score. Hurts completed 18 of 24 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and no turnovers. Barkley tallied 159 yards and a touchdown on the ground and three catches for 40 yards and another touchdown.
But his late fumble and some questionable decisions by head coach Nick Sirianni helped breath life into the Jaguars. The Eagles tried and failed on a pair of two-point conversion attempts prior to turning the ball over on downs in the third quarter. Then Sirianni opted to attempt a 57-yard field goal that Elliott missed to set the Jaguars up with a short field and a chance for a go-ahead score.
But in the end, the Eagles did just enough to hold on for the win.
