The world was introduced to Jacksonville wide receiver Allen Hurns in the first half after he amassed over 100 yards receiving and two touchdown catches in a stunning coming-out party for the reworked Jaguars offense.
The Eagles were left with a ton more questions than answers after 30 minutes, as they coughed the ball up three times on their way to a 17-0 halftime deficit.
Our Eagles/Jaguars First-Half Recap
Rumors of Philadelphia's death were greatly exaggerated, however, as new Chip Kelly favorite, RB Darren Sproles, showed why he is a fantasy football darling with a 49-yard touchdown scamper to put the Eagles on the board.
After giving up an 11-play, 80-yard scoring drive to the start the half, the Jags had no answers in their first offensive series of the second half. The Jags offense went three-and-out, as they put the ball back into the hands of Philly QB Nick Foles and a rejuvenated Eagles offense.
The Eagles' previous confidence-boosting drive proved prescient, as a 22-yard Sproles punt return to the Jacksonville 40 immediately put Philadelphia in business. It wouldn't take long for the Eagles to cash in, as Chip Kelly's offense clicked on all cylinders for a six-play, 2:10 touchdown drive capped off by a 25-yard touchdown connection between Foles and TE Zach Ertz.
With their lead shaved down to 17-14, the Jaguars would lock into a battle of short ineffective drives with the Eagles, as each team traded two punts each to turn the game into a contest of field position.
Five drives later (which spanned a combined 43 yards of offense), the Eagles would finally sustain an effective push. With a steady dose of RBs LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, the Eagles put together a rare grind-it-out drive to put themselves into field goal position. K Cody Parkey would nail a critical 51-yard boot to reset the game at 17-17.
A promising eight-play Jacksonville drive would end in a punt, as the ball would be returned to Philadelphia on another Jags punt.
Nick Foles? He relished the moment, nailing WR Jeremy Maclin on the Eagles' play after the punt for a 68-yard TD reception to hand the lead to the Eagles for the first time in the game.
With Philadelphia up 24-17, Jacksonville saw the writing on the wall from a clock perspective. Down to one timeout, the Jaguars were forced to go for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 29. An incomplete pass from Chad Henne intended for Mercedes Lewis would prove the death knell for the feisty Jags.
The Eagles would pick up a field goal on their possession, followed by a sack and strip of Henne on the Jags' next touch. Philadelphia DE Fletcher Cox would scoop up the loose rock and rumble into the end zone to put the game away at 34-17.
Jacksonville, to their credit, continued pushing in the final 1:23, but the clock ran out as they crossed into Philadelphia territory. The Eagles had sealed an (albeit scary) come-from-behind 34-17 victory.
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