Previewing Jets Week 3 Matchup With Eagles

Chris Ivory (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

The Jets will look to advance to 3-0 this weekend as they host the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that the Jets have never beaten in their history. The Jets are 0-9 all-time against the Eagles.

But the Jets have every opportunity to end that streak this time around as they are playing a lot better than most expected while the Eagles are not meeting any of their expectations after an offseason full of roster moves.

For the New York to come away with a victory on Sunday, here are the keys to the game along with a few things to watch out for.

1. DeMarco Murray – DeMarco Murray had an unbelievable season last year with the Dallas Cowboys. He played in all 16 games, rushed for 1,845 yards and also had 13 rushing touchdowns. This year, however, has been the polar opposite for Murray. So far this season, Murray has 11 rushing yards. That’s right you read that correctly, 11 total rushing yards in two games with only two rushing yards last week against the Cowboys. Some people said he was a product of the Cowboys’ offensive line last year, which at this point looks like the proper analysis. Murray is still a good running back, but the Eagles offensive line is not even close to the Cowboys’ line. So we could see one of two DeMarco Murrays on Sunday. We might see the one from last year, or the one from this year. And since the Jets have an elite defensive line, my guess is that DeMarco Murray will be lucky if he gets more than 20 rushing yards. That is of course if Murray even plays. He is listed as questionable due to a hamstring injury.
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick – He’s going to be a player to watch almost every week simply because he’s still a question mark at this point. His first two games this year were better than what most people expected. But the question here is if he can stay consistent throughout the whole season or is there going to be a stretch of games in which he implodes. Fitzpatrick just has to keep it simple. Just short routes to receivers to move the ball down field. When he starts getting over confident and throwing the ball deep down field is when he gets into trouble with turnovers. He just has to use Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker wisely and stick with the run. That is what he has to do to be the “game managing” quarterback the Jets need to win.
3. Just Play Smart! – At this point in the season, the Jets are a good team and have exceeded most expectations. The Eagles are the complete opposite. At the beginning of the year, they were supposed to compete for the NFC East crown and if that didn’t fall through, then win a Wild Card spot. And that would have been worst case scenario for the Eagles. But right now, they are worse than anybody could have imagined. Their defense isn’t that big of a threat since Kiko Alonso is injured and on top of that, their biggest threat on offense in DeMarco Murray isn’t even close to what the Eagles thought they were getting because their offensive line hasn’t been any good. There are only two outcomes for Sunday’s game. The first is a Jets victory. The second is the Eagles winning because the Jets gave them the game by turning the ball over a lot. As long as the Jets play their best, it will be a Jets victory. The Eagles will not be able to beat the Jets at their best. So the bottom line is: Don’t give away the game.

At the beginning of the season, I thought the Jets would have a 2-2 record and maybe even a 1-3 record going into the Bye Week with the Browns being their only victory. But with the way the Jets are playing, 3-1 and even 4-0 would not surprise me.

Here’s my official prediction: The Jets are hot and the Eagles are not. Jets win 23-7.