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Eagles-Jaguars player matchups to watch in Week 9 originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles (5-2) will play host to Doug Pederson’s Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6) at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday at the Linc.
Here are some key matchups to watch:
Eagles CBs vs. Jaguars’ injured WRs corps
The Jaguars enter this game without Christian Kirk, who was lost for the season on Sunday with a broken collarbone that needed surgery. That’s a big blow for Pederson’s offense. Kirk this season had 27 catches for 279 yards and a touchdown.
And the Jaguars’ other top receivers are banged up coming off the Jags’ loss to the Packers in Week 8. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. is day-day-day with a chest injury suffered on Sunday. Thomas (picked No. 23 overall) is the Jaguars’ top receiver with 33 catches for 573 yards and 5 touchdowns. And free agent pickup Gabe Davis is playing through a shoulder injury that continues to bother him. Davis this season has 18 catches for 217 yards and 2 touchdowns.
That means that Trevor Lawrence is going to be a little short-handed in this game and the Eagles’ pass defense has been very good recently. We’ll see if Darius Slay (groin) is able to play in this game but if not, Isaiah Rodgers played well in relief last week. Rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have been excellent. And Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson have the only three picks for the team all season,
Eagles safeties/linebackers vs. Evan Engram
The Eagles were able to limit a ton of production from Ja’Marr Chase in Week 8 but tight end Mike Gesicki had a nice game with 7 catches on 8 targets for 73 yards (although Zack Baun did punch the ball out of his hands for a takeaway in the second half). Without Kirk and with the other receivers a little banged up, it’s possible that the Jaguars work to get Evan Engram some targets in this game.
The former Giants tight end had a career season in 2023 with 114 catches for 963 yards and 4 touchdowns in his second season in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/eagles-jaguars-player-matchups-watch-110000185.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-11-01 11:00:00
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