Last week
The Eagles had a much-needed bye. The time off allowed injured starters Brian Westbrook, Brian Dawkins and L.J. Smith to heal and gave the team a chance to regroup after a disappointing 1-3 start. The 1-4 Jets had no such repreive after giving up 21 consecutive points to end Sunday's game, a 35-24 loss to the Giants.
At stake
Both teams' seasons could be in the balance in this matchup. Another loss would drop the Eagles to 1-4 and keep them in the cellar in the competitive NFC East. The Jets would drop to 1-5 with a loss, and that would further bury any hopes they had of contending for a playoff spot in the AFC.
Key matchup
The Jets offensive line vs. the Eagles defensive line.
New York has struggled mightily this season in both pass protection and the running game. The Jets have allowed 12 sacks and rank 29th in rushing offense. The task gets no easier this week, with Philadelphia's talented defensive line coming to town. The Eagles rank sixth in the NFL in rush defense and have averaged a league-high four sacks per game. For the Jets to have a realistic chance in this game, they will have to flip those stats upside down and dominate the line of scrimmage against the rested Eagles.
Did you know?
Westbrook leads the team with 514 yards from scrimmage (291 rushing, 223 receiving) and is on pace to become only the third player in NFL history with 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season (Roger Craig, Marshall Faulk).
