That sound you heard in North Jersey around 2 p.m. Sunday was the Jets returning to Earth with a thud.
The Eagles handed the Jets their first loss, 24-17 at MetLife Stadium, giving the Jets a dose of reality that they may not be quite as good as everyone thought after starting 2-0.
The Jets spotted the Eagles a 24-0 first-half lead and could never quite recover. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall and Jeremy Kerley, but had three interceptions. The final interception, by Walter Thurmond, came with 3:33 left and sealed the game.
“You can’t turn the ball over,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “Whether they get tipped or anything like that. We know we can’t turn the ball over. You’re not going to win the game throwing three interceptions.”
The Jets had five takeaways in each of their first two games, but managed just one against the Eagles. The offense missed running back Chris Ivory and wide receiver Eric Decker, both sidelined with injuries. The Jets failed to move the ball for most of the day, with no running game to speak of (47 rushing yards) and Fitzpatrick mostly throwing short passes.
After flying high Monday in the win over the Colts, the Jets must now deal with the reality of a loss.
“It’s a long season,” Bowles said. “They played better than us. Give Chip [Kelly] and the Eagles credit. They came in here to play. We played hard. We just didn’t play smart at times. We didn’t make enough plays. It’s a long season. The same way when we won two games we didn’t get too high, we’re not going to lose one game and get too low. We’re going to figure out this week and move on.”
During the week, Bowles said Fitzpatrick would be the Jets starting quarterback, even with Geno Smith, who was the No. 2 quarterback Sunday, now healthy. Fitzpatrick struggled Sunday, though. He went 35-for-58 for 283 yards with two touchdowns and the three interceptions. After the game, Bowels reiterated Fitzpatrick is the starting quarterback, but Fitzpatrick knows he has to play better.
“The winning formula for us is not going to be turning the ball over and throwing it 58 times,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think we know that. We’ve got to play a better game, a smarter game and everybody on offense will contribute better”
Wide receiver Brandon Marshall had one of the strangest games possible. He caught 10 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown as the only offensive weapon the Jets seemed to have. On the other hand, he made a boneheaded decision by trying to flip the ball to tight end Jeff Cumberland while being tackled, which resulted in a fumble. He also let a ball go off his hands that was then intercepted.
“I played like crap today, to be honest with you,” Marshall said.
The Eagles scored a touchdown on the series after Marshall’s fumble to take a 24-0 lead. Marshall inexplicably tried to pitch it to Cumberland, but it bounced off Eagles linebacker Connor Barwin and was recovered by Jordan Hicks.
“Wrong time to gamble,” Marshall said. “I was pressing trying to make a play, but you can’t do that. That was probably the worst play in NFL history.”
The Eagles scored three touchdowns in the second quarter — an 89-yard punt return by Darren Sproles, a 23-yard pass from Sam Bradford to Ryan Mathews and a 1-yard plunge by Sproles.
“It’s hard to come back from that,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said. “You’re down 24, it’s just hard. No matter what the record is, no matter who you’re playing. It’s tough. We put ourselves in a hole early on and we just tried to claw back as much as we can. It wasn’t what we wanted. At the same time, when adversity strikes we have to respond.”
The Jets showed life before the half in a nine-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown from Fitzpatrick to Marshall that cut it to 24-7.
The Jets’ defense made some adjustments and stopped the Eagles in the second half, but the offense showed little urgency. A 7-yard touchdown from Fitzpatrick to Kerley made it 24-14 with 9:37 remaining.
Linebacker David Harris then forced a fumble from Mathews with 7:30 left that was recovered by Demario Davis and it looked like the Jets might mount a comeback. Three plays later, though, Fitzpatrick was intercepted by Hicks on a tipped pass.
“It was kind of a momentum changer,” Bowles said. “We thought we had a shot then, but to turn it right back over kind of dashes hope a little bit. We had our chances and we didn’t take advantage of them.”
Nick Folk kicked a 53-yard field goal with 2:38 left to make it a one-touchdown game, but the Eagles recovered the onside kick to clinch the game and their first win of the season.