London was supposed to be a showcase. Instead, the game opened with two ejections after a fight on the opening kickoff, and the officials never seemed to regain their footing. By the end of the second quarter, a referee call had the Philadelphia Eagles' fans furious. The cost was Jalyx Hunt leaving the field hurt, and a team already short on healthy starters took another blow.
The injury occurred on the very final play of the first half during a high-stakes Jacksonville Jaguars 4th-and-goal attempt from the 1-yard line.
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The Jaguars ran a play trying to push running back Bhayshul Tuten into the end zone. The Philadelphia Eagles' defense swarmed the play, successfully stopping Tuten short of the line to protect their 14-7 lead.
During the aggressive goal-line stand, players collapsed into a massive pile to recover a loose ball. Hunt's left leg became trapped and locked underneath the weight of the pile, causing it to bend backward in a gruesome-looking position.
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He immediately clutched his ankle and knee area in immense pain. Hunt remained down on the field for over five minutes, surrounded by medical staff. Though a medical cart was driven onto the field, Hunt explicitly refused to ride it. Instead, he had to be physically carried off the field by multiple team staff members as he could put zero weight on his left leg.
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"Jalyx Hunt has been downgraded to OUT," Eagles reporter Andrew DiCecco for Inside The Birds wrote on X
.
The incident ignited immediate fury against the NFL refs because the play should have never happened. During a drive with the Jaguars trying to stage a comeback, a Jacksonville ball-carrier put the ball on the ground. Video replays appeared to clearly show a live fumble.
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell swooped in and appeared to securely recover the loose ball on the ground. However, because the play occurred inside the final two minutes of the half, all potential turnovers are dictated by automatic booth reviews.
But the officiating crew did not immediately stop the game. The Eagles coaching staff and players actively had to gesture and request the referees to signal for a booth review to halt play.
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Since the officials on the field did not initially signal a fumble or a turnover by the defense, the default ruling stood. The replay booth concluded that the available broadcast camera angles did not provide the clear, indisputable visual evidence required to overturn the call on the field and officially award the ball to the Eagles.
As a result, the Jaguars maintained possession of the ball. However, the decision seemingly received a lot of flak as well.
"This is a s–t show. NFL doesn't review it within 2 mins, Sirianni calls a timeout, and eventually they actually review it. Why not review it the first time? Shouldn't we playing it safe within 2 mins since coaches can't throw a challenge flag?" Tony Farmer wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., who was ejected from the same game
in the opening play, also shared his reaction from the locker room.
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"That's a fumble!!!!!" Trotter wrote on X.
The outrage intensified from the Eagles camp when LB Jalyx Hunt also found himself on the sideline in the subsequent drive.
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