LONDON – Senior writer John Oehser, senior correspondent Brian Sexton, team reporter Kainani Stevens and correspondent John Shipley offer quick thoughts on the Jaguars’ 19-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a 2026 Week 5 game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, United Kingdom, Sunday
Cool, cool stuff. Jaguars Head Coach Liam Coen called Sunday’s hard-to-explain, impossible-to-forget victory a “weird-kind-of-vibe game” – and while that was true, it’s just as true that it was the kind of game that produces myriad cool stories. Running back Ameer Abdullah‘s veteran awareness on a 53-yard kickoff return to set up kicker Cam Little‘s game-winning field goal. Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton snapping in place of injured Ross Matiscik on that same field goal. The emotions of multiple Jaguars players in one of the weirdest, most-unlikely endings in franchise history. All were cool stories. But none were perhaps as cool as the joy showed by Little, who grew up a soccer player – and a huge soccer fan – and who called his 57-yard game-winner as time expired his biggest career moment because it came in a venue legendary in his favorite childhood sport. That’s notable considering Little holds the two longest field goals in NFL history, but his excitement was evident. Yes, it was cool that the veteran Abdullah knew to get down with :01 remaining on his return, which came immediately after the Eagles’ apparent game-winning field goal. But Little running jubilantly around Hotspur after his first “walk-off” professional field goal, and doing it in a legendary venue? That was the coolest moment and story on a day full of them for the Jaguars.Find a way. There will undoubtedly be some who criticize this Jaguars victory for not being prettier. But while the Eagles were injured Sunday, they are a proud team that won a Super Bowl following the 2024 season, so it’s unsurprising they clawed their way into a lead on kicker Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal with :08 remaining. “That team’s pretty darned good in their own right,” Coen said of the Eagles. “They’re OK living in adversity.” That “circle-the-wagon” theme played out in a major way as the Eagles took a 14-7 halftime lead and made enough plays to lead until Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence found wide receiver Parker Washington for a remarkable 27-yard touchdown and a 16-14 lead with 3:20 remaining. The game thereafter was an emotional whirlwind, first seemingly lost for the Jaguars with Elliott’s field goal then remarkably – and memorably – won with a clutch, heady play by Abdullah and a subsequent clutch kick by Little. “Did we deserve to win? Who knows?” Coen said. “I have to watch the tape, but I’m proud of this group.” As he should be. Sunday showed again the competitive reality of the NFL, and that a veteran team such as the Eagles is always dangerous. That the Jaguars found a way to win is impressive – and made the first of this season’s back-to-back London games one few who watched will soon forget.Unreal stuff. When I learned during training camp that Abdullah was going to make the roster with his seventh team in his 12th NFL season, I was more than a little surprised. Coen told me he was too valuable on special teams to release. Coen turned out to be prescient when Abdullah escaped on a kickoff 53-yard return following the Eagles’ go-ahead field goal with :08 remaining. The return was more than enough for Little to deliver his game-winning kick. An unbelievable finish to a performance that was in many ways well below average for Coen’s team. An absolutely unbelievable ending.No quit. Why did the Jaguars win Sunday when they committed 13 penalties, missed two first-and-goal scoring opportunities, couldn’t rely on the running game for big chunks of time and struggled to protect Lawrence? Because they wouldn’t quit. The defense forced a three-and-out after Lawrence’s fourth-down pass sailed out of the end zone with less than seven minutes remaining. Lawrence then delivered a beauty of a touchdown pass to Washington for the lead. Up 16-14 after the missed extra point, they surrendered enough yardage to give the Eagles an apparent victory, then found a way to clear a hole for Abdullah. On the final play of the game, Hamilton got the snap into the hands of holder/punter Logan Cooke who snared it and got it down for Little to deliver the game-winner. They wouldn’t quit; they refused to believe it was over until the clock read 0:00.