Eagles' ugly, yet impressive, win keeps hope alive

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It wasn’t a pretty win. 

That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an impressive one. 

The Eagles went to London and played what was kind of a sloppy game. They turned the ball over, they let a spiraling team stick around, they made too many mistakes. And all of that would have been the focus for the next two weeks if they somehow let the hapless Jaguars come back and win. 

They didn’t.

The Eagles finally finished a game.

In the end, the Eagles’ defense got a big stop on fourth down. Carson Wentz made some clutch plays. And the Eagles were able to run the clock to pull out a 24-18 win over the Jaguars at Wembley Stadium (see Roob's observations). For a while, Sunday morning’s game felt like those losses to the Titans and Panthers, like the Eagles were going to blow it again. They didn’t this time and you have to give them credit. 

Are there still concerns? Sure. There are plenty. 

As we said, it was a sloppy performance. 

Wentz seems to have a fumbling problem. The offense still isn’t scoring enough, the defense is giving up touchdowns at terrible moments. And Lane Johnson might miss some time as injuries continue to pile up. 

But, for now, the Eagles have a seven-hour flight to celebrate a win that was about as close to a must-win as one can be against an AFC team in October. After the game, Doug Pederson said he didn’t think this game was a “must-win,” but that can be argued. If the Eagles lost this game, they’d be 3-5 heading into the bye week with some really tough road games left on their schedule in L.A. and in New Orleans. Sure, five of their division games are left, but that would have been a lot of pressure. 

No, this isn’t how the Eagles expected to start their 2018 season. They haven’t lived up to the new norm Pederson wanted to establish. But at least there’s some hope. 

Maybe Howie Roseman works his magic and gets them a new player for the stretch run before Tuesday’s deadline. But even if he doesn’t, a win like this can give a team some newfound confidence. 

This was Pederson’s message to the team after beating the Jaguars: 

Just told them congratulations on a hard-fought win. Nothing’s ever given to you. You have to go earn everything. You have to take games against a great opponent. My hat goes off to our players and our coaches for being able to come over here with the travel and being able to handle and be disciplined with that. It was really a positive for the team and just sort of embraced the moment, being around the guys. I told them it was just a great experience overall and a great way to finish the first half of the season.

Earlier this week, Pederson talked about the possibility that this trip to London could be galvanizing for the team. It’s not easy to take a seven-hour flight, practice on no sleep and try to acclimate to a new time zone, especially when you really need a W. None of that would have been an excuse if they lost, but it would have made it a little more understandable, especially because the Jaguars do this trip every season. 

Sometimes, we learn the most about a team when its back is against the wall. 

The Eagles’ backs were against the wall Sunday, and they didn’t fold. 

I don’t care that it wasn’t pretty.

 

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