Carson Wentz Leads Eagles to Win vs. Jaguars in London

The Philadelphia Eagles may have just salvaged their season.

Led by a strong performance from Carson Wentz, the Eagles defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars in London on Sunday morning, 24-18, moving them to 4-4 on the season. The loss dropped Jacksonville to 3-5, meanwhile, putting its playoff hopes in jeopardy. 

Wentz overcame two first-half turnovers to lead the Eagles to the win, throwing for 286 yards and three scores while completing 21 of his 30 passes. His counterpart, Blake Bortles, made plays with his legs (43 rushing yards) and threw for 286 yards and a score, though he was unable to hurt the Eagles down the field with any regularity, averaging just 7.0 yards per attempt.

Philadelphia's front seven also came up big, holding Jacksonville to just 70 rushing yards while sacking Bortles four times. 

The win kept the defending champions in the playoff picture, while the Jaguars—who reached last season's AFC Championship Game—will now need a miraculous turnaround to get back into postseason consideration.

Wentz's Brilliance Papers Over Eagles' Glaring Flaws

The Eagles have injuries all over the roster, namely on the offensive line and in the secondary. That secondary has been porous in recent weeks. They could use an upgrade at running back and a deep threat at wide receiver. They've struggled to close games, losing four contests by six or fewer points.

But they have Wentz. And Wentz makes them a threat to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Most 4-4 teams don't belong in the championship conversation. But while Wentz has had his hiccups since returning from an ACL tear last season, he's largely played excellent football, and his performance Sunday was perhaps a microcosm of his season in general.

His two first-half turnovers hurt the Eagles. But after that he was fantastic, extending plays with his legs, making some truly impressive throws and helping the Eagles convert seven of their 12 third-down attempts. Jacksonville's struggles getting Philly off the field led to 32 minutes and 38 seconds of possession for the Eagles. 

He now has 13 passing touchdowns to just two interceptions in six games. Maybe he isn't in the MVP conversation, but had he been healthy to start the season—and had the Eagles closed out a few more of their tight losses—he might have wormed his way into that talk, especially given that he was the front-runner for the award a season ago before his injury. 

The Eagles still need offensive balance, of course, which they showed on Sunday with 133 yards on the ground (though 28 of those yards came from Wentz and another 14 came from wideout Nelson Agholor). And unlike last week, Wentz and the Eagles played well in the fourth quarter.

On the team's first fourth-quarter drive, Wentz led them to a touchdown. And on the final drive of the game, with the chance to put the Jaguars away, Wentz found Jordan Matthews for a crucial 13-yard, first-down pass. Two Wendell Smallwood runs and a first down later, the Eagles were in the victory formation. 

It wasn't perfect. It wasn't always pretty. But when the Eagles needed Wentz to come up with a big play, he generally did, and it was the difference on Sunday morning.

And it may be the difference for a shaky Eagles team in the second half of the season as Philadelphia seeks to claim an NFC East title and go on another postseason run.

Jaguars Have Too Many Issues to Be Elite Team

Many of Jacksonville's weaknesses were once again exposed on Sunday morning, and they're the sort of weaknesses a championship team simply wouldn't possess. At least not all of them.

• The Jaguars came into the day 25th in rush defense (121.9 YPG). They gave up 133 to Philly. 
• They came into Sunday 23rd in rushing offense (98.6 YPG), with Leonard Fournette's injury issues continuing to linger. Philly's stout run defense held them to 70 yards on the ground, with newcomer Carlos Hyde (six carries for 11 yards) making zero impact. 
• They came into Sunday 31st in turnover differential (-12). They actually won that battle Sunday, forcing two turnovers and only giving up one. But it didn't matter, because Philly held the advantage in points off of those turnovers, 7-3. 
• Bortles doesn't make impactful plays down the field, averaging just 6.97 yards per pass attempt (26th in the NFL). He averaged 7.0 yards per attempt Sunday, with many of his key third-down conversions coming from runs, not passes.

Oh, and red-zone issues? Yeah, they've got those, too.

Even Jacksonville's strengths didn't translate against the Eagles, namely its pass defense. Yes, they got pressure on Wentz (four sacks) and forced two turnovers. But that same defense also gave up three touchdowns, nearly 300 passing yards and allowed Wentz to convert a number of third-down conversions. 

The Jaguars were in the game in large part because Bortles played a solid game and the defense forced the aforementioned turnovers. But the Eagles were clearly the better team on Sunday, again exposing a Jacksonville team that simply has far too many weaknesses to be a legit contender this season.

Bortles Isn't Dynamic Enough to Save Jaguars' Season

The Eagles, like the Jaguars, have a lot of issues that need addressing. The Eagles, unlike the Jaguars, have a quarterback who is good enough to mask many of those concerns.

Bortles wasn't bad on Sunday. Far from it. He made plays with his legs, threw for nearly 300 yards and kept the Jaguars close in the second half. 

What he was never able to do, however, was make that one elite throw to bail out the Jaguars on a major third down, or drop a dime between defenders in the red zone. He extended drives with his legs, but when the Eagles got pressure up the middle he struggled to escape, and when he needed to pinpoint accurate throws to beat the coverage he rarely did so. 

Bortles wasn't the reason Jacksonville lost on Sunday. 

But he continues to be the reason why the Jaguars aren't going to win more. 

What's Next?

The injury-plagued Eagles head into their bye week before a Week 10 divisional showdown against the Dallas Cowboys on Nov. 11, while the Jaguars also have a bye week before facing the Indianapolis Colts in two weeks.