Making his first NFL start in a shorthanded Philadelphia Eagles secondary, Beaumont native Michael Jacquet didn’t disappoint on Sunday.
Jacquet, an undrafted rookie who’s been on and off Philadelphia’s practice squad all season, came up with few big plays as the Eagles battled in a back-and-forth game against the Arizona Cardinals. Not only did Jacquet stick with one of the league’s best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins for most of the game, he forced two turnovers in the process, giving the Eagles a chance to pull off the upset.
Although Hopkins would eventually get the best of Jacquet on a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter, his Eagles coaches and teammates took notice of the impressive overall performance from their young cornerback.
“The young rookie, I thought he played really well,” Eagles starting safety Jalen Mills said of Jacquet. “He competed. He wasn’t scared.”
Since signing with the Eagles out of Louisiana-Lafayette, Jacquet had played in just five games entering Sunday’s matchup in Arizona. His chance to start came after multiple injuries in Philadelphia’s secondary left head coach Doug Pederson without much choice.
Jacquet quickly took advantage of the opportunity, forcing a first-quarter fumble by Hopkins in the red zone that saved some early points. Not long after in the second quarter, Jacquet combined with Nickell Robey-Coleman for a strip-sack of Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray that set up an Eagles touchdown.
There were, however, lumps along the way for Jacquet and his Eagles secondary mates. Murray finished with 406 passing yards and three touchdowns, including the eventual game-winner on a 20-yard pass to Hopkins. Jacquet was step-for-step with Hopkins on that crucial play midway through the fourth quarter, but the all-pro receiver went up and made the acrobatic catch nonetheless.
Despite the tough ending, Pederson said Jacquet and his fellow secondary fill-ins performed admirably given the situation.
“My hats off to those guys,” the Eagles coach said. “They were put in a tough situation against a really good football offense with great skill and ability.
“They battled their tails off,” Pederson added. “They were going up against guys that are solid NFL players. Guys like Hopkins and Murray and Christian Kirk. They all have really good skills, but I thought our guys battled and gave us some opportunities there. We created some turnovers, some takeaways.”
Jacquet’s role moving forward is still unclear, as is the health of the Eagles starting cornerbacks. Darius Slay was questionable for Sunday’s game but was eventually ruled out. Avonte Maddox was placed on Injured Reserve last week and will miss the rest of the season.
A 2015 graduate of Beaumont Central High School, Jacquet starred on both sides of the ball for the Jaguars. He was a Beaumont Enterprise Super Gold selection, and won the Willie Ray Smith offensive award as a senior.
Jacquet isn’t the only defensive back from Southeast Texas on the Eagles roster. Safety Grayland Arnold, a Kountze graduate who played his college ball at Baylor University, signed with the team in April as an undrafted free agent and has appeared in four games with the Eagles.
Philadelphia will play the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
mfaye@beaumontenterprise.com
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