DeMarco Murray being ruled out for the Eagles ended up being a blessing for them, as the Jets couldn't stop Ryan Matthews, and they had no answer for Darren Sproles. Ryan Matthews carried the ball 25 times for 108 yards. Sproles posted two touchdowns, one on the ground, and one on a back-breaking 89 yard put return touchdown.
I talked about it earlier in the week, and it held true on Sunday. The team that wins the turnover battle is going to win the game more often than not. The Jets entered the game with a +8 turnover ratio, henceforth they were 2-0. The Jets turned it over four times to the Eagles' one, and the Jets lost the game.
The other point I made earlier in the week was about the battle at the line of scrimmage. Against the Eagles, the Jets posted a mighty 47 yards, after averaging well over 100 yards in the first two weeks. The Eagles mustered 123 against the "vaunted" Jets' front, and they won the game.
As I have said before, the formula to win in the NFL is really not difficult to understand.
If Ryan Fitzpatrick has to throw the ball 58 times as he did against the Eagles, the Jets won't win very many football games.
There were two guys missing in this game for the Jets, and they were huge. Chris Ivory didn't take a snap, although he was active. But even worse, was the fact that Eric Decker was not active. Without Eric Decker, the Jets were not able to create any matchups on the inside to take the heat off of Brandon Marshall, and that hurt big time. Marshall did manage ten catches for 109 yards and a touchdown, but nobody else could get much going on the outside.
None of us are really sure what happened on the play when Brandon made the catch and tried to lateral the football, resulting in a turnover. That may have been the biggest vapor lock in the career of Brandon Marshall. It happens, but that one was pretty scary.
The score really doesn't reflect how the game went, because there was no real threat that the Jets were going to win this one. The Eagles couldn't close, and allowed the Jets to get within seven, but there was never a point where anyone felt that the Jets were going to take the game over. The Eagles really did win this one right from the start.
Demario Davis had an encouraging game, with 13 tackles, six solo. The Jets' linebackers, however, still do have difficulty in pass coverage, and were beaten by "Wheel" routes on more than one occasion. If Sproles hadn't dropped one, the score would have been worse for New York.
Next for the Jets is a trip to the UK to face the Miami Dolphins.