Cat-astrophe!

A gutsy effort from the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur stadium in London ended in an incomprehensible gut punch at the final buzzer, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars, 19-17.

It initially appeared as though the Eagles had pulled off the improbable, with K Jake Elliott drilling a 48-yard field goal to take the lead with eight seconds remaining, but Jacksonville refused to go quietly.

Jaguars KR Ameer Abdullah returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Eagles’ 39-yard line, leaving one second on the clock — and setting up a 57-yard field goal attempt from Cam Little. The kick was successful, sending the Eagles back to Philadelphia with a 2-3 record and a home matchup with the Carolina Panthers upcoming.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts completed 21-of-40 pass attempts for 220 yards and a touchdown. Running back Dameon Pierce led the way, carrying 11 times for 14 yards. The reception leaders were Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks (5 apiece), while Darius Cooper compiled a team-leading 71 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, LB Zack Baun (11) and DB Cooper DeJean (10) led the unit in tackles. DT Jalen Carter logged a pair of sacks and forced fumbles. CB Quinyon Mitchell was credited with a pair of passes defended.

The Eagles inactives: WR Hollywood Brown, WR DeVonta Smith, RB Saquon Barkley, S Marcus Epps, OLB Jonathan Greenard, C Drew Kendall.

Note: The Eagles are electing to carry RT Lane Johnson – who retired Tuesday – on the active roster as opposed to the reserve/retired list. My understanding is that the team intends on carrying Johnson on the 53-man roster for the remainder of the season due to salary cap ramifications. Doing so also leaves the door open for an unlikely return.

Let’s get to the observations:

* On the opening kickoff, the Jaguars’ Josh Cameron appeared to rip off a 90-yard return for a score. But there were offsetting penalties, as the Jaguars were called for holding and the Eagles for an illegal formation. Additionally, Eagles LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Jaguars OLB Bryan Thomas Jr. were ejected following some extracurriculars on the play. On the re-kick, Ameer Abdullah brought it out to the 26-yard line. The ejection for the Eagles was significant, not just from a depth perspective, but also because Trotter Jr. is a core special teamer on a group with some new faces in an all-hands-on-deck scenario.

* Rough late-game sequencing from Nick Sirianni. With the Eagles driving and positioning themselves for the game-winning field goal, the sensible decision would have been to drain as much clock as possible. Run the ball a couple of times, rather than have the clock stop on first and second down (The first was an incompletion to WR Dontayvion Wicks, the second a play in which WR Makai Lemon was escorted out of bounds at the Jacksonville 27). The ensuing play resulted in RB Dameon Pierce being stuffed for a three-yard loss. Jacksonville called their final timeout with 12 seconds remaining, which proved costly for the Eagles.

* Following a 48-yard Jake Elliott field goal, the Jaguars were left with eight seconds to work with. Rather than have Elliott kick the ball out of the end zone and making the Jaguars go the length of the field — especially with key regulars absent in kick coverage — Elliott was instructed to keep the ball in play. Instead, Jaguars KR Ameer Abdullah returned the kickoff 53 yards to the Eagles’ 39 with one second remaining. That’s all they needed, as Jaguars K Cam Little drilled a 57-yard game-winner.

Elliott: “Honestly, kind of like you said, there was so little time for me to kind of gather myself between those two things. I just went out and did what I was told. And wish it obviously turned out better.”

Sirianni: “I didn’t make the right decision and I lost us that game, and that’s what I said to our guys. And what hurts there is that the guys fought so hard, and then I don’t make the decision that I should make at the end of the game, and I cost us that that game. And I put that fully on me.”

* Second-year OL Jake Majors and Willie Lampkin made their first NFL starts at center and left guard, respectively. Understand, this assessment is based off first watch, but I thought Majors held his own against a pretty stout Jacksonville interior. The snaps, for the most part, appeared to be clean and he avoided penalties. Lampkin, a fan favorite, was also solid, though he notably surrendered a pressure on the Eagles’ second drive to Jaguars DT Ruke Orhorhoro.

* Majors delivered a low snap on a third quarter 3rd-and-3 on the Eagles’ opening series that stalled the drive. Hurts fielded it and was dropped for a five-yard loss, fumbling at the end of the play. The Eagles recovered and were forced to punt. Majors snapped high on another occasion in the second half. On the Eagles’ first touchdown of the morning, a two-yard Will Shipley run to even the score, Majors, and particularly Lampkin, paved the way. Their performances, coupled with third-round rookie Markel Bell at right tackle were as solid as the Eagles could have hoped.

*After a quiet start to the season, Jalen Carter came alive in this one. In the first half alone, Carter produced a pair of sacks and forced fumbles and a few big tackles for loss. The 2024 All-Pro has been hampered by a hairline fracture in his wrist, contributing to the lack of splash plays. But on Sunday morning in London, Carter was a dominant force, terrorizing the Jaguars’ defensive line. For the Eagles defense to play to its fullest potential, they’ll need more of that from Carter.

* Elsewhere on defense, I was impressed with what I saw from DB Cooper DeJean in run support, as he was active and physical. DeJean made a handful of plays behind the line of scrimmage, closing quickly on RB Bhayshul Tuten on a number of occasions. And while he allows some plays in coverage, DeJean also contested some tight window throws from QB Trevor Lawrence.

* The second half offensive woes for the Eagles continued Sunday in London. The offense is averaging less than five second-half points per game. They also haven’t scored a second-half touchdown since Week 2 in Nashville. I’ll have to go back and rewatch more closely to identify themes, but again, they lived behind the sticks and were one-dimensional, needing to rely on the passing game out of necessity.

“We gotta keep at it,” said Jalen Hurts after the game. “Gotta keep getting up and keep find-finding out ways that we can improve. In the end, that’s not the standard and it’s inexcusable. So, we’ve got a lot of opportunity to grow.”

* Some positives to build on for the Eagles in the first half, including a 4-for-6 third down conversion rate (after going 0-for-12 a week ago against the Los Angeles Rams) and zero penalties.

Additionally, even without its primary receiving threat in DeVonta Smith, the team received strong efforts from its collection of pass catchers, namely Dontayvion Wicks, Dallas Goedert and Darius Cooper. Cooper reeled in a 62-yard touchdown to temporarily shift momentum, while Goedert and Wicks served as security blankets throughout the game. Hurts missed an opportunity to connect with a wide-open Wicks on a deep shot that might’ve put the game out of reach, but in fairness, he was pressured and the pass was a hair long.

* The Eagles finished 6-of-15 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. They collected 13 first downs to the Jaguars’ 18, and lost the time of possession (24:58) to the Jaguars’ 35:02. The Eagles also finished with seven penalties (43 yards).

* Leading into this game, the Eagles had been susceptible to the blitz. They just didn’t have much of an answer. But against an aggressive Jacksonville front, the offense picked it up fairly well. The line looked far more synchronized and the running backs (Shipley and Dameon Pierce) did their part, but a lot of it had to do with Jalen Hurts having a quicker release than he’s had the previous two games.

* Quinyon Mitchell‘s late third quarter interception, returning possession at the Eagles’ 26, was Mitchell’s first regular season interception of his career. While regular season takeaways have eluded Mitchell, the playoffs have been a different story. In five postseason contests, Mitchell has reeled in four interceptions.

Elsewhere, Cole Payton, the Eagles’ No. 3 quarterback, received some snaps on special teams.

* The Eagles lost a few key players in this game that did not return: OLB Jalyx Hunt (ankle/knee), DB Michael Carter II (abdomen), RB Will Shipley (foot) and Trotter Jr. (ejection). We’ll learn more on their respective statuses this week.

— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.