If you didn’t set your alarm this morning, you may have missed the most exciting finish to the NFL season so far.
The Philadelphia Eagles lost 19-17 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London after a fourth quarter full of twists and turns worthy of an M. Night Shyamalan film.
The first three quarters have already been filled with drama: three fourth-down stops, several fumbles and an interception. Philadelphia eventually took a 14-10 lead in the final 15 minutes.
On the third drive of the fourth quarter, Jacksonville looked ready to take the lead, driving to the 1-yard line. Then chaos ensued.
The Jaguars committed three penalties instead of kicking the ball from 3 feet and found themselves facing fourth-and-goal from the 5. They couldn’t convert – the second time in the game the Jaguars turned the ball over on downs in a goal-to-go situation.
The Jacksonville defense quickly forced a three-and-out. On the Jags’ next possession, the offense was again faced with fourth down, and this time Trevor Lawrence connected with Parker Washington for a 27-yard touchdown pass. Washington made the play of the game with a nifty one-handed grab to give Jacksonville the lead. But the Jaguars, playing without their starting long snapper due to injury, missed the extra point after a high snap spoiled the kick.
The Eagles dropped back on their next possession and punted, giving Jacksonville the ball after a two-minute warning. The Jaguars, however, hit a triple and thanks to an incomplete pass, Philadelphia still had a timeout.
Jalen Hurts then led a nine-play, 32-yard drive that ended with a 48-yard field goal from Jake Elliott. Philadelphia led 17-16 with just eight seconds remaining.
Avid NFL fans will remember a similar situation in Week 4, when the Dallas Cowboys tied the Baltimore Ravens at 31 with seven seconds left. Dallas took the ensuing kickoff out of the end zone, allowing the Ravens to make a play and get within field goal range for the game-winning kick.
The Eagles, likely aware of this specific scenario and knowing that Jacksonville had no timeouts, decided to keep the ball in play.
But Ameer Abdullah returned the kickoff 53 yards to the Philadelphia 39-yard line and was tackled with one second left. This set up a 57-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the game, and kicker Cam Little, after another high kick, scored the game winner.
It was an absolutely shocking loss for Philadelphia, which had a 99.9% win probability after the go-ahead, according to ESPN Analytics. The Eagles – already struggling with injuries and the sudden retirement of star tackle Lane Johnson – have now lost two straight games in which they led in the final two minutes.
Philadelphia fell to 2-3 with the loss. Jacksonville, meanwhile, improved to 4-1.
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