The Philadelphia Eagles were in trouble Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday after opening and nearly blowing a 22-0 lead.
But DeVonta Smith bailed them out. The Eagles receiver helped the Eagles with a pair of late fourth-quarter catches, including a sensational one-handed touchdown grab that extended Philadelphia's lead to 28-16. The Eagles held on for a 28-23 victory.
The Jaguars turned a 22-0 shutout into a six-point game in a matter of seconds in the second half. They scored a touchdown on a Trevor Lawrence quarterback sneak with 5:26 left in the third quarter. Fourteen seconds later, Travon Walker converted a Saquon Barkley fumble into a defensive touchdown to cut Philadelphia's lead to 22-16.
The Eagles then turned the ball over on downs when they unsuccessfully threw the ball on fourth-and-inches. The miscues set Smith up for his late-game heroics.
On first-and-10 on Philadelphia's ensuing possession, Jalen Hurts looked deep to Smith on a play-action Smith. Smith had broken over the top of the Jaguars secondary and hauled in the pass for a 46-yard gain.
Hurts goes deep to DeVonta for 46 yards!
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
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Four plays later, Hurts looked to Smith again, this time on third-and-22 at the 25-yard line. Ronald Darby had coverage on Smith as he streaked toward the end zone. But Hurts delivered a perfect ball over the coverage that Smith hauled in with his right hand. Smith held on to the ball as a fell out of bounds.
OH MY DEVONTA. ON 3RD AND 22. UNBELIEVABLE CATCH.
— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
📺: #JAXvsPHI on CBS/Paramount+
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Replay confirmed that Smith maintained possession and got both feet down just before he landed out of bounds.
SMITTY IS NOT OF THIS WORLD 🤯👽@DeVontaSmith_6 | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/PZPAGdLtqh
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 3, 2024
The catch, and the touchdown stood. The Eagles extended their lead to 28-16 with 5:08 remaining. But the game wasn't done.
The Jaguars scored on their ensuring possession to cut the lead to 28-23. Then they had a chance for a go-ahead score in the final two minutes after a missed field goal set them up with a short field.
But Trevor Lawrence threw an interception in the end zone with 1:37 remaining, finally icing the victory for the Eagles.
THE interception.@NakobeDean | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/pPqfRO4Neh
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 4, 2024
It's a win that was made possible in part to Smith's great catch in the back of the end zone.