Jets can end embarrassing winless record in one-sided Eagles rivalry

Publish date: 2024-07-26

Oh-and-12.

Not a typo. Not a mistake. Not a goof. The Jets have played the Eagles 12 times since 1973. They have lost to them 12 times since 1973. Most of those games haven’t been especially close, even in years when there wasn’t especially much difference between the two teams.

Oh-and-12.

Here is the part where Jets players — as they should — will loudly explain that they had nothing to do with that 0-for-12, and it’s true. Some of them were around for the 33-18 thumping the Eagles laid on the Jets two years ago when Gardner Minshew threw for 242 yards and two TDs to overcome one of Zach Wilson’s best games as a rookie (23-for-38, 226 yards, two TDs, one pick).

Fewer still were around on Oct. 6, 2019, when the Eagles throttled the Jets 31-6 at Lincoln Financial (though Quinnen Williams had five tackles). TRIVIA QUESTION: Many valuable prizes await you if you know who were the two Jets who played quarterback that day.

Gardner Minshew, pictured in 2021 at MetLife Stadium, threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns as the Eagles defeated the Jets. Getty Images

(ANSWER: Luke Falk, who was 15-for-26 for 120 yards and two picks, and David Fales, who was sacked in the only snap he took that day. Good times.)

The other 10? Take a run through the all-time Jets rosters. Somehow the Jets have only played the Eagles 12 times (same as they’ve played the Commanders and, before Week 2, the Cowboys). The only non-expansion team they’ve played less is the Cardinals (10 times, with a 6-4 record in St. Louis and Phoenix).

The Eagles are the only team the Jets have never beaten.

Luke Falk, who started two games in his career, quarterbacked the Jets in their loss against the Eagles in 2019. Getty Images

They almost did it the first time they played. That was Dec. 9, 1973, a miserable day in Philadelphia, rain pounding old Veterans Stadium. They had only just started keeping track of no-shows at NFL games, but the 31,333 who stayed away was a new record for the new category. Joe Namath didn’t play for the Jets, his knee “wobbly” during pregame drills, so Al Woodall took over and led the Jets to a 17-0 lead.

But John Outlaw picked off Woodall late, took it to the house, and the 34,621 who actually did come were treated to a 24-23 Eagles win that elevated the Eagles to 5-7-1 and dropped the Jets to 4-9.

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It’s funny, too. New York and Philadelphia are natural rivals geographically anyway, and even though Philly has one primary enemy among the New York teams in every sport, there’s enough enmity to share.

The Rangers and Flyers may have had some epic bloody battles that christened that rivalry, but the Islanders and Devils have had some memorable encounters with them, too, especially in the playoffs. The Knicks and 76ers may not be anyone’s idea of a blood feud, but it’s gotten testy through the years — like when the Knicks pulled out brooms to emphasize a series sweep in 1989. But the Sixers and Nets also had a memorable playoff tangle in 1984.

Baseball? The Phillies and Mets are a combustible mix year after year, but while those create the harder feelings the Phillies and Yankees have actually twice battled for a World Series 59 years apart, in 1950 and 2009.

But in football, whatever ill will exists between the cities — and there is plenty — is reserved for the Giants. The Eagles have delivered a series of forever knockout blows, from Chuck Bednarik to DeSean Jackson, and the Giants have gotten their share of punches in, too.

The Jets?

Zach Wilson, pictured in 2021 against the Eagles, had one of the best games of his young NFL career that day despite the loss. Getty Images

Well ask yourself this:

Would you spend much time fretting about a team you’ve gone 12-for-12 against?

Maybe the Eagles are ripe for an upset this week: Their schedule turns into something Stephen King might’ve drawn up soon enough. Maybe they get caught looking ahead. Maybe what the Jets did in Denver last week is a legit reason to hope for better things out of Wilson and the others.

Maybe. Hopefully.

Because 0-13? That won’t be a typo. But around here, if it gets to that, we’ll sure wish that it was.

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