The Philadelphia Eagles were in trouble Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday after opening and nearly blowing a 22-0 lead.
But DeVonta Smith bailed them out. The Eagles receiver helped Philadelphia with a pair of late fourth-quarter catches, including a sensational one-handed touchdown grab that extended the lead to 28-16. The Eagles held on for a 28-23 victory.
The Jaguars turned a 22-0 shutout into a six-point game in a matter of seconds in the second half. They scored a touchdown on a Trevor Lawrence quarterback sneak with 5:26 left in the third quarter. Fourteen seconds later, Travon Walker converted a Saquon Barkley fumble into a defensive touchdown to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 22-16.
The Eagles then turned the ball over on downs when they unsuccessfully threw the ball on fourth-and-inches. The miscues set Smith up for his late-game heroics.
On first-and-10 on Philadelphia’s ensuing possession, Jalen Hurts looked deep to Smith on a play-action Smith. Smith had broken over the top of the Jaguars secondary and hauled in the pass for a 46-yard gain.
Four plays later, Hurts looked to Smith again, this time on third-and-22 at the 25-yard line. Ronald Darby had coverage on Smith as he streaked toward the end zone. But Hurts delivered a perfect ball over the coverage that Smith hauled in with his right hand. Smith held on to the ball as a fell out of bounds.
Replay confirmed that Smith maintained possession and got both feet down just before he landed out of bounds.
The catch, and the touchdown stood. The Eagles extended their lead to 28-16 with 5:08 remaining. But the game wasn’t done.
The Jaguars scored on their ensuring possession to cut the lead to 28-23. Then they had a chance for a go-ahead score in the final two minutes after a missed field goal set them up with a short field.
But Trevor Lawrence threw an interception in the end zone with 1:37 remaining, finally icing the victory for the Eagles.
It’s a win that was made possible in large part by Smith’s great catch in the back of the end zone.
