Jalen Hurts Overthrowing a Wide-Open Dontayvion Wicks Might’ve Cost the Eagles the Win

Nick Sirianni is getting buried for the Eagles’ 19-17 loss to the Jaguars on Sunday. After going up 17-16 with eight seconds left in the game, the Birds’ head coach had Jake Elliot boot a short kick to Ameer Abdullah instead of kicking the ball out of the end zone or going with a squib, which led to this:

From the source THE JAGUARS GET A HUGE KICK RETURN AND CAM LITTLE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN IT! 🤯 #NFL https://t.co/u6OcceGuIA

From the source CAM LITTLE WINS IT FOR THE JAGUARS IN LONDON! 😱 #NFL https://t.co/Le1Xyu4ows

And to be clear, I’m pro-burying Nick on this. He should get buried. The loss was his fault. Even he knows the loss was his fault. But amid all the Nick criticism, I do think it’s worth remembering this missed throw by Jalen Hurts, which, if completed, could’ve changed the trajectory of the whole game:

One minute left in the third quarter, Eagles up 14-10, 3rd and 13 on their own 41-yard line. Jalen Hurts takes the snap from the shotgun. The Jaguars send an all-out pressure/zero blitz. In the coverage breakdown, Dontayvion Wicks breaks free on the left sideline and gets wide open. Next-level wide open. I’ve never seen a receiver so open. It’s insane how open he is.

Jalen sees Wicks streaking downfield, throws deep his way, and sails the ball over Wicks’ head, out of reach. Incompletion. Eagles are forced to punt on 4th down.

That was the moment. That was it. If Jalen hits this throw, Wicks scores a touchdown without even being touched and the Eagles go up 21-10 with the extra point. There’s no way to know what would’ve happened next, but with the way the Jags were struggling to put points on the board, I would’ve gladly taken my chances with an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Know what, I’ll go even further: I think the Eagles win this game if Jalen makes this throw. Nick lost this game, for sure. But Jalen could’ve won it.

Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: [email protected]