PHILADELPHIA – The numbers looked impressive enough.

Jalen Hurts had his fourth straight turnover-free game, completing 75% of his passes and throwing for two touchdowns and 230 yards in the Eagles' tougher 28-23 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He also ran for 67 yards and a touchdown. His passer rating over the last four games is 128.8 and he has scored 12 touchdowns.

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That's the type of resume that puts a quarterback in the league's MVP conversation.

Saquon Barkley was sensational once again, running 27 times for 159 yards and catching three passes for an additional 40 yards. He had one touchdown rushing and one touchdown reception and now leads the league with an average of 133.9 yards per game. He's just 75 yards away from his fourth 1,000-yard season and we're only eight games into the season. He should be an MVP candidate.

After the Eagles allowed their 22-point lead to be cut to six late in the third quarter, DeVonta Smith made another incredible touchdown catch for the second straight game, helping Nick Sirianni's team hold off the Jags another day, When the coach scored the fourth goal, bad decisions exploded in his face like a trick cigar.

The Eagles ran for more than 200 yards for the second time in three games. The defense allowed fewer than 300 yards for the fourth straight game and came away with two interceptions, including Nakobe Dean's game-winning pick with 1:37 left. Josh Sweat increased his sack total to five in the last five games by dropping Trevor Lawrence twice.

And yet, for a variety of reasons, it was a game that made you think that if the Eagles really want to get back to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years, they're going to have to get better than they are now.

With the deadline set for Tuesday at 4 p.m., the ball is in general manager Howie Roseman's court.

Barkley was asked after the game if he felt like the defense was putting more pressure on him since he had obviously become the centerpiece of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore's game plan. He had a season-high 30 touches on Sunday, giving him 177 for the season, the second-highest total of his career through eight games.

“I guess (they defend him differently),” Barkley said. “But it’s difficult because we have so many talented players. But that's what you want to consider as a leadback. You want the defense to get to you. You want to have more people in the box. They want the big-play mentality. I feel good. I was a little crazy today. I won't go into detail about what happened. Nothing too crazy. All we need this week is a little love and then we can get started.”

Barkley is right about the Eagles offense. It's difficult to identify a player because he has so many weapons. One could argue that no team has more than them when everyone is healthy, and Barkley's addition as a free agent is a big reason why. But those times were rare and it's possible the Eagles could enter next week's divisional showdown with the Dallas Cowboys without AJ Brown, who left Sunday's game in the second quarter with a knee injury and did not return.

Lane Johnson laughed when asked if the Eagles missed Brown's presence in the second half.

“Yeah, it hurt us not having probably the best receiver in football,” he said. “Obviously he’s probably our best player.”

As usual, Sirianni offered no insight into the severity of Brown's injury, but the Eagles' No. 1 receiver ranks high on the list of players the Eagles can't lose, along with Hurts and Barkley. We've already seen the Eagles struggle offensively this season when Brown missed three games. They went 1-2 in those games and averaged 17.3 points per game. In the five games he has played, they have averaged 29.4 points and are undefeated.

If Brown has to stay out for an extended period of time because of this knee injury, the Eagles will need help at wide receiver. The problem, of course, is that you can't replace “probably the best receiver in football” with someone comparable to him.

Here are this season's names and numbers for some guys who could help at least a little if Brown is out for a while:

*Mike Williams, Jets. The Chargers' former first-round pick has two 1,000-yard seasons and 31 career touchdowns, but only 12 catches for 166 yards in his first season with the Jets.

*Darius Slayton, Giants. It seems unlikely that sixth-year receiver Joe Schoen would want to trade to the Eagles, but he would be a great addition if Roseman could get him. He led the Giants in receiving in four of his first five seasons and is just behind rookie Malik Nabers with 32 catches for 469 yards this year.

* Jakobi Meyers, Raiders. He's had three straight seasons with more than 800 receiving yards, and he's on track again with 39 catches for 430 yards.

* Tyler Boyd, Titans. The former Bengals receiver struggled in his first season with the Titans, catching just 21 passes for 184 yards.

* Adam Thielen, Panthers. He hasn't played since Week 3 because of a hamstring injury, but at age 33, he had his third 1,000-yard receiving season on a bad Panthers team last year. The Eagles could use him in the slot and move Jahan Dotson to the outside to improve the offense if Brown is out for an extended period of time.

The other area where the Eagles would undoubtedly improve is at edge rusher. Sweat said he believes the Eagles' edge rushers will return to form here midseason, but Bryce Huff played a season-low six snaps on Sunday and continues to be a major disappointment after signing a three-year deal with $34 in guaranteed money million US dollars.

Sirianni said Huff's “hand bothered him” after warmups and “we tried to protect him there.”

Maybe, but Huff politely declined an interview Sunday after the game.

If defensive coordinator Vic Fangio loses confidence in Huff, what's left is a three-man rotation with Sweat, Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith.

There's no doubt that Roseman wants and needs help in this position, and it would be surprising if he didn't get it.

Some potential trade candidates: Za'Darius Smith of Cleveland, Maxx Crosby of the Raiders, Azeez Ojulari of the Giants, Jadeveon Clowney of the Panthers and Chase Young of the Saints.

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Bob Brookover can be reached at [email protected]