Grotz: Eagles’ first loss is more about underperformance than final result

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In a devilish, lousy trap game on a wild and crazy NFL Sunday, the Eagles were unable to come together long enough to beat the offensively challenged New York Jets.

When the plug was pulled on their three-hour, 11-minute mistake-fest, the Eagles were on the wrong side of a 20-14 decision. They found a way to fail despite scoring two touchdowns and giving up just one. And that eight-yard TD run by Breece Hall with 1:46 left was the ultimate gift. It was a flashback to the Super Bowl when the Kansas City Chiefs declined to take the gimme score and instead had Jerrick McKinnon take a knee and kill the clock before kicking the triumphant field goal.

Did we mention the Eagles (5-1) lost their first game since Super Bowl LVII?

The Eagles turned the ball over four times, Jalen Hurts throwing three interceptions to a Jets defense that played perfectly clean and was missing three-fourths of its starting secondary, including Sauce Gardner.

Jake Elliott missed just his second field goal of the season, a 37-yarder, for crying out loud.

The Eagles blew an opportunity to distance themselves from the San Francisco 49ers (5-1), who lost Sunday and suffered injuries to stars Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey.

When the Eagles oppose the Miami Dolphins next Sunday night at Lincoln Financial Field, they could do so without right tackle Lane Johnson, who twisted an ankle, and safety Reed Blankenship, who sustained rib damage after an illegal blindside block. Not a great way to prep for the Dolphins, who with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle average more than 36 points scored per game.

After the game the Eagles’ captains spoke. Head coach Nick Sirianni didn’t address the team as he typically does. Hurts, A.J. Brown, Fletcher Cox and others handled the locker room debrief.

“Today, the second half, it just didn’t go,” said Brown, who had seven receptions for 131 yards. “Even in the first half it just seemed like we didn’t finish drives and put them away. We’re going to go back to the drawing board and learn from it and grow from it and hold each other accountable. And push each other, most importantly.”

Let’s just say it was an historic loss for the Eagles, who were 12-0 against the Jets. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, who Broadway Joe Namath very publicly deemed unfit to lead the franchise, played turnover-free and turned a small handful of red zone possessions into four field goals.

Though the Eagles led only 14-12 entering the final frame, there was no reason to believe the visitors were in serious trouble. Not until Elliott’s stunning miss, anyway. All of that changed when the Eagles were in third-and-9 at their 46-yard line on the first snap after the two-minute warning and the Jets out of timeouts.

Operating from the pocket, Hurts stared down Dallas Goedert before throwing the ball to him. Or to Tony Adams, who jumped the route. Forty-five yards later, the Jets had a first down at the 8-yard line of the Eagles.

It was the sixth interception of this season for Hurts, who threw just six in the entirety of his near MVP 2022 season.

“I think I had an opportunity, and I didn’t do my job,” Hurts said. “I don’t think I made the correct read on it, but it happens. This is an opportunity to learn from it and grow.”

Hurts got a break as well. In the first quarter, he lost a fumble at the Jets’ one-yard line. But after referee Scott Novak reviewed the play, he corrected the call and gave Hurts a TD and the Eagles a 7-0 lead.

The bottom line is the Eagles aren’t quite what they thought they were. Sure, they gave credit to the Jets, who after realizing the Hall touchdown was a giveaway played incredibly hard defense on the Birds’ final possession. That series went incomplete, two-yard pass to DeVonta Smith, then two incompletions. The last throw was a deep ball in the vicinity of Smith.

Hurts then shared his thoughts with his teammates in the locker room.

“He owned it,” veteran Brandon Graham said. “He owned it right there. He came in, everybody broke it down. He broke it down and he owned it. We knew what was up. We know the obvious. We saw what happened. It’s just more about owning it and moving forward.”

Moving forward and growing, to use the vernacular of Brown.

“How do you grow?” Brown said. “This is life, man. Compared to that, life is harder than that. I’m not even upset at the loss. I’m upset at just us not holding up to that standard like how we talk about. It’s OK to be a little frustrated because sometimes you need that, man. You know what I’m saying? To light a fire under everybody. But we’re going to be fine.

“We’re going to grow from it, we’re going to learn from it. I’m not even upset at that loss. Stuff like that happens. That’s life. But we’re going to grow. We’re going to get back to work.”

Contact Bob Grotz at bgrotz@delcotimes.com.