Eagles In Thick Of NFC East Race After 'Gritty' Win
By Ed Benkin
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A game in week three against a non-conference opponent usually isn't a must-win situation, but that's how the Eagles looked at their game on Sunday.
The Eagles headed to the Meadowlands with an 0-2 record. They left with their first victory of the season as they hung on for a 24-17 win against the Jets. After building a 24-0 lead, the Eagles had to hang on for dear life in the second half.
Chip Kelly wasn't concerned about style points.
"It was gritty," said Kelly. "We knew going in this was just going to be, to use a boxing analogy, like two guys standing in the middle of the ring who just starting swinging at each other."
The Eagles landed all of the early blows. They scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, with the first coming on on an 89-yard punt return by Darren Sproles. Ryan Mathews added a touchdown catch to go along with his 108 yards of rushing, as the Eagles finally got their ground game going. Mathews stepped in for the injured DeMarco Murray and looked quite comfortable taking on a heavy workload. While the Eagles' offensive line played much better than last week, Mathews showed a burst for the whole which Murray didn't have in the first two games.
"It's not my first rodeo," Mathews said. "I've played the game before. It's fun to get back out there and run and just step in for a great running back."
The defense did it's part, and came through with the game on the line. The Eagles intercepted Jets Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick three times, with all three picks coming in the second half. The last two came in the fourth quarter when the Jets were in the midst of racking up 17 unanswered points. Rookie Eric Rowe had one of the interceptions.
"It felt unreal," said Rowe. "It took me a while to get my thoughts together that I got an interception in the NFL. Once it hit, I was really excited."
At 1-2, the Eagles are suddenly in a better position in the NFC East after just one game. The Giants and Redskins are also 1-2, and the banged up Cowboys suffered their first loss of the season. However, Linebacker Connor Barwin says says looking at the big picture can be damaging at this point of the season.
"We're not really worried about what anybody else is doing in the league or in our division," Barwin said. "It's early in the year. Everybody's just trying to improve and be a better team. For us, that's the same thing. We're just trying to get better every week."
By no means are the Eagles feeling like they have perfected their game. They understand there are plenty of adjustments to be made. The offense sputtered in the second half, forcing the defense to stay on the field too long in the second half.
But Sunday was all about survival.
"Every week's going to be like a street fight," said Kelly. "We still have a lot of corrections we have to make, but it's obviously easier on a Tuesday when you're talking to a team after a win than it is after a loss."
On the injury front, Guard Andrew Gardner left the game with a foot injury and was seen leaving the locker room with crutches and an air cast. He will be re-evaluated on Monday.
