The day started as a good one for Birds fans after seeing the Browns beat the 49ers to allow the Eagles to become the last remaining undefeated team in the league. It did not stay that way.
Through the defense did bend a bit, they had a very strong first half for a team missing multiple defensive linemen and secondary guys.
They forced a punt, made the Jets settle for three field goals and got a turnover on downs. While nine points on it’s own doesn’t sound great, it should be noted two of those drives came from a short field due to turnovers.
On offense, it was D’Andre Swift who ended a promising drive before the half with an ugly fumble – turning what should have probably been at least a 17-6 score at the half to instead be 14-9. A deflection off a pass to Goedert happened into the lap of a Jets defender, resulting in the other turnover.
Outside of those two plays, however, the offense looked about as good as it had all season. Even without Lane Johnson, it seemed like they were clicking. It was just a great play with a lucky bounce and poor ball security by Swift that held up a potential early blow out.
The same could not be said of the offense after the half, where sacks, negative runs and another DeVonta Smith drop left the Birds with no control of the clock and no opportunity to score points in the third quarter.
Hurts continued to show next to nothing other than running ability culminating in his third interception that handed the Jets the ball in their own red zone. Literally the only thing that couldn’t happen and Hurts, stares down his receiver, ignores open receivers on the other half of the field and makes a crappy pass for a huge return.
The lone touchdown the defense allowed was intentionally allowed to preserve clock after Hurts threw his third interception of the game.
This loss rests on the shoulders of the quarterback who showed no fight at the end of the game and the offense who’s highlights include running backs throwing the ball away and receiver dropping balls that hit them in the hands. An absolute train wreck unworthy of having been shown on any TV anywhere in the world – you’d have had more fun watching your local high school team actually show some fundamental concepts for the game.
Oh, and the turf at Met Life once again injured an incredible amount of players.
The Jets now have their first win over the Eagles in the history of the NFL.
Offensive MVP: No One
I suppose you could argue for AJ Brown or some of the offensive linemen, but the simple fact was that the Eagles and Jalen Hurts ran an absolute embarrassment out this week. Not what you want to see with a slate featuring teams that don’t suck coming up.
Defensive MVP: Haason Reddick
Really, the whole defense performed well as a unit with the level of depth that they had to use just to get through the game. Reddick was the most effective, however, with two and a half sacks to go with his five tackles.
Game Notes
- With OZ back in the position of the third receiver spot, it certainly seemed that Hurts was far more willing to let the ball fly in his direction – even if there was some pretty tight coverage on him. That should be taken by the staff as a sign he should stick in the games.
- The receiving ability Swift has added a wrinkle to the offense, even when it isn’t going well. This seemed like something that they should have been attempting more last season, but the Eagles clearly have the confidence in Swift to do it. Unfortunately, he cost the team today with his inability to secure the ball.
- Hurts was god-awful. Sure he was decent running, but he threw two TERRIBLE interceptions that were worse than anything Zach Wilson even tried – let that sink in.
- DeVonta Smith: What has he been doing? Did he try new gloves made out of butter? Was he trying to see how poorly he could possibly play. Maybe if he catches the stuff that hits him in the hands, the Eagles win this game.
- AJ Brown was caught on camera slacking where he ran a deep route and beat his man but stopped running while the ball was in the air. He saw the ball coming to him and couldn’t catch up – shades of what John Hightower used to do every time the ball was thrown to him. It was Brown’s diva personality costing the Eagles a touchdown because of his laziness and attitude problems.
- All this and there’s not much of a point to mentioning Jake Elliott missed his only field goal attempt of the game. It wouldn’t have made a difference for the pathetic sack of losers that lined up on offense, however.
Injury Notes
- Lane Johnson exited in the first quarter with an ankle injury. He did not return.
- Dallas Goedert was shaken up in the first quarter, as well. He did return to game action.
- Eli Ricks went down in the second quarter with an apparent knee injury and was removed from the secondary. He did not return,
- In the third quarter, Milton Williams exited with an injury. He was later able to return.
- Reed Blankenship went to the locker room in the third quarter. He did not return with a rib injury.
- Bradley Roby also went to the locker room in the third. A shoulder injury kept him from returning.
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Jets – October 15, 2023
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|
Eagles |
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Jets | 0 |
9 |
3 | 8 |
