Photo Credit: MetLifestadium.com
The New York Jets are looking to win two in a row for the first time this season against the Philadelphia Eagles today at MetLife stadium, and with only six games left of the season head coach Robert Saleh is looking to see what he has on his team before heading to the off-season. But most importantly, the Jets are looking to get their first win against the Eagles. The Jets are currently 0-11 against the Eagles and are the only team in history that has yet to beat an NFL team. This would be a huge victory for Saleh and the rest of the coaching staff, not only because they would be the first to get the victory over the Eagles but also they would have won multiple games back to back for the first time this year.
The Eagles are going to be without Jalen Hurts today, which means Gardner Minshew will be starting for the first time since 2020. This makes it difficult for the Jets because unlike Hurts, Minshew can sling the ball. The Eagles relied heavily on the run game when Hurts was the quarterback and they did it very well. The Eagles will still look to rely heavily on the run but I also expect them to use a bit more RPO’s and play action with Minshew under center. The Jets defense needs to look more towards stopping the run and force them to pass despite the fact that this is one of the weaknesses of this unit.
The defensive line needs to replicate what they did against the Houston Texans, attack the line of scrimmage and plug up the assigned gaps. The defensive line has given up 1416 yards on the ground this year, and has allowed 4.5 yards per rush attempt according to ESPN. This was a unit that was supposed to be a strong suit going into this year but seems to be getting worse as the year progressed, they can’t get beat like that if they have any hopes of winning this game. This is an attacking defense but I look to see them pull back and worry about containing the gaps, which would make it a hard time for the Eagles running backs.
Zach Wilson will be the other key factor for a Jet victory this afternoon. Last week in his first game back from his injury, was the same results we saw from his previous starts. From missing the easy throws to making the same bonehead mistakes that we’ve seen earlier this year is the reason why he has the most interceptions in the NFL. He needs to get off to a faster start this game and needs to take better care of the ball. I understand that he has a strong arm and wants to hit the big throws but defenses aren’t going to just let you do it.
He’s going to have to learn to take what the defense gives him and work off of that, this team has the talent with the ability to get yards after the catch. Elijah Moore and Jamison Crowder have the speed to do so, as well as Ty Johnson and Tevin Coleman coming from the backfield and offer that type of explosiveness as well. Then when the Eagles learn to adjust towards that, that is when the big play will be open. If the other three quarterbacks on this team can have success with this offense, then Zach can do the same. It’s time for him to show us why he was the second pick overall.