Eagles vs. Jets: What's the Game Plan for Philadelphia?

The Philadelphia Eagles head into Week 3 needing a win to get their season back together as they face the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium Sunday afternoon.

Philadelphia sits at the bottom of the NFC East after consecutive losses to the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys. On the other side, the New York Jets are red-hot amidst a perfect start to their 2015 campaign.

Fortunately for the Eagles, the NFC East looks to be wide-open still, as the New York Giants and Washington Redskins both have only one win. The Dallas Cowboys head into the weekend with two wins but are depleted due to injuries. Dallas will have to find a way to survive without star wide receiver Dez Bryant and quarterback Tony Romo for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, neither the Eagles nor the Jets come into Sunday's matchup at full strength either. New York may be without starting wide receiver Eric Decker, as the 28-year-old suffered a knee injury last week against the Indianapolis Colts. Philadelphia has already ruled out Mychal Kendricks (hamstring) and Kiko Alonso, (knee) after both players left the game early against Dallas.

Philadelphia failed to get its offense clicking against Dallas, and now it has to face a stout Jets defense. Facing off against the defensive-minded head coach Todd Bowles, the Eagles will need to take care of the ball against New York.

Offensive Game Plan

Opposites will collide this weekend, as Philadelphia's offense is plagued by turnovers and New York's defense is forcing them left and right.

The Eagles led the league in turnovers with 36, including 21 interceptions, last year and continue to look just as reckless with the ball. Through two games, they have already turned the ball over five times.

On the other side, the New York Jets lead the NFL in forced turnovers so far this season with 10 through two games. They forced Andrew Luck to throw three interceptions last week on their way to a 20-7 thrashing of the Colts. Now in Week 3, the Jets face another quarterback who has a tendency to cough up the ball.

Sam Bradford has played a part in all of the Eagles' five turnovers this season. The quarterback has thrown two interceptions in each of the first two games and botched a shotgun snap last week against Dallas.

Last week, he killed the little momentum Philadelphia built up on its long drive when he forced a throw in the red zone. Sean Lee intercepted the pass in the end zone and essentially sealed the game for Dallas.

Bradford cannot afford a mental lapse against the Jets as they will pounce on opportunities to make a big defensive play.

In order to take the pressure off Bradford, Philadelphia needs to establish a run game early against the Jets. The Eagles mustered only seven yards on the ground last week and need better play from their offensive line.

Things do not get any easier for the offensive line this week as they have to cope with Muhammad Wilkerson, Leonard Williams and company on the front line. On top of that, DeMarco Murray's availability is in doubt after the running back left practice this week with a hamstring injury. If Murray's playing time is limited due to injury, head coach Chip Kelly does not think inserting Ryan Mathews will change the game plan.

"No, and I think that's part of what we wanted to do," Kelly said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News' Les Bowen. "I think Ryan and DeMarco are similar-type players. You can do similar-type things with them. If you had a different-type back backing up, then it's a different deal."

So far Mathews has not shown his capabilities in his limited action. The 27-year-old has only gained four yards on four carries this offseason. Meanwhile, Darren Sproles leads the Eagles with 46 rushing yards on only six attempts. He is also the team's second leading receiver with 99 receiving yards. 

In order to slow down the Jets pass rush and take the mounting pressure off Bradford's shoulders, Sproles and Mathews will need to step up this week.

Defensive Game Plan

The defensive secondary has struggled so far this year, and New York comes in boasting talented wide receivers such as Brandon Marshall and, if he's cleared to play, Eric Decker. Unless the Eagles want a repeat of the Atlanta Falcons game, the defense needs to force the Jets to run the ball.

Philadelphia has allowed over 100 yards rushing in each of its first two games, but it has not allowed a single running back to get over the century mark yet this year. New York's backfield features a talented running back in Chris Ivory, but he is fighting injuries to his groin and quad. Ivory's availability is in doubt for Sunday's game against Philadelphia.

"If it's not ready, it's not ready; I just won't play," Ivory said, according to NJ.com's Dom Cosentino. "But if it's good enough to play, I'll play. But there is that chance that I could make it worse."

Ivory is averaging more than four yards per carry and would be a major loss for New York, but the Jets also have other options. Bilal Powell has carried the ball 24 times for 100 yards this season, and they also have Zac Stacy on the roster if they believe Ivory cannot play.

