October 08, 2026
Eric Hartline/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The road ahead only looks tougher for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
The odds were already bad and only got worse.
The Eagles entered Monday heavily banged up and looking in the mirror following a fourth-quarter meltdown of a loss to the Rams. Then Lane Johnson retired on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, they traded Cam Jurgens to Baltimore, an offensive lineman who was struggling to an unplayable degree in a move to guard, for sure, but who was also a Super Bowl-winning center and was originally drafted to be a part of the Eagles' long-term picture for the post-Jason Kelce era.
But that's out the window now. This season for the Eagles very well could be, too, especially since the main return coming back from the Ravens is a 2028 second-round draft pick to pair with the extra 2028 first they already had from the Patriots for the A.J. Brown deal.
It's enough to tell you that they're already looking ahead for how to restock, because right now, the team on the field just looks bad.
The O-line can't block, the passing and run games are so predictably easy for opponents to cover, and what should be a stout defense is getting stretched thin from short-lived possessions and, in turn, a requirement for them to make every last stop imaginable.
The Eagles are 2-2, which should be a manageable spot to work out of (see 2024), but instead feels fragile.
And the Jaguars in London this week might just shatter it all. The sportsbooks are anticipating that, even.
Since Johnson's retirement and Jurgens' trade earlier this week, the Eagles have slid to as steep as an 8-point underdog against 3-1 Jacksonville – after they opened to an already big +5.5-point gap.
Here's the latest look at the Eagles' Week 5 odds, money lines, and over/under totals as of Thursday across several books...
| Sportsbook | Spread | Money Line | Total O/U |
| DraftKings | JAX -7.5 | PHI +275 JAX -345 | 41.5 |
| FanDuel | JAX -7.5 | PHI +295 JAX -370 | 41.5 |
| BetRivers | JAX -8 | PHI +325 JAX -435 | 41.5 |
| BetMGM | JAX -7.5 | PHI +290 JAX -375 | 41.5 |
| Caesars | JAX -7.5 | PHI +295 JAX -380 | 42 |
*Lines as of Thursday, Oct. 8
It's definitely not a familiar spot for the Jalen Hurts/Nick Sirianni era of the Eagles to be in, who have been so routinely successful from the start of 2022 onward that they've either been a constant favorite or a slight underdog in the betting odds from week to week.
Things have changed, though.
The Jaguars, at 3-1 and built on quarterback Trevor Lawrence and an influx of more understated but still potent talent, are an on-the-rise force in the AFC that can stack up points and, at the least, shut down the run on defense.
And the Eagles right now are too banged up and too one-dimensional on offense to run the ball effectively...or pass, which bleeds into an array of other issues with no immediate fix-all solution to any of them.
It's rough right now.
At a quick glance, the Eagles haven't been this steep of an underdog since the 2021 Wild Card, when Hurts as a first-year starting QB, Sirianni as a first-year head coach, and DeVonta Smith as a rookie receiver were up against the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers, who went in as an 8.5-point favorite.
It turned out to be the launching pad for this era of the Eagles, who improved and went on to two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl championship in the latter run.
But now it looks like it'll be a bit before the Birds can go on a sustained run like that again.
They're, on average, +7.5-point spread against the Jaguars ranks up there with the Titans at +7.5 against the Texans, the Dolphins at +6.5 against the Bengals, and the Bucs at +9.5 against the Cowboys as the widest margins available this week, per DraftKings.
All those teams the Eagles are now lumped in with are bad.
SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
Follow Nick on Twitter: @itssnick
Follow Nick on Bluesky: @itssnick
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
