Have Philadelphia Eagles fans forgiven Michael Jacquet for Week 16?

Here’s a look at the young Philadelphia Eagles stars’ rise to this point.

After his first two seasons as a member of the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, one that saw Michael Jacquet play the wide receiver position in 2016 and 2017 and haul in 46 receptions for 494 yards and three touchdowns, Jacquet made the move to the defensive back position in 2018. That worked out pretty well for him.

The 2018 and 2019 seasons saw Jacquet tally 93 tackles, four interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and a forced fumble. He’d earn Second-team All-Sun Belt honors but went undrafted during 2020’s NFL Draft.

The Philadelphia Eagles added him as an undrafted free agent, waived him during final roster cuts, and then added him to their practice squad. Thanks to a combination of hard work and being on a team that was ravaged by injuries, he’d eventually work his way onto the 53-man roster.

Jacquet would appear in seven games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 and start two of them, but the analysis of how he had done wasn’t overwhelmingly positive, thanks, in large part to a game in which he was labeled as one of the goats (and not in a good way), Week 16’s 37-17 beatdown at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.

The Birds didn’t do much right in 2020. They definitely didn’t do much right in their December 27th game versus the Cowboys. Michael Jacquet took much of the brunt of the criticism there (as he should have). He and the Eagles’ secondary made Andy Dalton look like Brett Favre in that one, and to make matters worse, there were even instances in which Dalton was intentionally looking for anyone Jacquet lined up against.

When the curtain drew, Jacquet had been targeted nine times, and in the process, he gave up seven receptions for 182 yards and two touchdowns. That was the second-highest yardage total given up by a defensive back all season.

Some Christmas present huh?