The Eagles are leaving for London, England today as they prepare to face the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. The game starts at 9:30 am our time, 2:30 pm London time.
There should be a huge amount of Eagle fans across the pond, even if Jacksonville has become London's team. Since Jacksonville has problems selling out its home games, The Jags have gotten an England game every season. Advantage Jaguars for being used to the jet-lag, the time -change and routine. For Philadelphia it's a new experience, so it will be interesting to see how the players react.
Jags QB Blake Bortles was benched last week but is supposed to start against the Birds. Bortles is 3-0 in London games.Let's see if he is extra-motivated this week.
Both teams are 3-4 and it's not a stretch to say that the loser, dropping to 3-5, would be in big trouble. The Eagles would still have all of their division games to play. Winning the NFC East is probably the only way they will get into the playoffs this year. So an Eagle loss would not be totally devastating but wouldn't be good either. A defeat would mean Philly would need to go 6-2 in the second half of the season just to end up with a winning record.
A win would stabilize the birds at 4-4, with a bye week ahead, then Dallas invades the Linc on Sunday night Football on November 11th. With road games in New Orleans and Los Angeles ( vs the undefeated Rams)still ahead, the Eagles can ill-afford to lose to an equally sub-par club like Jacksonville.
Of course, penalties and turnovers will be key. How much do the Eagles want this game? Recent articles have indicated that the Birds don't seem as motivated. Why so many hamstring injuries/ Did they take the time and effort to work-out determinedly during the off-season? What about all the mental mistakes? Are players watching film and studying their playbooks?
The Eagles are Super bowl champs and are the better team. But don't forget that Jacksonville made it to the AFC Championship Game last season, losing in New England, in a game the Jags should've won. So their current season is just as disappointing.
I don't have a good feeling about this game. Philly is in turmoil. Who would've ever thought they would lose two straight home games to NFC rivals, especially blowing a 17-point lead in the 4th quarter to Carolina?Jacksonville is spiraling downward as well, with a shaky quarterback situation. I give an advantage to the Jags for London experience. They won't get caught up in all the hype and ceremonies.
If the Eagles lose this week will GM Howie Rossman finally pull the trigger on a deal/ Or will he hold onto all those precious draft picks, knowing a trade or two probably wouldn't fix the Eagles anyway.If they win they are still only an average squad at 4-4. Either way, I can't see Rossman sitting still. ( Bringing back WR DeSean Jackson from Tampa would be a good start).
As much as I hate to say it..I'm making it Jaguars 20 Eagles 17
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