Eagles vs. Jets: Previewing NY Jets' Week 3 Matchup

Well, not many had this setup pegged when the NFL schedule was released a few months ago.

Sunday afternoon, the undefeated (seriously) New York Jets will take on the winless (seriously) Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium. Fresh off victories over the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts by a combined score of 51-17, the Jets are on top of the world and basking in the glory of proving naysayers wrong.

The Eagles, on the other hand, are frantically searching for answers to repair a high-powered offense that has suddenly become anything but. Big-name free-agent signing DeMarco Murray has just 11 rushing yards (again, seriously) through the season’s first two games, and Sam Bradford has the City of Brotherly Love wanting a do-over for the trade that shipped Nick Foles away.

Philadelphia’s in desperation, must-win mode. New York is learning what it feels like to have success.

Who comes out on top when the two teams square off? What should you look for in the battle? Here’s what to watch for when the Jets face the Eagles.

Date: Sunday, September 27
Location: MetLife Stadium; East Rutherford, New Jersey
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: Fox

Week 2 Recap: New York Jets 20, Indianapolis Colts 7

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press/Associated Press

Andrew Luck is tackled and fumbles the football against the Jets

If there was ever any doubt on the legitimacy of the New York Jets defense…

There isn’t anymore.

In Indianapolis, New York’s revamped and rebuilt D had the Colts’ Andrew Luck in a Monday night nightmare during a 20-7 Jets victory. The quarterback was pressured 16 times, threw three interceptions, fumbled once and struggled to ever get the Colts in any kind of a rhythm. In fact, it took until midway through the fourth quarter for Indianapolis to even put points on the scoreboard.

Luck, who finished 21-of-37 passing for 250 yards, was running for his life on prime-time television as the Jets took what the Buffalo Bills did in the season opener and perfected the plan in Week 2. New York blitzed the interior of the Colts offensive line, contained on the outside and essentially rendered Luck a sitting duck in the pocket. The three-time Pro Bowler couldn’t step up, couldn’t escape and couldn’t set his feet. The result was widely inaccurate passes that oftentimes found their way into the waiting arms of Jets defenders.

Offensively, the Jets did just enough to come away with the victory. It wasn’t pretty; actually, it was ugly at times, but when it counted, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick found a way to get the job done.

Following the Colts' lone touchdown drive, which cut the Jets' lead to three, Fitzpatrick answered by marching New York 80 yards in eight plays. He capped the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Marshall. With the Jets' lead back up to double digits, the score was the final nail in the coffin.

Fitzpatrick finished 22-of-34 for 244 yards with a pair of touchdowns and one interception. Marshall caught seven passes for 101 yards and the touchdown, while Eric Decker finished with eight grabs for 97 yards and a score himself. The Jets struggled to get anything going on the ground as Chris Ivory led the attack with only 57 yards on 14 carries.

Defensively, Calvin Pryor, Darrelle Revis and Marcus Gilchrist intercepted Luck passes. Revis also recovered two fumbles.

News and Notes

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press/Associated Press

Ryan Fitzpatrick and Geno Smith take reps during training camp

Now that he’s the starter, can Ryan Fitzpatrick hold on to the job?

There was always a relatively large elephant in each and every room at the Atlantic Health Training Center in Florham Park.

Yes, Fitzpatrick was the Jets quarterback at the moment. But when Geno Smith was healthy enough to return, would the former second-round pick replace the 11th-year vet at the top of New York’s depth chart?

Tuesday morning, the elephant was finally addressed by New York head coach Todd Bowles. The answer?

“Ryan’s our starting quarterback,” Bowles said, via conference call. “Ryan will get all the first-team reps.”

With Smith officially back having received medical clearance Wednesday, he’ll return to the Jets lineup as the team’s second-string quarterback. The job is Fitzpatrick’s. Now, how long that remains the case is to be seen.

