The Jacksonville Jaguars continue the grueling early-season stretch of their schedule with back-to-back “home” games in London. 

After consecutive wins over the Patriots and Bengals, the Jaguars have another difficult matchup in Week 5 when they take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Jacksonville is coming into the showdown on a two-game winning streak and 3-1 for the season. Last week at Cincinnati, the Jaguars had to fight for all 60 minutes to walk out of Paycor Stadium with a hard-fought victory. 

The Eagles, meanwhile, dropped a heartbreaker last Sunday to the Los Angeles Rams. 

Philadelphia led for most of the game and entered the fourth quarter up 20-10. However, the Rams scored a pair of touchdowns in the final four minutes, including the game-winner with 1:10 left, to escape with the win. 

The Eagles gave up touchdown drives of 98 and 79  yards, and lost 15 yards on their own possession in between with a chance to run out the clock. 

To make matters worse for the Eagles, superstar running back Saquon Barkley suffered a hamstring injury on Philly’s first drive against the Rams and is considered week-to-week, making it very unlikely he will be able to suit up against the Jaguars this week. 

The Jaguars will be facing an Eagles squad that is very shorthanded at RB. 

Not only is Barkley in danger of missing multiple games, but his backup, Tank Bigsby, was placed on injured reserve with an injury of his own. 

That leaves Will Shipley as the only healthy running back on Philadelphia’s roster. 

The Eagles have a trio of backs, Jaydon Blue, Dameon Pierce, and Carson Steele, on the practice squad, but none possess the ability to take over a game like Barkley. 

The Jaguars’ defense was the NFL’s stingiest against the run last season, and is coming off a game where it held the Bengals to only 23 rushing yards on 15 carries. Jacksonville should be licking its chops at the thought of playing against a group of RBs so far down the Eagles’ depth chart. 

The Jaguars have an excellent opportunity to keep their winning streak against top opponents going this week without having to play against one of the league’s best and most explosive running backs. 

Barkley’s absence leaves a huge void in the Eagles’ offense, which is only compounded by Bigsby’s injury. 

Of course, the Eagles are still a quality team, even without Barkley. However, they also must overcome the sudden retirement of star right tackle Lane Johnson, who suddenly announced his retirement on Tuesday in his 14th NFL season. 

Johnson wasn’t active against the Rams and says he is ending his Hall of Fame career to focus on his mental health. 

The Eagles are also not expected to have star wide receiver DeVonta Smith for Week 5 as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury. 

Jacksonville has an incredible opportunity to pounce on an extremely wounded opponent as the Jaguars attempt to move to 4-1.