JACKSONVILLE – Team reporter Kainani Stevens each week during the 2026 regular season will speak with a media member covering the Jaguars' opponent.
Up this week:
PHLY Sports' Eagles Analyst Fran Duffy checks in about the Eagles' recent injury concerns and previews Sunday’s Week 5 matchup against the Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Q: What's going on with the Eagles right now? They have been so good for so long. Now, from the outside perspective, it just feels like something's not quite right.
A: There's a lot of layers to that answer. Injuries are a big part of it, and there are a lot of guys on both sides of the ball banged up going into this game. They're hoping to get a few of those guys back, but that remains to be seen as we get closer to game time. You're also incorporating a new offensive philosophy. They brought in offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, a couple of new members of the coaching staff, and got rid of a couple of long-term assistants. These were guys that were in the building for over a decade. There has been a rocky road there, to say it kindly. They had major issues in pass protection last week. Not just from a talent standpoint, but from an assignment standpoint. A lot of indecision and guys pointing, not sure of what they were trying to do. You would like to see the guys look a little bit more prepped than that. The optimistic side is that one could assume a lot of these are fixable issues. You get some of these guys back into the lineup and you iron out some of those issues. But there have been a lot of issues over the last two weeks. They have not converted on third down since the first half of Week 3. It has been a rough road.
Q: What is the feeling with the fans in Philly?
A: I would say the internal pressure matches the external pressure here in Philly. That's a marker for many of the best programs in the pros, college … just a level of urgency. It starts from the top down and there is a lot of pressure in that building. They started 2-0, then lost against Chicago and a third-string quarterback. Then they lose [this past Sunday] to the [Los Angeles] Rams where you're up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter on the goal line with a chance to put it away. Somehow lose that game to a team you never have lost to in this regime. There is definitely some angst going into this game. Going 2-2 on this stretch going up against Ben Johnson (Bears) and Sean McVay (Rams), that's acceptable, but the way that it has looked and felt is the tough thing to shake. I worry about going across the ocean and playing a good Jacksonville team that's off to a great start. The Jags have maybe the best defense in the AFC, if not in the entire NFL. That could be a third straight loss. The next week is a hot Carolina team; things could start to unravel.
Q: What have you seen defensively from the Eagles through the first month?
A: What we've seen over the course of the three years that Vic Fangio has been here [as defensive coordinator] is that it has been a slow start and then it just kind of builds. By the time you get to, like, mid-October, that's where that unit is usually humming. It was probably the best performance to date last week against the Rams. Now, if you go down into the fourth quarter, they give up two touchdown drives to close out the game. This defense has been put in tough spots far too often -- this offense right now is leading the NFL in three and outs – especially when you get to the second half of these games. Opposing defenses are shutting down this offense at such a historic rate after halftime that the defense is just constantly out there on the field. Factor that with the injuries, it's easy to see why we've seen some of these late-game touchdown drives more than we were accustomed to seeing in years prior.
Q: Can you give me an X-factor player on offense and an X-factor player on defense that need to have a good game for the Eagles?
A: The big one for the Eagles is they have to figure things out on the offensive line from a protection standpoint. Drew Kendall is the name to kind of spotlight there. He is the new starting center after Landon Dickerson went on injured reserve in Week 1. He's a second-year offensive lineman from Boston College. They think he's really smart and really great with all the protection calls, which were an absolute disaster last week. It was an issue in Week 3 against Chicago as well. Going up against this Jacksonville front and what [defensive coordinator] Anthony Campanile has put together over the last couple of years, that's going to be a big, tall task for Kendall. Defensively, they're just hoping to just get more out of this pass rush. If they're going to derail this Jacksonville offense, they want to be able to get after quarterback Trevor Lawrence. So maybe linebacker Jalyx Hunt? Linebacker Nolan Smith had a couple of sacks, and harassed Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford routinely last week. I think Hunt is a player that is still poised for another breakout, and another ascension. He's in Year 3. He had a great summer, and we just haven't seen it show up from a sack number standpoint. Linebacker Jonathan Greenard enters this week banged up, so let's see if Hunt can take the next step here.