Through the first two games of the season, Fitzpatrick has been solid in two Jets victories. The quarterback has completed 63.8 percent of his passes and thrown for 423 yards with four scores and two interceptions—both on forced passes to receiver Brandon Marshall. Fitzpatrick’s quarterback rating is an impressive 94.3, and he’s Pro Football Focus' fifth-best-rated passer.

Fitzpatrick has done nothing to be removed from the Jets lineup, so Bowles is keeping him there. How long of a leash he has? Well, that’s now the new elephant setting up shop in Florham Park.

If Fitzpatrick plays poorly Sunday against Philadelphia, he’ll likely still get one more go in the Jets' next game against the Miami Dolphins in London. But if he has a poor showing against Philly and Miami? New York could realistically make the change once it returns from the bye that next week.

With that being said, if Fitzpatrick plays well against the Eagles and Dolphins, the job could easily be his the remainder of the season. Really, Fitzpatrick holds all the cards. If he plays well, he keeps playing.

If he doesn’t? It’s Geno’s team again.

Do the Jets have the stamina to keep up with the Philadelphia Eagles?

No matter how bad the Eagles looked in their 20-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, the team’s offense, when on, has the ability to be one of the more dangerous in the NFL.

Head coach Chip Kelly, while flawed, still knows the offensive side of the ball like few others in the NFL. He uses the entire field—width and length—better than most, and when the Eagles push the gas peddle fully down, look out.

As the Atlanta Falcons found out in the two teams' season opener, the second half of games against the Eagles is usually a bit tougher than the first. Sure, you can hang with the Birds through the first two quarters. But midway through the third? That high-octane, never-let-up play-calling takes a toll.

Speaking Tuesday, Bowles was asked if he plans on doing any extra conditioning in preparation of Sunday’s game. Early in training camp, the coach made reference that he wasn’t overly happy with his team’s stamina, and rookie defensive end Leonard Williams recently questioned that same thing.

So, will the Jets be running an extra gasser or two on the practice fields?

“No,” Bowles said. “We run a lot of plays in practice as well, and we faced them in preseason and we’ve faced them the past few years. We know they get a high amount of plays in, and our guys just have to be ready to play.”

During his time as defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, Bowles saw quite a bit of Kelly’s offense. In 2014, Arizona held Philadelphia to just 20 points. In 2013, Philadelphia managed 24 points.

Bowles has proven he can handle the Eagles offense before, but where Philly becomes lethal is if its offense is able to tire out a defense. Conditioning is more key than X’s and O’s in that battle.

Can the Jets hang the full 60 minutes? That’ll be the game’s biggest question.

Is this the game Devin Smith makes his New York Jets debut?

There wasn’t a positional group that came out of Indianapolis more bruised and battered than the Jets receivers.

Speaking on Tuesday, Bowles said in addition to Decker’s sprained knee that is likely to keep him out Sunday, receiver Chris Owusu also suffered a leg injury that will sideline him for potentially two weeks.

Decker and Owusu are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, on the Jets depth chart at wideout. If neither is able to go, someone else is going to have to step up.

That someone may be rookie Devin Smith, who has yet to take part in any game—be that preseason or regular season.

Selected in the second round of this year’s draft, Bowles and Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan viewed Smith as a player who would bring a dimension to New York’s offense that it didn’t already have: speed. With Marshall a prototypical No. 1 and Decker an elite route-runner, the one thing the Jets really didn’t have was someone who could stretch the field.

During his four-year career at Ohio State, that’s just about all Smith did.

Smith averaged 20.7 yards per reception on 121 receptions as a Buckeye. During his senior season, Smith caught 33 passes for 931 yards and 12 touchdowns. His yards-per-reception average that year? An astounding 28.2.

Early in OTAs and minicamp, Smith was flashing exactly what he did in college on the pro fields. In fact, it was almost a given that at some point in time, Smith was going to get behind a Jets defensive back in team drills to make a long grab down the sideline.

Then came an unfortunate fall in training camp that resulted in broken ribs and a punctured lung. Smith has been sidelined ever since.

