3 Matchups That Will Define Jaguars-Eagles

Which matchups between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles will decide Sunday's game?

Oct 2, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Josh Allen (41) before action against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The NFL is all about matchups.

Each week, games are decided by which teams have an advantage on each side of the ball. Who has the better pass-rush? Whose receivers can win one-on-one?

As a result, we will take a look each week at which matchups are the most important for the Jacksonville Jaguars to win. This week, we start it off with the three key matchups between the Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Josh Hines-Allen vs. Fred Johnson

The Jaguars will need to find some kind of way to let their defensive line impact the game on Sunday. It didn't happen last week in the loss to Green Bay, at least not often enough.

The Jaguars lean so much on Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker to generate a pass-rush that opposing offenses are now shifting almost all of their attention toward them.

This week, though, Hines-Allen will have one of his easiest matchups of the season and may still be able to get after the quarterback even with the added attention.

Johnson has allowed plenty of pressure in his reps since Jordan Mailata was placed on injured reserve, which means this could be a Hines-Allen week.

Parker Washington vs. Cooper Dejean

This week's matchup in the slot will feature two young players who are just now getting prominent roles in their respective units. Parker Washington will get his first start of the season after Christian Kirk's season-ending injury, while former Iowa Hawkeyes star Cooper Dejean has shifted into a starting role as the Eagles' starting nickel.

Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has always had good chemistry with Washington, dating back to last season when the former sixth-round pick got his first extended reps following Kirk's 2023 injury.

Washington has been praised in the building all week; now, he will have to prove himself against a talented young cornerback.

A.J. Brown vs. Tyson Campbell

If the Jaguars are going to have any chance of slowing down the Eagles' offense on Sunday, they will need to find a way to limit All-World receiver A.J. Brown.

Tyson Campbell had plenty of good reps against Brown in 2022 when Campbell was just a second-year starter, but both players have developed quite a bit since then.

The issue for the Jaguars is they may not be able to ask Campbell to shadow Brown considering the Eagles have Devonta Smith on the other side.

Brown has dominated man coverage throughout his career, so the Jaguars and Campbell will need to have some kind of answers for him and the Eagles' passing attack.

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