Drawing the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 1 of the season seemed to be a dream for the Eagles. As the first half unfolded, a nightmare was occuring on the field.
Three turnovers allowed the Jaguars to open up a 17-0 lead at the half.
But the Eagles returned to form in the second half, trimming the lead to three points before tying the game early in the fourth. With 34 unanswered points in the second half, the Eagles rallied for a 34-17 win over the Jaguars at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
The Jaguars opened the scoring in the first quarter on their second possession. After a fumble by Nick Foles gave the Jaguars the ball with good field position, Chad Henne connected with Allen Hurns for a 34-yard touchdown.
Henne hit Hurns again for a 21-yard touchdown following another Foles fumble. The two tocuhdown catches were the first career catches for Hurns.
The Jaguars extended the lead to 17 with a 49-yard field goal by Josh Scobee.
Foles also threw an interception on an Eagles trip into the redzone during the second quarter.
The Eagles finished with just 129 yards in the first half compared to 188 for the Jaguars.
In the second half, the Eagles came out and struck early. Facing a 4th and 1 situation early in the third, Darren Sproles took the handoff and darted up the middle for 49 yards and a touchdown to get the Eagles on the board.
Four minutes later, Foles fired a pass over the middle to Zach Ertz for a 25-yard touchdown.
Early in the fourth, the Eagles turned to Cody Parkey for a 51-yard field goal attempt to tie the game. The rookie kicker delivered.
With seven minutes to go in regulation, the Eagles got the ball back at their own 32 yard line. On the first play of the drive, a missed coverage by Jacksonville allowed Jeremy Maclin to get wide open. Foles found him for the 68-yard touchdown.
Parkey hit a 27-yard field goal late to put the game away. For good measure, Fletcher Cox recovered a Henne fumble and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.
The Eagles shut out the Jaguars in the second half, holding them to 118 yards in the second half. The Eagles finished the game with 420 total yards of offense.
After a rough first half, Foles finished 27-for-45 with 322 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
LeSean McCoy carried 21 times for 73 yards. Sproles had 71 yards on 11 carries.
Maclin led the Eagles receivers with 97 yards on four catches. Ertz had 77 yards on three catches. McCoy added another 41 yards on six catches while Sproles had 14 on four catches.
Cox and Mychal Kendricks tied for the team lead with six tackles. Kendricks, Trent Cole and Nate Allen each had one sack. Brandon Graham had two tackles for loss.
The Eagles lost the turnover game, turning the ball over three times compared to once for the Jaguars.
The Eagles also played a majority of the game without two of the starting offensive lineman. Evan Mathis suffered a knee injury and was carted off the field. Allen Barbre missed the second half with a leg injury as well.
The Eagles are 1-0 as they head into Week 2, a Monday night meeting with the Indianapolis Colts.
Kevin Durso is a contributor for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
