Knee-Jerk Reactions: Eagles 24, Jets 17
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Phew.
24-0 turned into 24-17, but hey, a win is a win. The defense stayed dominant, the offense stayed inconsistent, and Bradford stayed meh.
But the Eagles did a lot of good things, especially on defense, and we'll take it.
First Half
- Hey, it's the Eagles!
- Game plan for the Eagles is to play with the lead, play fast, and create turnovers...especially against the Jets, who want to run the ball and control the clock.
- The Eagles executed brilliantly in the first half.
- We really needed that Darren Sproles punt return touchdown. Phew.
- The ground game got going, sort of, as Sproles and Ryan Mathews combined for 86 yards on 20 carries in the first half.
- Mathews did have an egregious drop, the same exact drop he had in Week 1 against the Falcons, but made up for it when he caught a wheel route for a touchdown.
- That was Sam Bradford's only great throw of the first half. Bradford was up and down (10-20, 93 yards, 1 TD) in the first half.
- The pace of the offense still seems a little slow to me. The Eagles should be snapping the ball with no less than 20 seconds on the play clock, at worst. When the pace is fast, the offense hums.
- Where is Nelson Agholor? I need more of him. He dropped a ball early on a play that was negated due to a penalty and then Bradford just missed him later in the half.
- Defensively, what can you say? Other than the late touchdown pass allowed to Brandon Marshall, the Birds' defense was excellent.
- Jordan Hicks looks solid, Connor Barwin had his best half of football so far this season, we didn't hear Byron Maxwell's name called (which is good), Nolan Carroll made a terrific pass breakup when he blanketed Jets rookie WR Devin Smith down the sideline in the second quarter, and Malcolm Jenkins continues to be the leader.
- Also, the flags, calls, and bounces actually went the Eagles' way in half one!
- LOL that Brandon Marshall fumble.
Second Half
- Well, there goes the offense.
- Something just seems off. The tempo isn't fast enough and players aren't comfortable, at times.
- Brandon Bair had three pass deflections, including a monster one with about seven minutes remaining and the Eagles holding a 10-point lead that fell into the hands of...Hicks!
- What a game Hicks, the rookie had: Ten tackles (team high), interception, and a fumble recovery.
- Speaking of rookies, two incredible plays made by CB Eric Rowe on Devin Smith. One breakup and one interception.
- The defense was outstanding. Got a little soft at times in the second half, but you can't complain: Four turnovers, one sack (Barwin), 14 points allowed
- Mathews, other than a brutal fourth quarter fumble, had 104 yards on 22 carries.
- Sproles, other than a terrible drop that probably would have went to the house in the second half, had 11 carries for 17 yards and a touchdown, plus four catches for 19 more yards, and a punt return touchdown.
- Bradford, was meh, at best.
- Maxwell, was meh, at best too. He hates tackling.
- Other than Mathews and Sproles, the only other Eagles' pass catchers were Jordan Matthews (6/49) and Zach Ertz (2/30).
- Agholor, Riley Cooper, and Miles Austin combined for ZERO catches on eight targets. Yuck.
Oh By The Way
- Julio Jones caught 12 balls for 164 yards and two touchdowns to beat the Cowboys. The only team that shut him down was the Eagles in the second half.
- Ben Roethlisberger got hurt. Mike Vick came in to replace him...against Nick Foles and the Rams.
- Foles threw a late interception to essentially seal the Steelers' 12-6 ugly win.
