London (AFP) – Cam Little’s last-gasp field goal secured a remarkable 19-17 win for the Jacksonville Jaguars against Philadelphia in London on Sunday. The Eagles looked to have won with their own go-ahead field goal and just eight seconds on the clock, before Ameer Abdullah raced 53 yards on the kickoff return and was tackled to set up Little’s 57-yard attempt. Victory moved the high-flying Jaguars to 4-1, but compounded the misery for a Philadelphia side who threw away their lead to the Los Angeles Rams last weekend and are now 2-3.
“Oh my God, I don’t know, it was just a roller coaster,” said Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. “Obviously hoping we get a stop, but then they kick the field goal, and there’s a little bit of time. So we’re talking about all of our last-minute plays, then we break a return, and then we’re all like, ‘Go down, go down’. I mean, it’s pretty crazy.”
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The game — technically a home clash for Jacksonville, though a record 61,322 crowd at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was overwhelmingly rooting for Philadelphia — began in chaos. Jaguars receiver Josh Cameron’s 90-yard kickoff return touchdown was nullified for offsetting penalties, while Jacksonville’s Bryan Thomas Jr and Philadelphia’s Jeremiah Trotter Jr were ejected from the game for a vicious fight at midfield.
Jacksonville opened the scoring in the first quarter. Lawrence sent a short pass to Parker Washington, who weaved through multiple tackles for a 51-yard touchdown. Washington celebrated with the ‘shadow boxing’ goalscoring routine made famous by England soccer star Wayne Rooney. With Philadelphia’s star running back Saquon Barkley absent due to a hamstring injury, Will Shipley stepped up with his first regular-season touchdown to level the score. He capped a hard-fought seven-minute drive, rushing up the middle from the two-yard line.
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts then sent a deep pass to Darius Cooper, who still had a long way to run for an explosive 62-yard touchdown. Philadelphia clung on for a 14-7 half-time lead with a tenacious goal-line stand that cost them an injury to edge rusher Jalyx Hunt. The Eagles also lost backup running back Shipley, as well as safety Michael Carter and guard Tyler Steen, early in an attritional game.
The Jaguars pulled back a field goal and took the lead with three minutes remaining, as Washington grabbed a phenomenal one-handed diving catch from a 27-yard Lawrence pass. This time Washington emulated Chelsea soccer star Cole Palmer’s ‘cold shiver’ goalscoring celebration. With their regular snapper Ross Matiscik injured, Jacksonville’s Little missed the extra point, meaning Philadelphia seemingly required just a field goal to win. Jake Elliott made his 48-yard attempt with eight seconds remaining.
But there was one more twist ahead. Philadelphia kicked the ball to veteran Jaguars back Abdullah. He sprinted 53 yards and was then tackled in bounds by Eagles cornerback Jonathan Jones with just a second left on the clock. This time backup snapper DaVon Hamilton got the snap briskly back to Little, who made no mistake. “How about DaVon Hamilton, our long snapper there? Ross went out, he snapped that ball, the game-winning field goal,” said Lawrence. “Man, team effort.”
Victory in London, part of the NFL’s ever-growing international schedule, was the Jaguars’ 12th win from their last 13 regular-season games.
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