Adversity Tested Eagles and They Persevered

Head coach Nick Sirianni and quarterback Jalen Hurts were impressed with how their team responded to an early 14-0 deficit vs. Jacksonville

PHILADELPHIA - The unbeaten Eagles were leaking oil aginst the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

Down 14-0 after an Andre Cisco pick-six and an impressive Doug Pederson-authored 8-play, 80-yard scoring drive, the former Eagles’ coach was about to push the pedal to the metal in an effort to dismiss his old team.

Facing a 4th-and-3 from the Philadelphia 34-yard line with 13:33 left in the second quarter, Pederson, with the help of Ryan Paganetti, eschewed a 52-yard field-goal attempt in weather that likely made the decision for them and instead put the football in the hands of 2021 No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence and told the former Clemson star to go make a play.

Lawrence did but it was for the Eagles in the form of an unforced error, simply losing control of a slick football in a torrential downpour, the start of a five-turnover nightmare for a QB and team that came into this 60 minutes of football as the standard for taking care of the football.

A two-touchdown deficit slowly turned into 29 consecutive points for the Eagles, who ultimately crossed the finish line with the first 4-0 start for the franchise since 2004 after turning their deficit into a 29-21 victory over the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nick Sirianni wasn’t exactly hoping for adversity but after it arrived and he watched his team handle it, the coach wasn’t exactly upset that a test was proffered and passed.

“We’ve talked about adversity. Have we faced a lot of adversity? Not really. In three games, we probably haven’t,” he said. “We had a battle up there in Detroit, but have we faced a lot of adversity? Not really. So, it was a great opportunity to say, ‘Hey, we’ve talked about this. We have discussed this.

“You players, the reason you are here is because you are built to be able to handle adversity. Not every game is going to be pretty. It’s going to be muddy sometimes.’ And it was muddy right there.”

Muddy had a double-meaning thanks to the weather at Lincoln Financial Field but Sirianni was happy with how his team responded against a good opponent in Jacksonville.

“Our guys buckled down. … Being down 14-0, it’s a long game just like it’s a long season,” said Sirianni. “What a good example there of, 'OK, we are 4-0 right now, we just have to play the next play and the next game. You have to do that same thing in the midst of a game, not just week to week.'”

Quarterback Jalen Hurts was asked by SI Eagles Today if he felt the need to speak up and offer any motivation when the team was down two TDs.

“I think that was the most beautiful thing right there, there was nothing needed to be said,” he said. “Nothing needed to be said. There was no come to Jesus moment. There was no come to Jesus moment. There was, ‘Hey, we built ourselves for this. We want to have that type of mentality so let’s find out what type of team we are.’

“We answered the bell. It’s just the beginning. We have a long way to go. We know there were unconventional circumstances and an unconventional environment out there with the conditions of the game. But we persevered.

"We found a way.”

Found a way to the next step.

“We’ve taken a step from week one, to week two, to week three, to week four,” Hurts said. “It’s all about growing and continuing the climb. Just striving to be the football team we want to be.”

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen