3 Takeaways From Jaguars’ Wild Win Over Eagles

​​Normally, when you bring up a 6-foot-4, 335-pound defensive tackle, you think of his ability to create havoc in the backfield. How about as a long snapper? Davon Hamilton filled in for starting long snapper Ross Matiscik, who suffered a shoulder injury in the first quarter. Hamilton had six snaps on punt, field goals and extra points, but his defining moment came when he snapped the game- winning kick for Cam Little.  

“Stepping up for your team and helping them win games is a big moment,” Hamilton said. “Whatever I can do, I’ll do it to help my team win games.”

This wasn’t Hamilton’s first time filling in at long snapper. In Week 13 last season, he stepped in for Matiscik after he suffered a back injury.

Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said Hamilton had limited reps at long snapper but still believed he was the right man for the job.

“He gets a few snaps a week maybe, and it’s not really in a live setting very often,” he said. “Typically we go out, and it’s on a walk-through. He gets a couple snaps with those guys as an emergency. We talked with Jahlani [Tavai] as well as a potential option, but D-Ham’s done it in games for us. We trusted him to do it.”

Parker Washington Bounces Back

​​After coming off his worst game of the season last week in Cincinnati, where he recorded one reception for seven yards, wide receiver Parker Washington stepped up huge for Jacksonville. He hauled in six receptions for a season-high 124 yards and two touchdowns. None was bigger than his late fourth-quarter touchdown on fourth-and-5 with 3:25 left, which gave Jacksonville the lead.

​“It was a big time moment and a big time play we needed,” Washington said about his catch in the fourth quarter. “We needed a play right there, and being able to make that play, that’s what it’s all about.”

Jacksonville finished with 306 passing yards, with 124 coming from Washington. So far this season, he has scored a touchdown in three of the Jaguars’ five games, and they remain undefeated when he scores.

​“We consider him an elite wide receiver,” Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence said of  Washington. “I don’t know what everybody else thinks, but we feel he is pretty freaking good and that’s what’s important.”

Resilience

​​Through five weeks, no game better demonstrated Jacksonville’s resilience than Sunday’s win. Philadelphia kicked a go-ahead field goal with eight seconds remaining to take a 17-16 lead. With no timeouts left, Jaguars returner Ameer Abdullah returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Eagles’ 39-yard line, setting up a Cam Little game-sealing field goal as time expired.

The wild finish came after Jacksonville missed the extra-point attempt in the fourth quarter that could have extended its lead to 17-14. Self-inflicted mistakes plagued the Jaguars, who committed 13 penalties for 100 yards. One costly sequence came with 8:09 remaining, when Jacksonville trailed 14-10 at the 1-yard line and committed three offensive penalties, turning a first-and-goal at the one into a third-and-goal at the 14.

​“It ain’t pretty, but it’s gritty and that’s what it comes down to,” Coen said. “It’s what the team has been. It’s what this team is. I love that group, I have a lot of faith in that group, we’re talented, but we’re tough and I really appreciate that about this team.”

“Sticking with the process, not our cleanest game at all. We have a lot to clean up. We did not play our best football, but just the grit and the will to win of our group, and that’s what it takes sometimes,” Lawrence said.

End Of My Jaguars Rant

For Jacksonville, you couldn’t ask for a more thrilling finish. However, there are still plenty of things to clean up, starting with penalties. The Jaguars repeatedly hurt themselves with costly mistakes that put them behind the sticks. Despite their 4-1 start, Jacksonville has to be more disciplined to compete among the elites in the NFL.