Eagles, Wentz start slow, beat Jaguars after losing Lane Johnson, Jalen Mills to injury

LONDON – The Eagles traveled nearly 4,000 miles, endured a slow start, two key starters leaving with injuries, and countless other near disasters.

But in the end, they got what they wanted most during this odyssey to London: a victory. They hung on to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 24-18 on Sunday after nearly blowing a double-digit lead in the second half for the third time this season.

"Winning makes up for all of that," running back Wendell Smallwood said. "We know we got a lot of work to do. We know it wasn’t pretty, but we got the job done."

The Eagles did it in front of a record crowd to watch an NFL game at Wembley Stadium. The attendance was announced at 85,870. But the Eagles fans by far outnumbered the fans rooting for the Jaguars, who have played one of their home games here for the sixth straight year.

And, that pseudo home field advantage mattered to the players.

"We know one thing about our fans: They travel," safety Malcolm Jenkins said. "They probably got their passports well in advance to make this game. Their energy was great. We heard our fans loud and proud. Glad to get the win for them."

But there were several nervous moments for the Eagles and their fans.

Carson Wentz turned the ball over twice in the first quarter. Pro Bowl tackles Jason Peters and Lane Johnson each left the game in the first half, although Peters returned to start the second half.

Then cornerback Jalen Mills left in the third quarter with a foot injury and didn't return.

Through it all, the Jaguars whittled the Eagles' 17-6 lead, after Smallwood's 36-yard catch and run for a touchdown, down to two points with 13:10 left in the fourth quarter. 

[4 Jaguars players detained over $65K bar tab; DT Haloti Ngata says he's playing]

Last week, the Eagles blew a 17-0 lead after three quarters and lost to the Carolina Panthers 21-17. They also blew a 17-3 lead in the third quarter against Tennessee before losing 26-23 in overtime on Sept. 30.

Deja vu?

"I mean, we finished it," said Wentz, who finished 21 of 30 for 286 yards and three touchdowns. "Still didn't finish the way we wanted offensively. We had the chance to kind of seal the deal."

The Eagles improved to 4-4 as they head into their week off, although head coach Doug Pederson disputed that they were in a must-win situation.

"Things haven't really gone our way in the first half of this season," Pederson said. "It was great to get this victory today, go into the break with some positive thoughts, and get ready for the next one. I didn't think it was necessarily a must-win situation."

The players felt otherwise.

"This game right here was very, very important because now the meat of our entire season is in front of us, and we’re kind of starting over," Jenkins said. "Obviously, we’ve got a lot of work to do, but 4-4 feels a lot better than 3-5."

[Philadelphia Eagles fans taking over London as record crowd expected at Wembley Stadium]

And even that almost fell apart.

The Jaguars, who fell to 3-5 after losing their fourth straight game, had pulled to within six points with 6:57 left on Josh Lambo's fourth field goal. On the Eagles' first play following the kickoff, rookie running back Josh Adams fumbled the ball away, giving Jacksonville the ball at the Eagles' 35.

But the fumble was overturned after a replay review. Still, the Eagles went three-and-out, and the Jaguars had one last chance with about five minutes left.

[Eagles' Pederson calls Jaguars coach opposite of 'Fearless,' and Marrone responds]

This time, the defense held at midfield when Ronald Darby broke up a 4th-and-2 pass intended for Donte Moncrief with 3:36 left. The Eagles never gave the ball back after that.

It was the same way in the first half. The Eagles controlled the play, outgaining the Jaguars 217-89 in the first half, but led only 10-6. Wentz lost a fumble with the Eagles at the Jaguars' 37 on the first possession as Johnson hurt his knee and came out of the game on that play.

Wentz then threw an interception into the end zone on the second possession. On the third, the Eagles reached the Jaguars' 6, but had to settle for a first down. Wentz's 32-yard TD pass to tight end Dallas Goedert with 29 seconds left in the half gave the Eagles their first lead of the game.

Then Smallwood's touchdown capped a 95-yard drive in the third quarter and the Eagles led by 11.

This time, the Eagles held on. Barely.

2 Delaware players have prominent roles

Smallwood, the Wilmington native, had the Eagles' first-ever regular-season carry in London, which went for seven yards. Smallwood finished with 24 yards rushing and 42 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Rookie Josh Adams led the Eagles in rushing with 61 yards on nine carries. In all, the Eagles had 133 yards on 28 carries.

For the Jaguars, tight end and former Newark High School star, David Grinnage, caught Blake Bortles' first pass, good for five yards. He later had a 24-yard reception, the longest of his three-game NFL career.

Later on that third-quarter drive, Bortles threw towards Grinnage in the end zone, but the ball was incomplete. Grinnage is still looking for his first NFL TD. Grinnage had three catches for 37 yards.

O-line shuffle, again

Peters has left six of the Eagles' eight games this season with some sort of injury. On Sunday, he was examined for a head injury in the first half. Johnson, meanwhile, had already left the game by then.

When Johnson left, Halapoulivaati Vaitai replaced Johnson at right tackle. Then when Peters left, Vaitai moved to left tackle, Isaac Seumalo moved from left guard to right tackle, and Stefen Wisniewski came in at left guard. 

When Peters returned, Vaitai went back to right tackle and Seumalo to left guard.

Rasul to the rescue

Last week, Rasul Douglas didn't play at all on defense, leading to questions to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz about why a guy signed off the street in Dexter McDougle started and played 48 snaps in the loss to the Panthers.

Schwartz said then that Douglas is better suited for outside corner spot, and he's behind Ronald Darby and Mills. Well, Douglas got his chance after Mills left in the third quarter with a foot injury.

Bortles tried throwing deep on Douglas on his first play, but it fell incomplete. 

"I already knew," Douglas said. "Any time you see a DB who hasn’t played in a game, and he’s cold, on the sidelines and he’s been sitting, you’re like, put your fast guy in and run right by him ... I was ready to make a play the first play. That’s what I told myself."

Ngata: 'I'm baack'

Eagles defensive tackle Haloti Ngata tweeted early Sunday morning that "I'm baaack," and that was confirmed 90 minutes before gametime when the Eagles released their inactives list. Ngata has missed the previous three games with a calf injury.

The Eagles needed the 34-year-old veteran. They're shorthanded on the defensive line, especially after Derek Barnett went on injured reserve last week. Ngata, Bruce Hector and Treyvon Hester rotated at DT next to Fletcher Cox.

[Frank: As Eagles' reserves step in, Wentz holds it together and saves the season]

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.