Smith got a full week of work leading up to the Colts game, but Bowles elected to keep him inactive so that he could get his stamina up, or, as the coach put it, “learn to play in his pads again.”

With this now being the second consecutive week of full preparation, it may be time to get Smith on the field. Then again, it doesn’t look like Bowles will have a choice.

Latest Injury News

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Player Name	Position	Injury	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Game Status
Willie Colon	OG	Knee	DNP	LTD	LTD	QST
Eric Decker	WR	Knee	DNP	DNP	DNP	QST
Chris Ivory	RB	Quad	DNP	DNP	LTD	QST
Lorenzo Mauldin	OLB	Concussion	DNP	LTD	FULL	PROB
Chris Owusu	WR	Knee	DNP	DNP	DNP	OUT
Trevor Reilly	OLB	Finger	DNP	DNP	DNP	OUT
Darrelle Revis	DB	Groin	DNP	LTD	LTD	QST
Darrin Walls	DB	Hamstring	DNP	DNP	DNP	DBT
James Carpenter	OG	Lower Back	LTD	LTD	LTD	PROB
Stephen Bowen	DL	Knee	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB
Antonio Cromartie	DB	Knne	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB
Breno Giacomini	OL	Bicep	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB
Jaiquawn Jarrett	S	Shoulder	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB
Geno Smith	QB	Jaw	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB
Devin Smith	WR	Ribs	FULL	FULL	FULL	PROB

Chart Codes: TBD (to be determined); DNP (did not practice); LTD(limited); Probable (75 percent chance of playing); Questionable (50 percent chance of playing); Doubtful (25 percent chance of playing); Out (0 percent chance of playing)

---

Key Matchups

Darron Cummings/Associated Press/Associated Press

Demario Davis waits to take the field

Demario Davis, David Harris vs. Eagles Running Game

During the Eagles' loss to the Cowboys last week, Philly’s offense couldn’t get anything going on the ground.

Actually, that’s an understatement. Murray ran 13 times for two yards. Ryan Mathews ran once for no gain. Darren Sproles ran once for minus-four yards.

The Eagles finished with their lowest rushing total since the 1960s.

Dallas was able to manhandle Philly’s rushing attempts largely because of the play of inside linebackers Sean Lee and Anthony Hitchens. The two would wait for the running back to commit, then break to the ball, run into the backfield untouched and wrap up the ball-carrier. Truthfully, most of the plays made by the two saw them go unblocked.

This week, it’ll be David Harris and Demario Davis in the middle of the defense looking to do exactly what Lee and Hitchens did a week ago.

While Harris and Davis certainly have their faults, what the two excel in is playing against the run. In 2014, Davis was PFF’s 11th-best inside linebacker against the run with a positive 6.5 grade. In 2013, Harris graded out with a 5.8.

With a primarily young receiving group, the Eagles want to run the ball. Chip Kelly’s offense works best when the team can establish a run, work in the play action and then get the defense thinking about what’s coming, rather than going out there and playing. With how fast Kelly can get his group going, that’s when those points start coming in bunches.

But when the run is taken out of the game, that’s when you have what Dallas was able to do a week ago.

Calvin Pryor, Marcus Gilchrist vs. Zach Ertz, Brent Celek

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Jets defense a week ago against the Colts will be the same one they need to answer against the Eagles: Can the team slow top-notch tight ends?

The Jets' two safeties rendered Colts tight ends Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen irrelevant last Monday night. The two didn’t catch a single pass and were rarely targeted. The Eagles present another tough challenge with Zach Ertz and Brent Celek.

In a copycat attempt to mimic the 2011 Patriots' tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, Kelly’s two biggest offensive weapons are arguably Celek and Ertz. Both are the complete package—capable of blocking but also running nice routes and stretching the field. They’re too fast for linebackers but too big for many safeties and cornerbacks.

In 2014, Celek and Ertz combined for 98 receptions, 1,042 yards and four touchdowns. With receivers Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor struggling through the first two games of the season, it’s likely Kelly turns to his tight ends even more on Sunday for passing production.

