Eagles-Jaguars player matchups to watch in Week 4

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Eagles-Jaguars player matchups to watch in Week 4

 

The Eagles (3-0) are hosting Doug Pederson and the Jaguars (2-1) at Lincoln Financial Field in Week 4.

Here are some key matchups to watch:

Doug Pederson vs. Jonathan Gannon

This game is not a layup. Doug Pederson has completely turned around that franchise in just a few months and got the Urban Meyer stink off of it. And of course that offense is performing much better. It turns out Trevor Lawrence just needed a little support and he’s getting that from Pederson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor.

Through three weeks, the Jags have the No. 6-ranked offense in the NFL and the No. 10-ranked passing attack. Lawrence has completed 69.4% of his passes for 772 yards with 6 touchdowns and 1 interception. He looks like the real deal. And Pederson’s play-calling ability has already taken center stage.

This will be a big game for defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, has has had very good game plans in each of the last two weeks.

"This is a good offense. I have a very high opinion of Doug,” Gannon said. "He's a very good play-caller. He doesn't have a lot of tendencies. You can't bank on certain things coming. He's doing a good job with the quarterback playing extremely fast. He has weapons. They protect him. You have to be aware of their skill guys because their skill guys have very significant skill sets.

"It's just like everybody, you have to know your opponent because they do some things with those guys that he allows those guys to play free. He puts them in good spots. They make a lot of plays. We have a big-time test ahead of us.”

Christian Kirk vs. Avonte Maddox

Most folks scoffed this offseason when the Jaguars gave Christian Kirk a four-year, $72 million contract. It seemed like a massive overpayment for a guy who had never had a 1,000-yard season. But so far, so good for Kirk in Jacksonville. He already has 18 catches for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns.

This is a good receiver trio in Jacksonville. Marvin Jones and Zay Jones are also playing well but Kirk has been the leader. And it’s important to note that Kirk mostly plays from the slot, which sets up a big matchup against Eagles nickel cornerback Avonte Maddox.

Of Kirk’s 198 snaps this season, 126 have been out of the slot. But it’s more than that. Pederson has been doing a really good job of moving his pieces around getting favorable matchups for Kirk. Part of that will be on Gannon to not get pinned down in some of those mismatches. But there will be other times when Maddox will simply have to cover Kirk. His level of success there will mean a lot in the outcome of this game.

Eagles’ OTs vs. Jaguars’ pass rushers

Another week of tricky edge rushers for the Eagles’ tackle duo of Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson to deal with in Travon Walker and Josh Allen, two top 10 picks. Walker was the No. 1 overall pick this year and Allen was No. 7 in 2019.

"This is a salty group on defense,” Shane Steichen. "If you look at them up front, they're very powerful, they're very strong, they’re really good against the run. Their two edge rushers Walker and Allen are very powerful.”

Walker and Allen have combined for 3 sacks through three games and they’re just two pieces of a really impressive unit. As always, the Eagles are going to feel like they have an advantage on the edges because of Mailata and Johnson and they probably do. But it’ll be another long day at the office for them on Sunday.

Miles Sanders vs. top run defense

The pass was working so well against Washington on Sunday that the Eagles didn’t even really need to run the ball. But it’s worth noting that they weren’t very successful when they tried. The Eagles finished that win with just 72 yards on the ground and averaged just 2.4 yards per attempt. Miles Sanders had 15 carries for just 46 yards.

That’s something to remember this weekend because the Jaguars are first in the NFL in run defense. They’ve given up just 165 yards and 0 touchdowns. And if you think those numbers are because the Colts and Chargers got behind and had to throw, know that they’ve given up just 3.1 yards per attempt, which ranks fourth in the NFL. In Week 2, Jonathan Taylor had 9 carries for 54 yards, but a lot of that came when the Jaguars already had a big lead and began to play the pass. In the first half of that game, Taylor had just 5 carries for 4 yards.

Jamal Agnew vs. Eagles special teams

The Eagles’ special teams units have had a few blunders over the last couple of weeks. This would be a bad week for another one. Because the Eagles are facing one of the most dangerous returners in the NFL on Sunday.

Agnew hasn’t gotten cooking yet this season and he averaged just 6.7 yards per punt return in the 2021 season but he’s always a threat to take one to the house. He has 6 career return touchdowns.

"They have some weapons out there with Jamal Agnew,” Eagles special teams coordinator Michael Clay said. "You guys probably know about Jamal being a very dangerous returner.”

The Eagles have been very good on offense and defense the last couple weeks but their special teams units haven’t lived up to the standard. This could be a close game on Sunday so one big mistake could be fatal.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/eagles-jaguars-player-matchups-watch-week-4

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Christian Kirk vs. Avonte Maddox

Note Maddox has since been ruled out for today's game.