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LONDON — The Eagles’ offense had given the ball away twice. Philadelphia was seemingly on the verge of another disappointing outing as the final minutes dwindled on the scoreboard at Wembley Stadium during the first half of Sunday’s Week 8 clash against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
However, with 1:40 left in the second quarter, those thoughts of panic quickly evaporated following a huge play by rookie safety Avonte Maddox.
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles connected with wide receiver Keelan Cole on a crossing route for a 15-yard gain near midfield on second-and-10. Shortly after catching the pass, Cole was hit hard in his lower body by Maddox and fumbled the ball as the he levitated from the collision.
The ball was picked up by fellow safety Malcolm Jenkins and returned into Jacksonville territory. Four plays later, the Eagles’ offense completed a 44-yard touchdown drive on a 32-yard completion from quarterback Carson Wentz to tight end Dallas Goedert. The sequence of five plays shifted the momentum of the game and pushed the Eagles to a 10-6 halftime lead.
The Eagles would hold their position of power for the remainder of the game.
“We went out there, there were two minutes left and we wanted a turnover,” Maddox said following the 24-18 win. “Our main goal coming into this game was to create turnovers for our offense and give them the ball back to make something happen and that’s exactly what happened. It was a good thing going in at [halftime].”
Maddox’s forced fumble was a game-changing play. The Jaguars looked like they were about to put together their third scoring drive of the first half at the time of the costly turnover. Instead, Jacksonville coughed up an opportunity to establish a double-digit lead heading into halftime.
“That play [Maddox] came up with in the first half, the forced fumble, right where we needed it, that led to our offense scoring,” Jenkins said following the game. “It was a really big difference in the game.”
Maddox’s momentum-swinging spark was actually his second big play of the first half.
Around the midway point of the first quarter, the Jaguars were faced with third-and-1 from the Philadelphia 32-yard line. Jacksonville decided to run the ball with newly acquired power back Carlos Hyde to pick up a first down in short-yardage territory.
Maddox had other plans.
The 5-foot-9, 184-pound former cornerback shot into the backfield and took Hyde down for a one-yard loss. Hyde outweighed Maddox by 45 pounds, but the rookie refused to relent the first down. The Jaguars were forced to settle for a 50-yard field goal from kicker Josh Lambo.
“I don’t care how big you are, I’m just going to go in there and throw my whole body at you,” Maddox said about the stop. “That’s one thing I pride myself [on] is being able to tackle and being able to cover … I knew coming into this defense with Jim Schwartz, he likes his [defensive backs] to tackle. That’s a big thing in our defense, so the less missed tackles, the better we’ll be.”
Takeaways from Eagles locker room
Maddox has come a long way since converting to safety in Week 4. Over the course of his first eight NFL games, Maddox’s role has grown from special teams contributor to standout performer on defense.
“I’m continuously impressed by what he’s been able to do for us,” Jenkins said of Maddox. “We’ve really kind of thrown him into an unfair [situation] as a rookie, changing positions. We put him out there, we put a lot of responsibility on him … and each week he gets better and better and makes plays. He’s one of those young, rangy, explosive players that is just exciting to watch.”
The fourth-round pick heads into the bye week as one of the few true success stories of the first half of the season. With the Eagles now 4-4, Maddox will be counted on to progress even further with the team in the thick of the division race.
Mike Kaye may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Mike_E_Kaye. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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