Eagles Beat Jets For First Win This Season
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (CBS) — What a difference a week makes.
The temporary panacea came in a combination of stingy defense, a strong running attack, the magic bounces East Rutherford always seems to supply for the Eagles and the New York Jets reverting into the bumbling New York Jets on Sunday.
The Eagles accomplished a few things at MetLife Stadium that they hadn't done yet this fledgling season—that's win a game, score a touchdown in the first half and begin to look like the model Chip Kelly intended when he put this team together.
Scoring three different ways in the first half translated into an Eagles' 24-17 victory over the Jets, improving 1-2 heading into next week's game against the Washington Redskins, just one game behind the first-place Dallas Cowboys.
"I thought it was gritty, we knew going in, to use a boxing analogy, two guys that are going to start standing in the middle of the ring swinging at each other, and that's what happened," Kelly said, summing up the victory. "That defense they put together, and we talked about in the middle of the week, had outstanding corners and they can really cover, so they can devote a lot of people to the run game. It wasn't a pretty win, but it's what we had to do to win this football game. I thought our defense played really, really well."
Last Sunday, the Eagles couldn't do anything right in the first half. Entering the Jets' game, the Eagles were 31st in the NFL in first-half points scored (3) and the worst team in the NFL in total yards per game (73), rushing average (2.5), 3-and-outs (7) and first downs (7). In the first quarter alone against the so-called vaunted Jets' defense, the Eagles had 6 first downs and 76 yards of total offense.
This week, the Eagles led 24-7 at halftime, despite being without defensive starters Kiko Alonzo, Mychal Kendricks and Cedric Thornton. The Eagles held New York to just 1 first down until late in the first half. They were doing it with Brandon Bair (3 deflected passes), and the extraordinary play by rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks, who had one fumble recovery, an interception (off a Bair deflected pass) and led the Eagles with 9 tackles.
The Eagles amassed 179 total yards in the first half against a good Jets' defense, and rushed for 86 yards. They had just one 3-and-out series, and picked 13 first downs. For the game, the Eagles picked up 231 total yards, 123 coming on the ground, and they forced four turnovers.
Ryan Mathews finished with a game-high 108 yards rushing on 25 carries, and Sam Bradford was a competent, though unspectacular, 14 for 28 for 118 yards and a touchdown. Bradford still rushed some things, but overall, he looked far more secure in the pocket than he did the previous two weeks.
"(Mathews) is a real decisive, one-cut runner, he sticks his foot in the ground and goes, and you're going to have to run through some arm tackles at times and he did," Kelly said. "He has some size to go along with his explosion, and it's not a make-you-miss thing, you have to be physical through there and he was really physical out there running the football."
And who knows where the Eagles would be without Darren Sproles. His 89-yard punt return marked the first time the Eagles scored a touchdown in the first half, and his 1-yard plunge later in the half helped the Eagles surge to s 24-0 lead.
The much-maligned offensive line came straight at the Jets, getting good push for Mathews, who went right at New York.
The victory certainly helps the Eagles in the confidence department. But who this team is and where it could go is still a very nebulous.
"Like everything, it's the same mentality, every week is going to be a street fight and you have to be prepared," Kelly said about moving forward. "We still have a lot of corrections we have to make. But it's obviously easier on a Tuesday when you're talking after a win than after a loss."
