It was tough for the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. The Duval Devout were forced to watch helplessly as the Jags saw six starters suffer injuries in a heartbreaking 30-27 loss to the Packers which dropped them to 2-5 on the year. As a result, wide receiver Christian Kirk is now out for the year while wide receiver Gabe Davis and guard Ezra Cleveland were out for this game. The opportunity for an underdog story similar to that made famous in the Rocky movies presented itself facing the Philadelphia Eagles on the road Sunday. Unfortunately, Rocky Balboa was a citizen of the city of Brotherly Love as Jags head coach Doug Pederson used to be — Philly flies 28-23 over the Jags.

The Good

The defensive front had huge moments.  “One of the keys to the game was that defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker needed to get heavily involved to alter the many throws and runs by Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. JHA finished the game with four tackles, a pair of sacks, a pair of tackles for loss, and a pair of quarterback hits. Walker tallied seven tackles with two for a loss and scooped up a fumble he returned it 35 yards to the house. Combining that with the way they defended 4th down, it’s hard to criticize a group that accomplished all this when the other team had running back Saquon Barkley in their backfield.

The Bad

Christian Kirk’s absence turned into the Eagles first touchdown of the game. How is that possible? The Jags defense stopped the first quarterback sneak attempt (famously called the “Brotherly Shove”) when Philly false started. Now facing 4th and six, Philadelphia punted the ball. Jacksonville’s Parker Washington, who was promoted to fill in for Kirk, was relieved of duties returning punts as a result. This left Austin Trammell to get blasted by Sydney Brown. Trammell fumbled the ball that was recovered by Kelee Ringo on the Jags 20. Hurts then hit running back Saquon Barkley to put up the game’s first points.

That being said, it would only be where the Barkley nightmare begins. The interception thrown by Trevor Lawrence in the first half will fall under his statistics, but it was clearly Travis Etienne losing a ball that was clearly in his possession before being tipped up and taken by Zach Baun. When the Jags held Philly to a long 3rd and goal, it didn’t matter — Barkley took in from 19 yards out on the ground to score.

That all being said, whether you want to criticize Lawrence’s final throw which became his second interception of the game, running back D’Ernest Johnson’s execution of the later part of the route, or the coaching staff for calling that particular play, it was a bad idea at some point.

The Spotty

Eagles fans will claim that Barkley’s fumble that was taken back to the house by Walker was an incorrect call. While linebacker Ventrell Miller touched Barkley, the officials in review appear to have determined that he tripped over his own offensive lineman after he recovered his footing. In that instance, he’s not touched down, and the ball is live. Whether the interpretation was correct might depend on who you ask, but based on what they saw, they made the right call.