That means Marcus Gilchrist and Calvin Pryor will again have to step up, just as they did against Indy.

X-Factor

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press/Associated Press

Jeremy Kerley makes a diving touchdown grab

Few players have been hurt as much by the Jets' new coaching regime than slot receiver Jeremy Kerley.

A starter for the better part of the last three years, Kerley, who had 827 receiving yards in 2012, has been the odd man out in 2015. With offensive coordinator Chan Gailey preferring bigger-bodied wideouts, the 5'9" former fifth-round pick has been relegated to special teams duty. In the last two games, Kerley has played two (one each game) offensive snaps.

In three-wide sets, the Jets have elected to place Decker in the slot. Regarded as one of the better route-runners in the NFL, Decker’s looked good there, too, catching 10 passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Since Kerley has never really been able to play the outside, that spot’s been given to Owusu.

Again, Gailey likes big-bodied targets, and when the Jets have gone three-wide, those on the field have stood 6'4" (Marshall,) 6'0" (Owusu) and 6'3" (Decker).

But against the Eagles, the Jets may not have a choice but to put Kerley in the slot. Owusu is expected to miss the next two weeks with a leg injury, and Decker suffered a knee sprain versus Indianapolis. Assuming rookie Devin Smith suits up, he’ll likely play outside Marshall. That slot position that Decker was occupying? Well, the Jets should hand that off to Kerley.

If the above situation does come to fruition, expect Kerley to play like a man possessed Sunday. During his few times speaking to the media this year, the receiver has been quietly vocal about his displeasure with how things have played out. He wants to be on the field but doesn’t want to cause an issue. So, he’s content waiting until he’s given his shot.

Sunday, that opportunity may come. It’s up to Kerley to take advantage of it and show Gailey that height doesn’t matter.

Prediction

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

The Philadelphia Eagles are already without linebacker Kiko Alonso (knee), and there’s a very real chance the team won’t have running back DeMarco Murray (hamstring) or linebacker Mychal Kendricks (hamstring), either.

Yes, the team’s desperate to avoid an 0-3 start, but with what’s been coming out of Eagles camp lately, it seems more like the group is ready to implode than rally together.

The Jets, meanwhile, have taken on the mindset of their head coach: never too high, never too low. They’re thrilled with the 2-0 start, but as Bowles and safety Marcus Gilchrist echoed this week, they’re “nowhere near” where they want to be.

On paper, the Jets are a more talented team in terms of matchups. They have a defensive line capable of manhandling the Eagles offensive line. They have cornerbacks capable of shutting down the Eagles receivers. They have an offensive line that can move the Eagles front (especially if they’re without Alonso and Kendricks.)

Not to mention, there is a real chance Marshall makes a mockery of Philly’s prized free-agent acquisition Byron Maxwell.

Signed away from Seattle to hopefully be the Eagles' Richard Sherman, Maxwell has been picked on time and time again through the first two games. How bad has it been? Opponents have thrown at the cornerback 19 times. He’s allowed 15 completions, 240 yards, two touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 153.8.

Again, it hasn’t been pretty.

Marshall, on the other hand, has been showing the NFL that he’s not exactly washed up. Fitzpatrick has thrown his way 19 times already, connecting successfully on 13 of them for 163 yards and a pair of scores.

The Jets will need to do five things Sunday.

1. Shut down the run. 
2. Pressure Sam Bradford. 
3. Contain the Eagles receivers. 
4. Get push on the offensive line. 
5. Take advantage of Marshall vs. Maxwell.

The scary part is all five seem easy to accomplish. And if all five are? Well, not only will New York win, but it won’t be close.

Jets 27, Eagles 14

Connor Hughes is the New York Jets beat writer for the Journal Inquirer and Scout.com. All quotes and advanced stats referenced and used are gathered firsthand.

Connor can be reached on Twitter (@Connor_J_Hughes) or via email ([e-mail]).