LONDON – They led early – and scraped and clawed late.
The Jaguars also made a late push for a comeback, but their annual visit to their international home away from home ended with a too-familiar result.
Josh Lambo gave the Jaguars early leads with two first-half field goals, but the Philadelphia Eagles parlayed a mid-game rally and a fourth-quarter defensive stand into a 24-18 victory at Wembley Stadium on a chilly London Sunday afternoon.
The Jaguars made it 24-18 with Lambo's fourth-quarter field goal, but Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles threw incomplete on 4th-and-2 from the Jaguars 48 with just under four minutes remaining. The Jaguars never regained possession.
The loss was the fourth in succession for the Jaguars (3-5) after starting the season 3-1. The Eagles are now 4-4 after entering the game with losses in three of four games.
The game drew 85,870 – and NFL record for a game in Wembley. The Jaguars had won their last three games at Wembley in the International Series after losing their first two games there.
Bortles, playing a week after being replaced by backup Cody Kessler in the second half of a loss to the Houston Texans, completed 24 of 41 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. The Jaguars' offense managed just 90 yards and four first-half first downs, but finished the game with 335 yards.
Bortles' 11-yard touchdown to wide receiver Dede Westbrook in the third quarter cut what was a 17-6 Eagles lead to 17-12.
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz completed 21 of 30 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns with an interception. His 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Goedert at the end of the second quarter and a 36-yard touchdown pass to running back Wendell Smallwood turned a 6-3 Jaguars lead into a 17-6 Philadelphia lead.
The Jaguars, after not forcing a takeaway in their last two games, forced two Sunday – including two on the Eagles' first two possessions: a fumble recovery by Telvin Smith and end-zone interception by All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
The Jaguars also registered four sacks Sunday – one by end Calais Campbell, one by tackle Marcell Dareus, one by linebacker Myles Jack and one by defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Campbell and Ngakoue now have a team-leading five sacks this season.
Step by step:
*The Jaguars took a 3-0 lead with 6:50 remaining in the first quarter on Lambo's 51-yard field goal on their first drive. The drive covered 39 yards following Smith recovering a fumble by Wentz on the game's first drive – a fumble forced by a sack by defensive tackle Marcell Dareus. The field goal marked the Jaguars' first first-half points since a Week 4 victory over the New York Jets – and marked the Jaguars' first lead since the Jets game, having been outscored 57-0 in the first half of their three-game losing streak entering the game. Ramsey's interception on the Eagles' second drive came in the end zone with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.
*Eagles kicker Jake Elliott's 31-yard field goal with 7:43 remaining in the second quarter tied it 3-3, and Lambo's 57-yard field goal with 2:43 remaining before halftime gave the Jaguars a 6-3 lead. The Jaguars missed a chance to extend the lead when wide receiver Keelan Cole's fumbled on the Eagles 45 on the ensuing possession was recovered by Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins. Wentz's 32-yard touchdown to tight end Dallas Goedert capped the ensuing possession for a 10-6 Eagles lead with :29 remaining in the half.
*Wentz passed 36 yards to Smallwood on the Eagles' first possession of the second half to give the Eagles a 17-6 lead with 8:39 remaining in the third quarter. Bortles' 11-yard touchdown to Westbrook on the ensuing series cut the lead to 17-12 with 4:33 remaining in the third and the conversion pass failed.
*Lambo's 33-yard field goal with 13:10 remaining made it 17-15, but Wentz found tight end Zach Ertz for a five-yard touchdown on the ensuing series with 9:55 remaining for a 24-15 Eagles lead. Lambo's fourth field goal – a 24-yarder – made it 24-18 with 6:57 remaining; the field goal came one play after rookie wide receiver D.J. Chark dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone.
Notable:Lambo's 51-yard first-quarter field goal was his 20th in succession, tying the franchise record for consecutive field goals set by Josh Scobee (2011-12) and Mike Hollis (1998-99). He broke the record with the 57-yard field goal with 2:43 remaining in the first half and extended it in the fourth quarter. Lambo has not missed since Week 11 of the 2017 season; that was his only missed field goal with the Jaguars. … Ramsey's first-quarter interception was the seventh of his career and first this season. … The Jaguars on Sunday played without starting cornerback A.J. Bouye and two backup corners: nickel corners Tyler Patmon and D.J. Hayden. Bouye sustained a calf injury Wednesday, Patmon sustained a neck injury in a loss to Houston last Sunday and Hayden will miss a sixth consecutive game with a sprained toe; that left the Jaguars four healthy corners active for Sunday: Ramsey and undrafted rookies Tre Herndon, Quenton Meeks and Dee Delaney. … Running back Leonard Fournette (hamstring) missed his sixth game of the season and fourth in succession; newly-acquired running back Carlos Hyde Sunday with T.J. Yeldon starting a fifth game of the season at running back. Also inactive for the Jaguars Sunday: Tight end James O'Shaughnessy (hip), nose tackle Eli Ankou and defensive end Dawuane Smoot.
Injury report: Jaguars safety Ronnie Harrison left briefly in the second quarter with a knee injury and returned. … Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith sustained a second-quarter shoulder injury and returned. … Meeks sustained a third-quarter knee injury and did not return. … Linebacker Lerentee McCray sustained a hamstring injury and did not return. … Safety Barry Church was evaluated for a concussion in the fourth quarter.
What's next:The Jaguars are off this week. They are scheduled to play the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Sunday, November 11 at 1 p.m.
