Fast start lifts Eagles to victory over Jets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Eagles remained remarkably unpredictable in Week 3, which is why there is still life left in their season.

Forced out of Philadelphia a day earlier than usual by the arrival of Pope Francis and the tightened security in Center City, the Eagles might have had trouble getting back into town if they had failed to secure their first victory of the season Sunday at MetLife Stadium.

Given the New York Jets' 2-0 record after the high of a road win against Indianapolis, this trip to the Meadowlands with a brief stop at Monmouth University beforehand looked to be a daunting task for a winless Eagles team that was also playing without starters Mychal Kendricks, Cedric Thornton and DeMarco Murray. Out in Las Vegas, the betting line had significantly flipped with the Eagles going from a 3-point favorite to 2-point underdog.

What the Eagles needed most was a good start after their grim beginnings that led to gloomy losses to Atlanta and Dallas in the first two weeks. Thanks to Darren Sproles and the defense, they got off to a great one and built a 24-point lead in the first half before holding on for a 24-17 victory.

The Eagles' failure to score in the second half should allow the discomfort level to remain high going into Week 4 at Washington.

Sproles, the smallest man on the field, provided the game's biggest play early in the second quarter when he fielded a Ryan Quigley punt on the 11-yard line and zigzagged his way down the left sideline for an 89-yard touchdown return that gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

The Eagles' defense, which has mostly done its job since an awful first half opening night in Atlanta, held the Jets to one first down on their first six possessions, giving Sam Bradford and the running game time to get untracked.

Defensive contributions came from all sorts of unexpected places. Rookie cornerback Eric Rowe came up with his first career interception to thwart a third-quarter drive and when things got dicey after a fourth-quarter fumble by Ryan Mathews, rookie linebacker Jordan Hicks came up with his first career interception after a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass was tipped by Brandon Bair, who was starting in place of Thornton.

The Eagles used the same formula the Jets had exercised for their two season-opening victories by forcing a total of four turnovers. Hicks also recovered a fumble that led to the Eagles' final touchdown of the first half and the game and Walter Thurmond sealed the win with a late fourth-quarter interception.

Bradford, in his third start with the Eagles, was far from spectacular and barely respectable. The quarterback finished the game 14-for-28 for 118 yards with one touchdown for a passer rating of 73.2. He completed just four passes in the second half.

Up 10-0, Bradford did lead the Eagles on a 75-yard drive by completing three of his four passes for 49 yards, including a perfectly placed 23-yard touchdown throw to Mathews on a wheel route. Determined to get the running game going even without Murray, the Eagles relied heavily on Mathews, who ran 10 for 67 yards in the first half and finished with 108 yards.

An inexplicably stupid decision by Brandon Marshall set up the touchdown that gave the Eagles a shocking 24-point lead with 2 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first half. After a 17-yard reception, Marshall tried to pitch the ball at his own 45-yard line.

The result was a fumble that was covered by Hicks and returned to the Jets' 36. An unnecessary roughness penalty on the Jets and the running combination of Mathews and Sproles allowed the Eagles to score their final touchdown. Sproles scored his second touchdown of the game from 1-yard out.

And then the Eagles held on for dear life to finally get their first victory of the season. Much work remains to be done for coach Chip Kelly and his team, but at least they will do that work this week with a win on their record.

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob