Philadelphia Eagles to enter toughest part of schedule after loss vs. Jets
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Eagles were sloppy on Sunday in their 20-14 loss against the New York Jets. They dropped passes, missed plenty of opportunities and turned the ball over four times in the team's first loss, which dropped them to 5-1 on the season.
It was the first game the Eagles lost with Jalen Hurts starting at quarterback in the regular season since the team's Week 9 loss against the Washington Commanders in the 2022 season.
"You just got to control the things that you can, you know? The objective is to play standard and demand excellence of ourselves and we were not today," Hurts said.
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Hurts played well in the first half, but had an ugly second half and threw an interception that led to the Jets taking the lead in the fourth quarter. Overall, Hurts completed 28 of 45 passes for 280 yards for one touchdown and three interceptions. He also added a rushing score on the ground with 47 yards.
“Rome wasn’t built overnight.”
— CBS Philadelphia (@CBSPhiladelphia) October 16, 2023
QB Jalen Hurts is confident in the team’s ability to bounce back after Philadelphia’s 20-14 loss against the Jets. https://t.co/BstembuA8U pic.twitter.com/7TjwrSbjLd
But the standard Hurts and the rest of the Eagles constantly talk about will come to the forefront over the next two months of the season as the Birds enter their toughest stretch of the season.
Over the next eight games, the Eagles won't play a team with a losing record as of Sunday night.
The Eagles will welcome the Miami Dolphins' explosive offense to Lincoln Financial Field next week for Sunday Night Football. And that could happen with a depleted secondary.
The Eagles already didn't have starting cornerback Darius Slay against the Jets and suffered more injuries on Sunday.
Overall, the teams the Eagles will play have a combined record of 27-12. The Eagles play the Cowboys twice in that stretch -- in Week 9 and Week 14. The Birds' defense will face quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Geno Smith, among others.
The Eagles will be on the bye in Week 10. The Buffalo Bills' record will change in the graph below due to them playing the New York Giants on Sunday night.
The long-awaited NFC championship rematch against the San Francisco 49ers will be on Sunday, Dec. 3 in Week 13.
Plus, some of the games could be without starting right tackle Lane Johnson. He left Sunday's game with an ankle injury and didn't return. Sirianni didn't provide an update on Johnson in his postgame press conference and said he hadn't spoken with the doctors yet. It's unclear if the All-Pro tackle will miss any time.
Regardless, Hurts is confident in his team's ability to bounce back after they got punched in the mouth.
"I think it's just a matter of how we respond," Hurts said. "It starts with me and how I lead that charge and we're just going to take day by day yet again. These things definitely happen. It's a tough one for sure, but it's an opportunity for us to grow. And these things and these moments build a ton of character, so if you go into and handle it the right way, you can turn a negative situation into a positive and that's what we plan to do. And that takes a ton of hard work, a ton of discipline and focus. And understand Rome wasn't built overnight. It's a process and it's a process that we're going to trust as a team."