What we know (and don’t) about the Eagles entering Week 5 vs. the Jaguars

A list of the Eagles’ inactive and injured players essentially doubles as a list of some of the most important players on the roster.

DeVonta Smith. Lane Johnson. Saquon Barkley. Dallas Goedert. Zack Baun.

The Eagles were without four of the five for the entirety of Sunday’s 24-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, with Barkley dropping out in the first quarter. Even so, the Eagles had a 20-10 lead over the Rams until the final four minutes of the game.

» READ MORE: Battered Eagles can’t hold off Rams in wet conditions, lose Saquon Barkley and Quinyon Mitchell in 24-20 loss

Last week’s loss was a beat down at the hands of the Chicago Bears. This week’s was more evenly matched, but it was just as heartbreaking to an Eagles team that hasn’t yet eclipsed 24 points in a single game and is still seeking to establish its offensive identity.

Now, they’ll be tasked with attempting to rebound across the pond against a 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars team with a stellar defense.

Here’s what we know (and what we don’t) about the Eagles heading into Week 5:

This isn’t the first time the Eagles have started their season 2-2 and arrived at a crossroads.

In 2024, the Eagles went into their Week 5 bye with the same record. Coming out of the break, Nick Sirianni began to take a different approach with the offense — instead of going pass-heavy, he leaned on Saquon Barkley and the blossoming run game behind a dominant offensive line.

It worked. Barkley rushed for 2,005 yards that season and the Eagles won the Super Bowl (although the run game was stifled in that particular game).

Two years later, the Eagles are at an early inflection point again. The offensive scheme under Sean Mannion hasn’t come out of the gate firing on all cylinders, which wasn’t necessarily the expectation going into the season with a first-time play-caller. But the struggles of the offense — from play-calling to execution to pass protection — were magnified on Sunday as the group hit new lows, going 0-for-12 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down.

Those 12 third-down attempts without a conversion were the most by the Eagles since at least 1991, according to Next Gen Stats.

Not much seemed to work. Hurts was under pressure on 57.6% of his drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats, which was the second-highest pressure rate in a game in his career. The Rams blitzed on all but one of Hurts’ third-down drop backs, and while Hurts didn’t get the ball out on time when he had open receivers on a play or two, he also didn’t have great protection up front on most of them.

Poor execution hurt the Eagles, too. Their third-down play at the Rams’ 2 in the fourth quarter was essentially aborted when the snap was botched, messing up the timing of the play and preventing Hurts from handing the ball off to Tank Bigsby for a likely touchdown.

Is it time to reconsider the offensive vision that the Eagles are trying to adopt? Or is it too early to take a hard pivot, especially when it isn’t clear what the Eagles can hang their hat on through four games? The run game was already clicking going into Week 6 in 2024, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. The 2026 Eagles, by comparison, are currently averaging 4.2 yards per carry. On handoffs from under center, plays that are supposedly at the foundation of the Eagles offense, that average drops to 3.3.

» READ MORE: Best of unCovering the Birds: Are the Eagles’ struggles on offense an organizational flaw?

Sirianni acknowledged after the game that improvement isn’t always linear, alluding to the notion that these losses are part of the growing pains of the offense.

Of course, the Eagles were missing a horde of starters. That might be enough of a reason for the Eagles to delay hitting the panic button on offense.

After the game, Hurts was asked if changes to the offense were necessary, in the same vein of the refocus that occurred during the 2024 season. He didn’t make any indication one way or another.

“We’re going to forge together,” Hurts said. “We’re going to figure out a way. We’re going to grow, and we’re going to reflect on these things as we’ve done following any and every game, and come together and continue to get better as a team.”

The Eagles found a way to lose Sunday’s game against the Rams. The Jaguars found a way to win theirs against the Cincinnati Bengals, 22-17.

Adversity struck both teams, but Jacksonville prevailed. The Jaguars were called for 13 penalties, including 10 in the first half alone. Of those 10 in the first half, two erased Bhayshul Tuten runs for touchdowns, and another wiped off a Travis Hunter interception.

The Jaguars went into Sunday’s game without starting cornerback Montaric Brown. Safeties Eric Murray (concussion) and Caleb Ransaw (knee) dropped out during the game.

Wide receiver Parker Washington, the Jaguars’ leader in receiving yards, was often matched up against top Bengals cornerback DJ Turner and finished with just one reception for 7 yards.

Still, the Jaguars came out on top. Their defense, led by coordinator Anthony Campanile, deserved a lot of credit for the win. Joe Burrow totaled 428 yards on 39-for-54 passing, but the Jaguars still managed to make plays. They picked off Burrow twice, including one interception from Jaguars linebacker Foye Oluokun in the red zone.

The Bengals went just 2-for-4 in the red zone. The Jaguars entered Sunday’s game with the second-ranked red-zone defense in the league (20% opponent success rate).

» READ MORE: The Eagles are arriving in London less than 36 hours before playing the Jags. Nick Sirianni explained why.

Like the Rams, the Bengals sought to score back-to-back touchdowns late in the game for a comeback. The Bengals got one, but they sputtered outside of the red zone on their final possession, thanks to a fourth-and-10 stop from Jaguars safety Rayuan Lane on Bengals running back Chase Brown just shy of the sticks.

No team is perfect. But the Jaguars proved their resilience, something the Eagles fell short of doing on Sunday. It’s also an intangible quality that could help the Jaguars in their quest to repeat as AFC South champions, and at the very least, make them the favorites in their matchup against the Eagles.

The Jaguars boast one of the best scoring defenses in the league. They have allowed just 53 points this season, which is the second fewest in the NFL and the team’s fewest through four games since 2007, when they conceded just 41.

They’re up to six interceptions through four games, which was tied for the NFL lead going into Monday night.

They might look to the Rams for inspiration for their defensive game plan against the Eagles. The Rams entered Sunday’s game as the most blitz-heavy team in the league on third-and-long (7-plus yards) at a 69.2% rate, according to Next Gen Stats. Hurts was blitzed on every third-down drop back (11 of 12 drop backs) except for the final attempt, as the Rams generated six pressures and a sack on those blitzes.

» READ MORE: Sean Mannion, or Nick Sirianni, or Jalen Hurts has to decide on offensive identity after ugly Rams loss

Will the Jaguars follow their formula for success? They used their own exotic looks to their benefit against the Bengals. In the second quarter, a simulated pressure on third-and-6 still generated pressure, as Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen bull-rushed his way into a quarterback hit.

The pressure forced Burrow into making an errant throw over the middle, which was picked off by Jaguars cornerback Jourdan Lewis. The Jaguars turned that interception into points with a 7-yard touchdown reception for wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., which proved critical in their five-point win.

Through four games this season, the Jaguars have only blitzed on third-and-long at a 21.1% clip, but until the Eagles prove they can succeed against it, they should expect to continue to see pressure looks in those obvious passing situations.

Listen to the latest episode

Different year, different offensive coordinator, yet still, it feels like Déjà vu all over again. The Eagles had little margin for error Sunday vs. the Rams because of injuries. They played hard despite being shorthanded, but in the end, couldn’t put the Rams away, mainly because of poor execution on offense. Why hasn’t Sean Mannion's scheme clicked? How culpable are head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts in the offensive rut the Eagles find themselves in? The Inquirer's Jeff McLane and David Murphy analyze the fallout from the 24-20 loss to L.A. Listen here.

Listen to all episodes here or wherever you get your podcasts.