The Jacksonville Jaguars knew what was at stake Week 9 tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles.

They also knew the facts surrounding the contest. The Eagles were a team on the rise that had finally hit their stride, while the Jaguars came into the game facing a slew of injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

For the Jaguars to accomplish the herculean task of defeating a dominant Eagles team, it would be necessary to limit the avoidable mistakes that have plagued the team all season.

That, of course, didn’t happen as the Jaguars entered halftime trailing 16-0 and with only 32 yards and a first down to their name.

All of this was a preview of things to come, with the Jaguars ultimately 28-23. It was a mix of everything that led to the Jaguars’ second straight loss, dropping them to 2-7. They struggled to run the ball, receivers had multiple drops and the defense continued to struggle as a tackling unit.

One thing that cannot be taken away from the Jaguars is their effort and fight. Despite costly mistakes from time to time, the Jaguars clawed and clawed all the way until the final two minutes, when Jake Elliott missed a 57-yard field goal to give the ball back to the Jaguars with 2:11 left and losing 28-23.

A pass interference call and a 22-yard gain by activated practice squad receiver Austin Trammell put them at the Eagles’ 13-yard line, but the Jaguars fell apart on the last player when Trevor Lawrence was intercepted by Nakobe Dean.

The Jaguars quickly fell into a 7-0 hole due to a predictable and disastrous self-inflicted error, which was directly caused by the “Jaguars’ injury woes at wide receiver”. After the Jaguars forced a punt early on the Eagles’ first drive, Trammell fumbled the game’s opening punt at the team’s 20-yard line.

The only reason Trammell was on the field in such a key spot, of course, it was because the Jaguars lost Christian Kirk to a collarbone injury. With current returner Devin Duvernay also injured, the Jaguars would have had Parker Washington returning punts.

Shortly after, the Eagles scored their first first-quarter points of the entire year on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jalen Hurts to Saquon Barkley. Barkley wasn’t done there either, setting up an Eagles field goal and a 10-0 lead with one of the most athletic plays in recent memory.

Barkley, of course, didn’t stop terrorizing the Jaguars there. After Travis Etienne intercepted a Trevor Lawrence pass and intercepted the Eagles, Barkley scored his second touchdown of the day with a 19-yard score on a 3rd-and-17 run in the red zone.

Jacksonville’s offense continued to struggle in the second half, as the Eagles scored their third rushing touchdown of the day on an 18-yard touchdown run by Hurts to take a 22-0 lead early in the third quarter.

The Jaguars didn’t pick up their second first down of the day until 9:14 remained in the third quarter on a 16-yard run by Etienne that was quickly followed by an 18-yard gain from Lawrence to Trammell. After Lawrence converted 3rd-and-12 with a completion to Washington, the Jaguars found themselves at the Eagles’ 15-yard line.

Jacksonville finally hit the dirt for the first time on a quarterback sneak from Lawrence, capping a 61-yard drive in which the Jaguars picked up five first downs. Thanks to a two-point conversion by Brian Thomas Jr., the Jaguars cut the lead to 22-8.

On the Eagles’ next offensive play, Travon Walker scooped up a Barkley fumble and the former No. 1 pick recovered it 35 yards for the first touchdown of his career. After Lawrence connected with Evan Engram for the two-point conversion, the Eagles’ lead was cut to 22-16 in a matter of minutes.

The Jaguars made a big stop on the next drive by forcing a turnover on downs, but an incomplete pass to Washington on 3rd-and-3 forced a Jaguars punt and gave the Eagles renewed life.

The Eagles responded with two critical throws to DeVonta Smith, one on 3rd-and-6 and another that resulted in a 46-yard gain to put the Eagles in field goal territory. Smith then caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to make the score 28-16.

Jacksonville fought back on the next drive, with Lawrence overcoming a third-down sack and hitting Brian Thomas Jr. on a fourth-and-13 to keep the drive alive. After a big completion to Engram on the next play, Lawrence scored his second rushing touchdown of the day to make the score 28-23 with 4:04 left.

The 2-7 Jaguars will host the Minnesota Vikings in Week 10.

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