October 11, 2026
Kirby Lee/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Eagles' new O-line does have its promise, but not enough to bring the team to an upset.
There was a stretch during the second quarter on Sunday where the Eagles' offense settled down and sustained a steady, competent drive against the on-the-rise Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Jalen Hurts kept poised in the face of pressure with some sharp throws; the ground game between Will Shipley and Dameon Pierce chipped away; and when they could've easily folded from moments like a botched handoff and a blown-up screen to leave them at third and goal, Hurts and Dontayvion Wicks instead drew in a defensive pass interference call on a play to the end zone to bump them up and reset the downs, then let Shipley eventually walk in the Birds' first six with a clear gap ahead of him.
The Eagles held the ball for 13 plays and 7:27 of game clock, taking it 64 yards for a game-tying score, while looking like the offense they've been talking up all summer – though way far from how anyone could've imagined it now.
Lane Johnson, arguably the Eagles' best player and one of the greatest offensive tackles of all time, had retired on Tuesday. Cam Jurgens, the once crucial but since struggling lineman, was traded to Baltimore on Wednesday, mainly for a 2028 second-round draft pick, which was enough to signal that the organization was already looking well ahead of whatever goals it originally had for this season.
In their place was a makeshift offensive line of reserves in Jake Majors at center, Markel Bell at right tackle, and the 5'11" Willie Lampkin at left guard – with only Jordan Mailata at left tackle and Tyler Steen, until he was injured and replaced by Fred Johnson, at right guard as the remaining holdovers.
It probably should've been a group in way over their head, especially after a second-half offensive meltdown to the Rams a week ago, which also brought on a ton of injuries and then an ensuing week from hell that altered the long-term direction of the team.
But then they stepped onto the field in the second quarter, tapped into a rhythm, and held their own, just for a bit.
Hurts had time, Majors had composure, and right next to him, the undersized Lampkin was bottling up oversized competition like he had already been there for years, with no better instance than at the end of that scoring drive, when he created the huge seam to his left for Shipley to walk right through.
Look At The Hole The Eagles Created For Will Shipley.
— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) October 11, 2026
First Touchdown Given Up By The Jags Defense In The First Half This Season. pic.twitter.com/e77oob4R80
It's just that none of it was anything built to last, not over 60 minutes across the pond on a Sunday morning for us, and probably not for another 12 games either.
Jacksonville eventually pulled ahead, staggered, and then pulled through with a miracle of a return and a walk-off field goal to hand the Eagles their third straight loss, 19-17.
But really, what did the Eagles do to protect themselves from that?
They scored one more touchdown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the half, on a huge break of a 62-yard touchdown throw to Darius Cooper, but then fell back into the bitter reality of the last seven days.
The Eagles took the ball to begin the third quarter, and they couldn't score again. They could barely even move.
Six of the Eagles' seven second-half drives ended in a punt, while the other was a turnover on downs with Hurts trying to jam a throw through to Makai Lemon on a 4th and 3. And still, they somehow pushed their way into a late Jake Elliott field goal for a brief lead at the end.
They went 4-for-6 on third downs through the first half, only to devolve into a 1-for-7 rut up until that last drive in the second half, with few ideas out of it until they were up against the wall with little other option.
By the end of the third quarter, they had only 23 rushing yards, and Hurts went back to having little time and little else to do with the football, which nearly cost them a safety at one point when he was back on his heels in his own end zone, and could only throw it away on the mercy of the officials deeming a receiver somewhere within a mile radius of it.
The offense reverted right back to being totally ineffective, on a now glaring lack of talent and a long-known lack of scheme to call their way out of it, which once again spread their defense too thin.
It was just like the Rams' loss, except maybe without the shock now, and the near wins over the Commanders and Titans in Weeks 1 and 2, just without the Hurts heroics and the benefit of the doubt that this team can still overcome on pure skill, will, and frankly, luck.
But that's all gone now. Not even a go-ahead field goal with just seconds left is safe anymore for this team.
So this is reality now.
The Eagles kept giving the Jaguars a lifeline on Sunday to come back. And of course, it bit them.
The Eagles might show faint signs of life the rest of the way, but they're going to be fleeting.
Lampkin, Majors, and Bell might show promise and build up some solid tape as an O-line together, but for the next few months, the line is going to be under constant evaluation, with plenty of scouting happening elsewhere for a future that has a heavy emphasis now on that 2028 draft.
And for the next 13 weeks, fans will just have to take the little victories as they come, because the big ones are going to be tough to come by for this team as it is now.
The Eagles can't outlast reality anymore.
They tried to last week, and they embarrassed themselves with a 10-point meltdown.
And then they tried to again in London on Sunday. There was one second left, and it was a second too many.
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