What we learned from Eagles' victory over Jaguars

Here's what we've learned so far from Sunday's Week 8 games, which kicked off with Eagles versus Jaguars in London:

Philadelphia Eagles 24, Jacksonville Jaguars 18

1. Laughing in the face of one of the NFL's most ferocious pass rushes, Carson Wentz's talent and resiliency radiated brightly in a game the Eagles (4-4) desperately needed to win to remain out of the abyss of the NFL's also-rans. Following a rough first quarter that saw Wentz fumble away the ball and throw an interception, the quarterback refocused and put in one of his finer performances of the season. Taking advantage of a Keelan Cole fumble recovery that was picked up by Malcolm Jenkins, Wentz jump-started the Eagles' comeback in earnest when he connected on a beautiful 32-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert in the closing seconds of the first half. Philly's steady scoring output continued in the second half thanks to a 36-yard touchdown dump off to Wendell Smallwood and a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zach Ertz to cap off a six-play, 75-yard drive. Wentz finished the game completing 21 of 30 passes for 286 yards and three TDs. Wentz was his usual Houdini self when it came to ducking and twirling around Sacksonville's top-ranked pass-rushing unit, but he had plenty of help from his offensive line. The unit performed very well without Lane Johnson, who was carted off early in the first quarter after suffering a sprained MCL. Jason Peters also sat out most of the first half while undergoing evaluation for a head injury. With the O-line helping Josh Adams and Smallwood establish a run-game to complement the passing attack, the defending Super Bowl champions once again showed the world why no one can underestimate them despite their middle-of-the-road record.

2. Blake Bortles performed much better following his benching last week against the Houston Texans, but the quarterback was ineffective in the fourth quarter when the Jaguars (3-5) needed their starting QB to spearhead a comeback. Some of it wasn't his fault. A dropped pass by rookie D.J. Chark in the end zone with seven minutes left in regulation forced the Jaguars to settle for a 24-yard field goal. After the Jaguars' defense forced the Eagles to go three-and-out on the ensuing possession, Bortles couldn't figure out how to beat the Philly secondary despite having plenty of time in the pocket. He completed two passes on the Jaguars' final possession before the drive fizzled out at mid-field. Although Bortles converted on some critical first downs and made some nice passes en route to completing 24 of 41 passes for 286 yards and a touchdown, he was inconsistent at junctures for an offense that continues to sorely miss Leonard Fournette's production. Carlos Hyde, who the team acquired via trade last week had fewer rushing yards (11) than Bortles (43).

Blake Bortles led the Jaguars in rushing yards on Sunday (43).
Since Bortles entered the NFL in 2014, the Jaguars are 2-11 when Bortles leads the team in rushing yards (including postseason).#PHIvsJAX #Eagles #Jaguars
â€” NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 28, 2018

3. Josh Lambo's smashing performance kept the Jaguars in the game. He became the first Jags kicker to hit 21 consecutive field goals when he kicked a 57-yarder in the second quarter -- the longest field goal in International Series history at Wembley. He also hit a 50-yarder earlier in the game. He ended up kicking four field goals, but it wasn't enough to extend the Jaguars' Wembley winning streak to four games.

-- Austin Knoblauch

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