Rookie Jordan Matthews relishes comeback in first NFL game

The Eagles offense burst the game open in the second half after trailing by 17 points. Credit: Getty Images The Eagles offense burst the game open in the second half after trailing by 17 points. Credit: Getty Images

For Eagles rookie wide receiver Jordan Matthews, it was one heck of an NFL debut.

Though he caught only two passes for 37 yards, his contribution and presence on the field helped the Eagles complete an epic comeback from a 17-point deficit in the first half against the Jaguars Sunday.

“It felt great,” the Eagles’ second round pick out of Vanderbilt said. “Individually, I felt extremely confident. The guys around me played great. [QB] Nick Foles has been telling me all week that I was going to play well and to stick to the game plan and do my job. I was able to do so. As a team, I think everyone saw that we were able to play confident. We never let the circumstances rattle us. We were just able to get a win.”

Perhaps one of the keys to Matthews’ and the Eagles ability to come back was what he describes as “having a short memory.

“By the time we got to the second half and starter rolling I couldn’t tell you what happened in the first half,” Matthews said with a smile.

One thing he will remember is the return of teammate and veteran wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. After going more than a year without playing football due to surgery to repair a torn ACL, Maclin was relatively quiet for most of the Jaguars game. But he finally broke through for a 68-yard bomb that put the Eagles ahead for good.

“Return of the Mac right?” Matthews said laughing. “I was so happy to see him go and get in the zone, he is always trying to go out there and make plays. I was telling him, ‘it’s going to come to you,’ and it came at a big moment.”

Maclin led all Eagles’ receivers with 97 yards on four receptions and looked like the deep threat he was way back in 2012, the last time he suited up in a regular season game.

“I couldn’t be happier for a guy like that,” Matthews said. “Everybody knows about the adversity he’s gone through, missing football for an entire year to be able to come back and score the winning touchdown, it’s almost poetic.”