The Eagles host the 2-1 Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, who are following up a massive win against the Los Angeles Chargers. In that game, Jacksonville’s offense was firing on all cylinders, dropping 38 on the Chargers’ star-studded defense. Defensively, the Jaguars were able to hold Justin Herbert to just ten points. Questions can be asked about the health of Herbert in that game, but one thing is still certain: the Jaguars look like a very good football team.
Coached by Eagles’ Super Bowl-winning head coach Doug Pederson, the Jaguars are no pushovers. Trevor Lawrence looks much improved under the new regime, and both sides of the ball have been dominant to this point in the season. Nick Sirianni and co. are going to have to bring their A-game to win this game. Below are the three biggest factors for the Eagles to key in on.
Trevor Lawrence Looks Good
Like Jalen Hurts, Lawrence appears to have taken a massive step in 2022. Through three games, Lawrence has amassed 772 passing yards and six touchdowns while completing 69.4% of his passes. He has looked fantastic thus far, showing poise in the pocket and not being forced into mistakes like he was in 2021. He is starting to prove why he was taken first overall two years ago.
There are two main factors in his improvement. First off, his weapons, despite being heavily criticized in the offseason, have looked great, especially Christian Kirk. Just like what’s been seen with Hurts, it’s a lot easier to look good as a passer when your receivers are making plays. Luckily, the Eagles have a great solution for this–Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Avonte Maddox have been the most effective cornerback trios in the league thus far.
The second factor is his ability to give himself time in the pocket. In 2021, Lawrence often looked flustered in the backfield. Despite his athleticism, he often scrambled himself into bad situations and turned the ball over because of it. However, so far in 2022, he looks much closer to his college self, being very effective with his legs.
The Eagles have proven their ability to rush the passer, however. As was seen in week three, the Eagles defensive front is deep and incredibly talented, with Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, Fletcher Cox, and Haason Reddick all playing significant roles in the pass rush. The key to stopping Lawrence is to make him uncomfortable and force him into mistakes, and the Eagles have the personnel to do just that.
James Robinson is Back to Form
After tearing his Achilles late in 2021, James Robinson’s early season availability was in question. Combine that with preseason whispers of Travis Etienne getting a larger role in the offense, and it was uncertain what Robinson’s production would look like. However, three weeks into the season, Robinson looks like the clear top back in the Jaguars’ offense.
Statistically, Robinson has put up 230 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. He is averaging 4.5 yards per carry and has four rushes of 20-plus yards. The third-year power back is making his presence felt in what has been a surprising start to the season.
Halting Robinson will be a challenge but is a must if Jacksonville’s offense is to be thwarted. A big part of the solution will need to be rookie defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Davis is a massive nose tackle who showed off his knack for resetting the line of scrimmage in week one against Detroit. In that game, the Lions ran the ball 28 times, 14 with Davis on the field and 14 with him off. When Davis wasn’t on the field, the Lions averaged a whopping ten yards per carry. But when Davis was in the game? The Lions averaged just 2.9 yards. Robinson is a back who thrives between the tackles, so creating interior blockage is a necessity.
Jaguar’s Defensive Backfield Needs to Be Attacked
Offensively, Hurts needs to attack the Jaguars’ early and often. It is the weakness of the defense and, assuming the defensive fronts impact can be minimized, is the key to offensive success.
Jacksonville’s defensive backfield has given up 268.3 passing yards a game, the 12th most in the league. However, even more telling are the touchdowns allowed. Jacksonville has, albeit impressively, only allowed five touchdowns this season, but all of them have come through the air. This includes four to Washington quarterback Carson Wentz, who was shut down by the Eagles last week.
AJ Brown and Devonta Smith match up well against Jacksonville. Scoring points is a must with a strong Jaguars’ offense on the other side. For the second straight week, Philadelphia should lean on their passing game. Hurts has been great through three weeks–it’s time for him to lead the offense once again.
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