EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Eagles suffered their first loss of this 2023 season and they knew they had nobody to blame but themselves. Philadelphia turned the ball over four times, suffered a spate of injuries that sent players off the field, and couldn’t hang on to a double-digit lead on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, losing to the New York Jets 20-14. Here are some takeaways from the defeat, which left the Eagles at 5-1 on the season …
1. Quarterback Jalen Hurts started the game strong and then he and the offense faded. Losing right tackle Lane Johnson to an ankle injury in the first quarter didn’t help at all, but there were all sorts of weird things happening with the offense. One of Hurts’ three interceptions was just one of those crazy plays – tight end Dallas Goedert juggled a throw and had it bounce off his knee only to be intercepted by New York defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The most costly giveaway came late in the game, with two minutes remaining on the clock and the Eagles facing a third-and-9 play at their 46-yard line. The Jets had no timeouts remaining and Head Coach Nick Sirianni wanted to gain a first down and end the game. Instead, Hurts looked left and threw for Goedert. Safety Tony Adams stepped in front of the throw, made the interception, and returned it 45 yards to the Philadelphia 8-yard line. One play later, the Jets scored to take their first lead of the game. Incredible.
“You turn the ball over four times, you can’t expect to win,” said quarterback Jalen Hurts, who addressed the team in the locker room after the game. “It’s a tough one, for sure, but it’s an opportunity to grow
2. Philadelphia got the ball back with 1:46 remaining at their 25-yard line and failed to gain a first down – all four Hurts passes were incomplete – and the game was over and the winning streak ended.
3. Once again, the Eagles started the game fast and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. After the defense held New York on its first drive, the Eagles took possession at their 9-yard line and mounted an epic drive – 19 plays, 91 yards, 9 minutes and 47 seconds off the clock. The Eagles gained 8 first downs and mixed the run and pass effectively. There were some highlights – A.J. Brown toe-tapped on the sideline for 10 yards and then a great Hurts roll right and then, with a defender grabbing at his left arm, completion to Brown on the sideline for 8 yards to convert a third-and-7 play – but Hurts was the real standout.
He completed 9 of 12 passes for 66 yards and ran 4 times for 21 yards, including a lunging effort that got him into the end zone from 2 yards out. Hurts ran right on the play, was hit, appeared to have nowhere to go, and then reached his arm out toward the goal line. The initial ruling was that Hurts was tackled short of the end zone and that when he reached out and lost the football and wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus recovered in the end zone, the recovery was nullified because, according to NFL rules, only the player who fumbles the ball on fourth down can recover it in the end zone. The Jets celebrated and there was a break in the action and all of a sudden the Eagles’ kicking team came on the field and the officials announced that, upon further review, Hurts reached the end zone with his lunge. It was the team’s fifth opening-drive score of the season and the third straight opening-drive touchdown by the offense.
4. The Eagles’ defense came up with a really nice four-and-out stop after the freaky Hurts interception – his throw to tight end Dallas Goedert was on the money, but Goedert was hit and bobbled the ball and it eventually bounced off his knee and was intercepted – set the Jets up at Philadelphia 45-yard line. But the defense stepped up – Josh Sweat stopped running back Breece Hall for a 2-yard loss on first down, Haason Reddick sacked quarterback Zach Wilson for no gain, and then Wilson ran 7 yards on third down. On fourth down, linebacker Zach Cunningham made the play in coverage, limiting tight end Tyler Conklin to 4 yards on a sideline completion. Eagles ball.
5. And with that possession, the Eagles’ offense did its job, a great display of what coaches call “complementary football.” The Eagles drove 64 yards on six plays, the big one a catch and run by Brown that gained 49 yards. The touchdown play, a Hurts completion to D’Andre Swift – a nice catch by Swift on a ball thrown slightly behind him and then he broke a couple of tackles at the 2-yard line and got into the end zone – was the offense’s second touchdown in as many opportunities in the red zone.
