5 things to watch as Jets face Eagles in Week 6

On Sunday, the Jets square off against one of the toughest opponents they will face all season when the Philadelphia Eagles travel to MetLife Stadium. 

The Eagles have established themselves as one of the best teams in the NFL this year and sit atop the NFC East with a 5-0 record. After running the Super Bowl champions close a few weeks ago, New York will be confident they can do the same against the runner-up, but it won’t be easy.

Here are some of the biggest stories to watch as the Jets look to improve to 3-3 on the year:

Can the Jets beat the Eagles for the first time ever?

The Eagles don’t just have a five-game winning streak going this season. They also have never lost to the Jets in their entire history. The teams have met 12 times with the Eagles winning all 12, including a 33-18 win during Zach Wilson’s rookie year in 2021.

New York has to beat Philadelphia one day, but can we really expect this to happen when the Eagles have been so strong recently? It may be unlikely, but the Eagles haven’t really been blowing teams out of the water so far this year, so the Jets will hope to keep the game close and possibly be decided by one or two key plays.

Will the Eagles’ impressive defensive front exploit Alijah Vera-Tucker’s absence?

The Eagles have been renowned for having a deep group of talented pass rushers in recent years and this season’s team is no different with starters Josh Sweat and Haason Reddick leading the way. However, their interior line right now might be even better, bolstered by the addition of stud rookie Jalen Carter.

The Jets opted to use Max Mitchell at right tackle when Vera-Tucker was knocked out of Sunday’s game but could also consider using Billy Turner in that role before re-assessing their options after the bye. 

Whoever is in there faces a tough challenge.

Can the Jets push back against the “Brotherly Shove”?

The Eagles are virtually unstoppable in short yardage situations because of the play they’ve been running over the past few years. Jalen Hurts is adept at running behind center Jason Kelce on quarterback sneaks, with the Eagles operating out of a bunch formation so that multiple players can get behind him and shove him for an extra yard or two. This play – which they’ve taken to calling the “Brotherly Shove” has accounted for 14 of Hurts’ 25 first downs and all four of his rushing touchdowns this season.

Head coach Robert Saleh has said that the Jets’ approach to stopping Hurts in these packages will be to give him “11 kisses” and he might have some confidence in them being able to stuff this play since they have had some success against other teams who tried similar things in preseason and the regular season so far.

When you have an old-school nose tackle like Al Woods, maybe this gives you a chance to neutralize Kelce and for everyone else to rally to the ball. Could this be the week where the Eagles add in another wrinkle like a roll-out or a pass, though?

How can the Jets have better success in the red zone?

Gang Green is currently 31st in the NFL for red zone touchdown percentage and is coming off a game where Greg Zuerlein kicked five field goals, four of which came after a Jets drive stalled inside the 15-yard line.

Aaron Rodgers has said he wants them to be more aggressive, while offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett may still have some concerns about risking a potential turnover. The Jets will probably need to turn some of those three-pointers into seven points if they want to keep pace with a team as good as the Eagles, though.

Who will have the bigger day – D’Andre Swift or Breece Hall?

This game gives us a matchup of two of the most productive running backs in the NFL so far this season. Philly's Swift is fourth in the NFL for rushing yards and third in terms of yards per carry, whereas Hall is sixth in yards and second in average.

Hall is coming off the best game of his career as he ran for 177 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Denver Broncos. Interestingly, 115 of those yards came before contact. Prior to Week 5, 94 percent of Hall’s rushing yards had been generated after contact. By contrast, Swift has benefited from good blocking upfront all season with only 50 percent of his yards coming after contact.