Despite the Jets' talented backfield, Philadelphia would still rather face a committed rushing attack than a dynamic passing game. The recent loss of both Kendricks and Alonso hurts Philadelphia's ability to defend the pass. Both inside linebackers play in passing downs and are the team's best cover linebackers.

DeMeco Ryans is the starting inside linebacker remaining and is an established veteran on the team, but he is not a coverage linebacker. Ryans' inability to stick with tight ends and receivers was clear against Dallas last week. The 31-year-old does not have the quickness to stick tight when the receiver breaks or the speed to catch him in the open field.

The man who is most likely to step in and fill the holes created by injuries will be Jordan Hicks. He showed the ability to make a big play with his strip of Tony Romo, but the Texas product also lost the Dallas running backs in coverage down the field. Hicks is a promising player but is still developing and can be exploited by a veteran offense.

In order to capitalize on Ryans' strength and help out the secondary, Philadelphia needs to hope the Jets stay committed to having a balanced offense.

Key Player and Matchup

Philadelphia entered the 2015 season without its best receiver from the past season for the second year in a row. Two years ago, Kelly decided to let go of DeSean Jackson, and this offseason the Eagles could not re-sign Jeremy Maclin in free agency.

Following Jackson's departure, Maclin stepped up and became Philadelphia's leading receiver last year, and it looks like Jordan Matthews is doing the same thing this season. The second-year receiver leads the team in receptions with 16 and has twice as many receiving yards as anyone else on the roster with 182. He also provided the lone bright spot for Philadelphia's offense last week with a touchdown reception on 4th-and-goal in garbage time.

Although Matthews is the top receiver for Philadelphia, the 23-year-old continues to play the majority of his snaps in the slot. Through the first two games, he has run 79 out of his 81 routes from the slot position, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff McLane.

At 6'3" and 212 pounds, Matthews provides matchup problems for the typical undersized cornerbacks who play in the slot. The Eagles can exploit this mismatch against New York's Buster Skrine. This slot corner is only 5'9" and 186 pounds. With a good six inches of height advantage, Matthews should be able to get open against Skrine.

Despite his good start, Matthews could be doing even better. He allowed a pass to bounce off his hands at the end of the first game, which ended Philadelphia's comeback attempt against the Falcons. When the offense was struggling last week against the Cowboys, Matthews was absent for most of the game and dropped catchable passes that could have sparked life into the offense.

He needs to make catches for his quarterback when he can this weekend against a talented New York secondary. The Jets have two of the most talented cornerbacks in the league lined up on the outside. Bradford will want to stay away from Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, so it is important this weekend for Matthews to work on Skrine in the slot.

Prediction: Jets 17, Eagles 10

Both the Eagles and Chip Kelly need a win this weekend to stay close to the rest of the NFC East and to lift some of the pressure off their shoulders. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, it will face a red-hot New York Jets team that is clicking offensively and dominating on defense.

The Eagles come into Sunday's game with injuries, an out-of-sync offense and a struggling defense. Their own secondary in particular will likely be the downfall against the Jets.

In Week 1 against Atlanta, Julio Jones and Roddy White made easy work of Philadelphia's cornerbacks. Jones finished with 141 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. Philadelphia showed that it does not have the personnel to compete with athletic playmakers on the outside.

This week, Philadelphia will go up against another physically talented wide receiver in Brandon Marshall. The 6'4", 230-pound wideout caught seven passes for 101 yards and a touchdown last week against the Colts. On the other side, Philadelphia's big-ticket offseason signing, Byron Maxwell, has not yet proved that he is an elite corner. Besides not being able to cover Jones in Week 1, Maxwell even allowed Terrance Williams to blow by him on a simple slant route last weekend to score a touchdown without even being touched.

The difference between this week and the Atlanta game is the quarterback play. Matt Ryan is an elite NFL quarterback, while Ryan Fitzpatrick is a journeyman. He is holding down the fort in New York for now, but he is not likely to take over a game on his own.

The hype surrounding Philadelphia is disappearing fast, and the Eagles do not look likely to turn it around this weekend against the Jets defense. Philadelphia needs to establish a run game if it hopes to have success throwing the ball against New York's talented cornerbacks. At the same time, the Jets only need a few key plays from their skill-position players, and then they can count on their defense to protect the lead.