Jalen Hurts tosses 3 INTs as Eagles suffer first loss of season against New York Jets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Robert Saleh stepped from the podium at his postgame news conference and let loose a little.
"They ain't 12-0 no more!" the excited New York Jets coach declared.
No, the Philadelphia Eagles are no longer unbeaten against the Jets. And they're no longer undefeated this season.
Breece Hall ran for an 8-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining, one play after Tony Adams intercepted Jalen Hurts, and the Jets erased an 11-point deficit and held on to shock the Eagles 20-14 on Sunday.
"There's no quit in this team," quarterback Zach Wilson said.
The Jets (3-3) appeared on their way to falling to 0-13 in their history against the Eagles, but Hurts' third interception of the game — and the fourth turnover by Philadelphia — was returned by Adams 45 yards to put New York into immediate scoring position.
"I mean, that was huge," Wilson said. "You know, we needed that one. And he came through for us."
Hall's run shook MetLife Stadium as the Jets fans went wild, then Wilson connected with Randall Cobb on a 2-point conversion.
The Eagles (5-1) got one more chance, but the Jets' defense stiffened — as it had all game, shutting out Philadelphia in the second half. Hurts' deep throw to DeVonta Smith on fourth down was knocked away by Jordan Whitehead, and Wilson and the offense took two kneel downs to seal an unlikely victory.
Hurts finished 28 of 45 for 280 yards and a touchdown to D'Andre Swift, but he tied a career worst with three picks against a Jets defense that was missing starting cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.
"You look at this game, you have so many missed opportunities and, really, so many mistakes as if you're kind of giving it away," Hurts said.
The Jets head into their bye-week break at .500 — which didn't seem possible when Aaron Rodgers went down with a torn left Achilles tendon four plays into his debut with New York. The Jets have defeated Buffalo and Josh Allen, Denver and Russell Wilson and the Eagles and Hurts. They also took Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs down to the wire in a loss.
"Through these first six weeks, we've played a gauntlet of quarterbacks," Saleh said. "I know we haven't gotten all wins, but we've embarrassed all of them."
Wilson was 19 of 33 for 186 yards and no touchdowns but also had no turnovers — and the defense kept the Jets in it. Greg Zuerlein kicked four field goals, a week after booting five. Adams, Bryce Hall and Quinnen Williams each had interceptions, and Quincy Williams recovered a fumble by Swift.
With the Eagles leading 14-12 and facing a third-and-6 from their own 22, Hurts launched a pass down the left sideline that A.J. Brown corralled before going out of bounds. Saleh challenged, saying Brown didn't have total control, but the call was upheld after video review.
The defense then stiffened and Jake Elliott was wide right on a 37-yard attempt — helping set up the Jets' comeback.
"Any time you're minus-4 in the turnovers, you're not going to win many games," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.
JUST MADE IT
Hurts gave the Eagles a 7-0 lead by capping a 19-play, 91-yard drive on their first possession with a 3-yard touchdown run — eventually.
It first appeared the Jets came up with a goal-line stand when Hurts was ruled to have fumbled at the 1 and the ball was recovered in the end zone by Eagles wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus. By rule, only the player who lost the ball could recover the forward fumble in the end zone, so it was ruled that it was the Jets' ball on the 1.
Officials overturned the call after video review, saying Hurts still had control of the football when it broke the plane of the goal line.
RODGERS RETURNS
Rodgers walked around without the aid of crutches or a walking boot before the game and had a catch with Gardner, who missed the game with a concussion. He watched the game from the bench on New York's sideline.
"Everyone's in awe that he's even walking," Saleh said. "He's a freakazoid."
The four-time NFL MVP rejoined his teammates for the second time since being injured four snaps into his debut with the Jets on Sept. 11. He also attended New York's loss to Kansas City two weeks ago before returning home, but he was on crutches on the sideline before that game and watched from a suite with Jets owner Woody Johnson.
BROTHERLY LOVE
With younger brother Travis Kelce — without Taylor Swift — in attendance, Eagles center Jason Kelce set the franchise record by making his 145th consecutive start.
INJURIES
Eagles: RT Lane Johnson left in the first quarter with an ankle injury and didn't return. ... Rookie CB Eli Ricks left with a knee injury in the third quarter. ... S Reed Blankenship (ribs) was ruled out after being injured on an unnecessary roughness call on Allen Lazard.
Jets: Rookie RG Joe Tippmann didn't come back after injuring his right thigh on the first play of the second quarter. ... WR Garrett Wilson left late with an undisclosed injury, but Saleh said he would've been able to continue playing.
UP NEXT
Eagles: Host the Miami Dolphins next Sunday night.
Jets: Head into their break before facing the Giants as the visiting team on Oct. 29.