The Philadelphia Eagles dropped their third straight game on Sunday, falling 19-17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London after a controversial call in the final seconds. This wasn’t just any loss, though. It was a deflating, gut-wrenching moment that had head coach Nick Sirianni flat-out saying he lost them the game.
Eight Seconds of Chaos That Blew It All Up
Talk about a rollercoaster ending. With 1:35 left on the clock in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were down two points. Jalen Hurts pulled off a clutch 32-yard drive over nine plays, setting up Jake Elliott for a 48-yard field goal. Elliott, as clutch as they come, nailed it. The Eagles were up 17-16 with just eight seconds remaining. You think it’s over, right? You think they’ve got this locked down? Nope. What happened next was unbelievable.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Eagles made the questionable call to leave the ball in play instead of just booting it into the end zone. And Ameer Abdullah, man, he made them pay. Abdullah broke loose for a stunning 53-yard return. Just like that, the Jaguars were in range, and Cam Little trotted out to drill a game-winning 57-yard field goal. Unreal. That one decision, that one return, it cost them the game.
Sirianni Takes the Blame as Philly Hits Rock Bottom
After the game, there was no hiding from it. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stood up and accepted full blame for that kickoff decision and for the loss overall. “I didn’t make the right decision, and I lost us that game, and that’s what I said to our guys, and what hurts there is that the guys fought so hard and then I don’t make the decision that I should make at the end of the game and I cost us that game,” Sirianni said. “I put that fully on me.” He wouldn’t even go into his thought process, probably because there wasn’t a good one. You might assume they wanted to burn a few seconds off the clock, but you absolutely cannot let a returner rip off 53 yards.
This loss isn’t just one bad game. The 2-3 Eagles are now under .500 for the first time since 2021. Think about that for a second. This Sunday’s defeat snapped a franchise-record streak of 76 games where the Eagles were at least .500 or better. The last time this team was under .500, Jason Kelce was the starting center, A.J. Brown was still with the Tennessee Titans, Aaron Rodgers was still with the Green Bay Packers, and Tom Brady was in his second-to-last NFL season. That’s how long it’s been. It’s been a brutal couple of weeks for Philadelphia, including that 20-point loss to Case Keenum’s Bears on September 28. Sirianni’s taking the hit, but the whole team needs to figure out how to stop this slide.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply