The New York Jets will enter their Week 5 game against the Philadelphia Eagles with their backs against the wall. In a true make-or-break game, how will the team respond?
The New York Jets are at a crossroads with their 2019 season. After beginning the year with an 0-3 record following a tumultuous month, the Jets are in desperate need of a victory.
And the team standing in their way is none other than the Philadelphia Eagles, a team fresh off of a thrilling victory over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football last week.
To say that this is a difficult matchup is an understatement — especially given how the Jets have performed through three games this season. But the NFL is all about difficult matchups. Sports are all about difficult matchups.
Heck, life is all about difficult matchups.
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And if the Jets are going to have any success — any success at all — they’re going to need come out on top in some of these games. First, they’re going to need to come out on top in any game.
The Jets will undoubtedly be the significant underdogs come Sunday, with or without quarterback Sam Darnold. But even though all hope looks lost at this moment, things could turn around in quick fashion here in the NFL.
The Houston Texans started last season 0-3 before going on an incredible run to finish the year with an 11-5 record, atop the AFC South. And right behind them? The Indianapolis Colts who finished 10-6 despite starting the season 1-5.
It’s possible to salvage a poor start like this. Not probable, but certainly possible. Only six teams in NFL history have managed to make the postseason following an 0-3 start, but those six teams provide possible hope.
However, things are going to need to change.
The offensive line is going to need to step it up — probably minus left guard Kelechi Osemele — and play significantly better than they have all season against a stout Philadelphia front-seven.
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The offense as a whole is going to need to show some life after looking dull and inept through three games so far.
But mostly, this team needs to show fight. They need to show grit and resilience on Sunday if they are going to have any chance of winning.
The Jets will be overmatched from a pure talent perspective, that much is a given. The Eagles are the far better team when both squads are healthy, let alone when playing a Jets team still without the likes of C.J. Mosley, Chris Herndon, and Jordan Jenkins — among others.
Not to mention the question mark that remains Sam Darnold.
But with their backs against the wall, it’s going to take a full team effort — and likely some luck — to pull off the upset in Week 5.
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Their season depends on it. The chance for meaningful football past mid-October depends on it. And most importantly, their team dignity depends on it.
On Sunday, we will truly see what this football team is made of. If the Jets come out with three straight three-and-outs on offense and go down 14-0 in the first quarter, we’ll know that what we’ve seen through four weeks is exactly what this team is.
But if they could show a little fight and give the Eagles a run for their money, it may not be time to write the season off just yet.
With their season hanging in the balance, how will the Jets respond to adversity this Sunday?