LONDON - Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton long-snapped for a 57-yard game-winning field goal by kicker Cam Little as time expired Sunday, lifting the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 19-17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in a Week 5 game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hamilton, one of the NFL’s best nose tackles, stepped in after All-Pro long snapper Ross Matiscik sustained a first-quarter shoulder injury and handled eight snaps under pressure, including the decisive kick. “You can’t make it up,” quarterback Trevor Lawrence said. “It’s crazy.”
The winning sequence began with :08 remaining, after Eagles kicker Jake Elliott’s 48-yard field goal gave Philadelphia a 17-16 lead. Reserve running back and kick returner Ameer Abdullah answered with a 53-yard kickoff return, counting down the clock during the run and getting down with :01 left to give Little time to attempt the kick. “That’s that dude,” Head Coach Liam Coen said of Abdullah, who joined the team late in the spring and drew four or five votes for team captain. “He takes care of his mind, he takes care of his body, he prepares to be a starter. He has been one of the best teammates. He’s just such a great human being and a guy I cannot say enough about it. He has gone through so much in the last six months. I pray for him. I love him to death. I’m so happy he’s a Jaguar and I’m very proud of him.”
Hamilton, who also long-snapped in a road victory over the Tennessee Titans last season, said Coen has him practice the position “a few snaps a week, maybe” in walkthrough situations. “It’s not in a live setting,” Coen said. “We trust him to do it.” Hamilton was characteristically understated about the moment. “I wasn’t that nervous for that one,” he said. “It just is what it is, got to do a job, get it done. Hopefully, I don’t have to do it next week and we can move on. But it was fun.”
Wide receiver Parker Washington provided Jacksonville’s offensive punch, catching six passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. Lawrence completed 24 of 39 passes for 331 yards with two touchdowns and one interception as the Jaguars outgained the Eagles 408-232 with 18 first downs to 13. Washington now has 22 receptions for 352 yards and four touchdowns on the season. “We consider him an elite wide receiver,” Lawrence said. “I don’t know what everybody else thinks. That’s what’s important, what we believe - the faith and trust I have in him and our whole team has in him. That’s really all that matters. Everybody on the outside will learn. We know what we have.”
Jacksonville’s run defense, ranked second in the NFL entering Sunday, held the Eagles to 22 yards rushing on 18 carries. Philadelphia was without All-Pro running back Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby due to injuries; Dameon Pierce carried 11 times for 14 yards. “To hold them to 22 yards rushing is pretty impressive regardless of who’s carrying the football,” Coen said. Hamilton credited a team-wide commitment to stopping the run. “We preach it every week. We really want to do as good as we can to make them one-dimensional. I think we’ve been doing a great job of that.”
Penalties remained a problem for Jacksonville, which was flagged 13 times for 100 yards after drawing 13 penalties for 125 yards in its Week 4 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. A holding call on linebacker Branson Combs nullified a 90-yard touchdown return by rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron on the opening kickoff, and a 13-yard interference penalty on cornerback Travis Hunter turned a third-and-goal from the 17 into first-and-goal at the 3, setting up a Philadelphia score. “Twenty penalties between the two teams, felt like it was definitely stop and go,” Coen said. “Got to go watch the tape and clean up what we can control because that’s all we can do.”
The Jaguars return to action next week as they look to build on consecutive victories.