All-take, no-give on turnovers is the winning formula
Quincy Williams #56 of the New York Jets takes down DeVonta Smith #6 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the first quarter at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
This was the championship defense that was to be at the heart of a championship season for the Jets.
That part of the dream likely died with the injury that sidelined Aaron Rodgers 3 minutes, 45 seconds into opening night.
But on Sunday, the defense did the next best thing: It proved that it still is good enough to give the Jets a season worth caring about.
By leading the way to a 20-14 upset of the defending NFC champion Eagles at MetLife Stadium, the defense guaranteed the Jets will remain relevant deep into autumn and perhaps beyond.
It was a remarkably thorough effort, down to the game-turning interception and 45-yard return by Tony Adams that effectively won it for the Jets, an effort made more remarkable by the fact that they were without three of their top four cornerbacks and four cornerbacks overall.
The Eagles were one first down from remaining the final unbeaten team in the NFL. Instead, they fell to 5-1 and the Jets improved to 3-3, thanks to Adams’ interception.
It gave the Jets a first down at the Philadelphia 8-yard line with 1:50 left and set up Breece Hall’s winning touchdown run.
“I had a game-winning interception in college, but nothing like this,” Adams said later in the raucous winning locker room. “To do it with these guys in this locker room, after all we went through, after the late news this week, it’s an honor to be standing with these guys.”
That “late news” was that star cornerback Sauce Gardner would join fellow starter D.J. Reed on the sideline in concussion protocol.
No matter. The Jets forced four turnovers anyway — three interceptions of Jalen Hurts and a fumble recovery. Hurts’ passer rating was 59.5.
“I thought the defense, per the usual, was outstanding,” coach Robert Saleh said. “These first six weeks we’ve played a gantlet of quarterbacks.
“I know we haven’t gotten all wins, but we’ve embarrassed all of them. Just really proud of the defense and its resolve.”
“Embarrassed” was a strong word, but Saleh justifiably was caught up in the moment.
With this weekend off, followed by a less-than-scary stretch against the Giants, Rams and Raiders, the Jets figure to be playing meaningful games at least until Thanksgiving, and perhaps beyond.
Rodgers got as close to the field as he has been since his injury, throwing passes during warm-ups and watching from the sideline five weeks after tearing his left Achilles tendon.
But even if his return is as fast as he wishes it to be, the Jets will have to continue to get by with Zach Wilson, who did not do much of note Sunday except for one very big statistic: no turnovers.
With dynamic second-year players Garrett Wilson and Hall, the Jets just might be able to function well enough on offense to not mess things up for their defense.
It is a delicate formula, but other successful Jets teams have pulled it off in the past. (For a handy reminder, former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez worked Sunday’s game as a Fox analyst.)
It was the first victory for the Jets over the Eagles after losing their first 12 games against Philadelphia over the span of a half-century.
Asked to explain it, Saleh said simply, “Any given Sunday.”
The Eagles led 14-12 at the two-minute warning and had a third-and-9 at their 46-yard line.
Rather than run the ball and the clock, the Eagles tried to pass for a first down that would end the Jets’ hopes. But Hurts threw an awful pass intended for Dallas Goedert that Adams caught easily.
The Eagles let Hall score from the 8 in hopes of getting the ball back. They did, but the defense emphatically shut the door as the Eagles went four-and-out. Game over.
The Jets lost three in a row after their overtime upset of the Bills in the opener but now have won two in a row. Beating Denver was one thing. Beating the Eagles was quite another.
Seeing Rodgers on the sideline made it impossible not to wonder what might have been this season with all of the talent on the Jets’ roster.
But this is the Jets’ reality. And on Sunday, it did not look all that bad.
“I think the record says it all,” linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “We lost some key players early [in the season]. We lost a few players on defense for this game. But at the end of the day, our team didn’t flinch.
“The people that dress up, the people that come to work, they practice, they play, they work, they treat their body like they’re starters.
“So there really wasn’t a drop-off on the field, and that’s what’s expected on our side of the ball. So I’m just really proud of this team, obviously proud of this defense to be able to always work through adversity.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
