Jaguars Up-Down drill: The good, the bad, the ugly from Philadelphia Eagles game

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The good, the bad and the ugly from the Jaguars’ 29-21 loss Sunday to the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field.

Up: Andre Cisco payoff

One of the reasons the Jaguars drafted safety Andre Cisco in the third round of the 2021 draft, despite him recovering from a knee injury that killed most of his final college season at Syracuse, was his propensity for getting turnovers (13 interceptions in 24 games).

That trend is continuing. Cisco got his second pick in four games this year off the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts and, as an added bonus, returned it 59 yards for a touchdown. It was the Jaguars’ first pick-6 since linebacker Joe Schobert did it in an overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings in 2020.

Last year, the only Jaguar with multiple interceptions was Tyson Campbell, who didn’t get his thefts until Weeks 11 and 14.

Game recap: Looking back at Jaguars vs. Eagles

Too many mistakes: Turnover-riddled showing by Jaguars allowed Eagles to dictate 29-21 loss

Bad grades: Jaguars report card: F-F-ailures on both sides of the ball costly in 29-21 loss to Eagles

Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco (5) celebrates his interception return for a touchdown with Andrew Wingard (42) and Daniel Thomas (20) against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
Jacksonville Jaguars safety Andre Cisco (5) celebrates his interception return for a touchdown with Andrew Wingard (42) and Daniel Thomas (20) against the Philadelphia Eagles during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

Down: Philly Flop II

For whatever reason, the Jaguars don’t seem to handle prosperity at Lincoln Financial Field terribly well. They jumped out to a 14-0 lead and actually had a chance to go up three TDs, but Trevor Lawrence overthrew an open Jamal Agnew on a bomb at the Eagles’ 5-yard-line.

That drive ended with the first of four Trevor lost fumbles on a strip sack by Haason Reddick that was recovered by Fletcher Cox. It triggered a run of 29 unanswered Philly points that gave them a 29-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

In the Jaguars’ last visit to the Linc for the 2014 season opener, they jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead on a pair of Chad Henne TD passes to Allen Hurns. Then came 34 straight second-half points by the Eagles, capped by a strip-sack in which Cox picked up a Henne fumble and rambled 17 yards for his first career touchdown.

Up: Valuable pinch-hitter

With receiver Zay Jones deactivated for the first time this season due to an ankle injury, the Jaguars needed veteran Jamal Agnew to fill that void. He stepped up with a team-leading four receptions for 50 yards and two touchdowns, doubling his career total as a receiver.

In five previous NFL seasons, Agnew’s only receiving TD came near the end of the Jaguars’ 31-7 loss last year to the Seattle Seahawks.

Down: Ball control

The early pick-6 by Cisco was easily negated by five Jaguars’ turnovers, which kept the defense on the field so long, the Eagles kept possession for 39 minutes, 51 seconds.

An opponent keeping the ball twice the amount of time is no recipe for winning football games. The Jaguars ran only 46 plays, tying the same amount they ran in last year’s 50-10 road defeat to the New England Patriots. Their 210 total yards against the Eagles was the lowest since 192 yards in a 20-0 road loss to the Tennessee Titans last December.

Up: Still on top

Technically, if the season ended after four games, the 2-2 Jaguars would be the AFC South champion despite being tied for first place with Tennessee because of a 2-0 AFC record as both of their losses came against NFC teams, the Washington Commanders and Philadelphia.

The Jaguars have one significant schedule edge over Tennessee because they’ve already faced two difficult road opponents in the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia. The Titans still have to travel to both those places.

Down: Same old enemy

When the Eagles traded for A.J. Brown, it was to duplicate the damage he did as a receiver for his first three NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans. Among the teams Brown liked to victimize was the Jaguars, who watched him catch 15 passes for 289 yards and two TDs in four games.

Brown’s numbers against the Jaguars didn’t diminish with him in an Eagles’ uniform. He had five catches for 95 yards, and also had a 10-yard TD reception nullified when tight end Dallas Goedert was flagged for blocking downfield before Jalen Hurts’ pass even got to Brown.

Up: Pederson lovefest

When Jaguars’ coach Doug Pederson talked about his first trip back to Lincoln Financial Field since he coach the Eagles to a Super Bowl title and was fired after the 2020 season, he talked about a possible “mixed” reaction.

That didn’t happen. When the Eagles’ public address announcer mentioned Pederson’s arrival on the field with the Jaguars, most of the 69,879 paying customers stood up and applauded the Jaguars’ first-year coach for his contributions to the franchise. For a fan base that has a reputation of being hostile to the enemy, it was a nice touch.

Down: Another Eagles’ homecoming

One member of the Eagles feeling at home is linebacker Haason Reddick, who grew up 10 miles away in Haddon Heights, N.J. and played his college ball in Philadelphia at Temple. Reddick signed with the Eagles as an unrestricted free agent.

All the six-year first-round draft pick did against the Jaguars was have a career game with two strip-sacks and two fumble recoveries, doubling the total for his career in that last statistic. He recovered the Lawrence fumble off a fourth-down QB sneak, which led to the Eagles’ go-ahead touchdown late in the first half.

Up: Double-digit sack track

Outside linebacker Josh Allen is off to a good start trying to duplicate the double-digit sack season (10.5 sacks) he had as a rookie in 2019, not to mention likely getting a lucrative second contract.

The Jaguars’ first-round draft pick collected his third sack in four games this season, getting Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts to the ground in unusual fashion. Allen pushed left tackle Jack Driscoll (subbing for the injured Jordan Mailata) backward with such force, Hurts tripped on Mailata’s foot and went down for a 10-yard loss. Allen also got the Eagles off the field on another series when he pressured Hurts into an incompletion.

Down: Stormy weather

The rainy, windy conditions played more havoc with the Jaguars and their inability to deal with that adversity ended up costing them the game. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a career-high five turnovers (four lost fumbles) and only completed 11 of 23 passes for 174 yards, way down from his pinpoint accuracy (53 of 69, 497 yards) of the previous two games.

Normally reliable receiver Christian Kirk had only two catches, albeit for 60 yards, on nine targets. He also had two drops.

Gene Frenette Sports columnist at Florida Times-Union, follow him on Twitter @genefrenette

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars' Up-Down drill from their 29-21 road loss to Philadelphia Eagles