Eagles-Jets takeaways: Diving into the Brian Johnson criticism, Jack Driscoll’s struggles, and DB trade options

The Eagles enjoyed a few hours as the league’s only remaining unbeaten team but left MetLife Stadium with a 20-14 loss at the hands of the New York Jets. Here’s what we learned:

Brian Johnson is back under the microscope after a listless second-half performance from the Eagles offense at the Meadowlands, and it’s justifiable. After scoring on two of their first three drives, the Eagles went seven series without points and handed the game to the Jets with untimely mistakes from a rattled Jalen Hurts.

While there are some legitimate gripes with the Eagles offense under Johnson this season, the criticism coming off this loss is a little overblown. The Eagles managed 348 yards, were reasonably efficient on third down, and did better in the red zone than in previous weeks. The turnovers were the glaring problem, and it’s hard to put those on Johnson.

It’s true that Johnson didn’t call many outright runs, but when you consider that Eagles running backs averaged 2.4 yards per carry on their 14 rushes, it starts to make sense. I also don’t have a problem with the decision to throw the ball on Hurts’ third-down interception late in the fourth quarter. A conversion effectively ends the game instead of giving the Jets a chance to win with a walk-off field goal, and it’s hard to imagine that Johnson made that decision without game-management input from Nick Sirianni.

This game, just like most Eagles games, was determined by the offensive front. Having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL is a major reason the Eagles have been so difficult to beat the last two seasons, and the injuries to the right side of the line are impossible to overlook when evaluating Johnson’s calls Sunday.

There are some concerns going into this daunting stretch against several legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Last year, it felt like the Eagles offense had an answer for whatever defenses threw at it. The run-pass option game was a default zone-beater and Hurts’ legs along with the trio of playmaking receiving targets made them tough to play man coverage against.

Former offensive coordinator Shane Steichen devised game plans that made defenses wrong no matter what they did, which is something we haven’t seen as much from this group so far. Instead, the Eagles have leaned on their stars. Both A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith’s share of the Eagles’ air yards has gone up this year, according to Next Gen Stats. In Brown’s case, only Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill has a bigger role in his team’s passing attack.

Sunday’s loss was more about the woes on the offensive line than the play-calling, but the Eagles are going to need Johnson to find some answers as the schedule bears down over the next few months.

After dragging the Eagles offense through most of the game, Jalen Hurts got happy feet.

Ironically enough, Hurts’ pocket management through a large chunk of the game was stellar, but it unraveled late and that discomfort was the main culprit in his costly decision making in the key moments of the game.

It’s somewhat understandable. Hurts was pressured 20 times, according to ESPN, with 17 of them coming when the Jets sent a four-man rush. That’s the formula for beating good quarterbacks, although it shouldn’t absolve Hurts completely.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts blew it, but there was plenty of fault from other Eagles in the loss to the Jets

Hurts chucked his third interception — the only one that was solely on him — off his back foot even with a clean enough pocket to step into the throw. Not to say stepping into the throw to Dallas Goedert would have changed anything; Hurts stared down the tight end and tried to squeeze the ball between two Jets defenders in zone coverage.

Hurts’ feet seemingly defied him even more on the Eagles’ final drive of the game. With 1 minute, 46 seconds left and with two timeouts, Hurts and Co. needed to do much better than four-and-out even against a quality defense.

Hurts overthrew Brown on first down, was late getting to Smith on a crossing route on third down for a modest gain, and late again to Smith on a head-scratching desperation heave on fourth-and-8. It’s the most rattled we’ve seen the typically unflappable quarterback in some time. Unless Lane Johnson misses significant time, it’s probably not cause for concern, but it shows how important it is for the Eagles to keep the pocket clean for their star quarterback.

Speaking of clean pockets, could the Eagles try someone other than Jack Driscoll at right tackle if Johnson misses time?

Driscoll, 26, allowed a team-high eight pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which is the most an Eagles lineman has conceded since Jamon Brown in 2020.

But the options outside of Driscoll aren’t necessarily more promising. Hulking tackle Fred Johnson is the likeliest alternative. He’s listed on the team’s unofficial depth chart as the backup left tackle and his training camp reps would suggest the same. Still, Johnson played two games over two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2020-21.

Tyler Steen is the other choice. The third-round rookie split time between right guard and left tackle during training camp but was buried on the depth chart and has been active in just two games this season. Steen seemingly hasn’t earned the trust of the coaching staff and would be playing another foreign position at right tackle. Remember the last time the Eagles put a college left tackle on the opposite side in a pinch?

With the benefit of a full week of preparation, Driscoll still seems like the best option. Only the Eagles know how ready the other two guys are, but it’s only fair to acknowledge Driscoll at least has a track record of better play than he turned in Sunday.

As good as the Eagles defense fared against the Jets, it is quite strange for a group to still be rotating guys in and out each series in search of combinations that work.

The approach of evaluating guys on the fly is typically reserved for training camp or Week 1, but defensive coordinator Sean Desai wasn’t afraid of legitimate rotations at linebacker and cornerback on Sunday. Nicholas Morrow and Nakobe Dean split reps as the MIKE linebacker, with Morrow logging 36 snaps and Dean logging 32 in his first action since returning from a foot injury that landed him on injured reserve.

Perhaps Desai was trying to work Dean back in slowly, but we’ve seen this at several positions so far. The Eagles eased Bradley Roby in at slot cornerback last week in a similar fashion and they had an outside-cornerback rotation going between Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks against the Jets before Ricks went down with a knee injury.

The results haven’t suffered much with the rotations, which is a credit to Desai and the job he’s done navigating the secondary as injuries pile up. Still, it might be time to set some guys in stone with the Miami Dolphins coming to town.

We’re two weeks away from the trade deadline and the Eagles’ need for secondary reinforcements continues to grow.

The Eagles finished Sunday’s game with just one healthy safety after Sydney Brown was ruled out with a hamstring injury pregame and Reed Blankenship went down in the third quarter with a rib injury. Roby, the replacement for Avonte Maddox, also suffered a shoulder injury, leaving the Eagles with a handful of young, undrafted players to pair with James Bradberry on the back end.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts blew it, but there was plenty of fault from other Eagles in the loss to the Jets

Even if Blankenship and Roby avoided serious injury, it would make plenty of sense for the Eagles to scour struggling teams’ rosters to find some outside help at safety or slot cornerback.

Panthers safety/nickel Jeremy Chinn is the obvious name. He has been in trade talks before and could be a good fit, especially with the Panthers falling to 0-6 on Sunday. I previously noted Colts slot corner Kenny Moore II and Raiders nickel Nate Hobbs as quality starters on struggling teams, but both Indianapolis and Las Vegas have treaded water in recent weeks and Hobbs is dealing with an ankle injury.

The 1-5 Patriots make some sense to off-load players who aren’t a part of their long-term plans. If they decide to sell at the deadline, former second-round pick Kyle Dugger, 27, is on a low-cost, expiring deal and has versatility to play both safety spots and in the slot.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has made trade-deadline moves in five of the last six seasons, so history suggests he’ll be active, it’s just a matter of figuring out who’s selling.