EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Kyle McCord led Philadelphia on five scoring drives while playing the entire game in an uneven performance, Montrell Johnson had a 15-yard touchdown run and the Eagles held on for a 19-17 victory over the New York Jets in a mostly sluggish preseason matchup of backups Friday night.
Well, at least until the final quarter. And then things finally got a bit entertaining.
With the Jets trailing 19-3, Adrian Martinez directed New York to touchdowns on consecutive drives, including Donovan Edwards' 1-yard run with 3:07 left that made it 19-17.
Looking to tie, first-year head coach Aaron Glenn went for a 2-point conversion for the second straight score, but Edwards was stood up at the goal line — the play was reviewed and the call on the field was upheld.
Martinez, the 2024 UFL MVP, and the Jets got the ball back with 2:31 remaining and a chance for the win. On fourth-and-10 from the Eagles 42, Martinez completed a long pass to Quentin Skinner for what would've been a first down — but offsetting penalties negated the play.
Given one more chance, Martinez's throw fell just incomplete to a diving Jamaal Pritchett.
“Probably one of the most exciting preseason games that I've been a part of,” Glenn said. “The one thing that I'm proud of these men, they were resilient today. They did not quit. They were excited on the sideline and they tried to will themselves to win this game — and that's something we can build off of.”
The defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (2-1) sat big-name players such as Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, while Justin Fields, Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall and Sauce Gardner were among those on the sideline for the Jets (1-2).
But McCord, the rookie sixth-rounder out of Syracuse who's competing with Dorian Thompson-Robinson for the No. 3 job behind Hurts and Tanner McKee, took every snap.
“We talked about that, getting him a full game right there,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “DTR's got a lot of tape out there and we've seen him play a lot as well. But I just thought we needed a lot more reps there for Kyle for the evaluation process.”
McCord finished 15 of 35 for 136 yards and an interception in a hardly stellar outing.
“He had some good plays and he had some missed opportunities,” Sirianni said. “We'll have to watch the tape, but he did some nice things, ran the show well and played some good situational football that helped us get some points.”
The only projected starter to play for New York was rookie right tackle Armand Membou, the seventh overall pick out of Missouri who was also a college teammate of Brady Cook — who got the start at quarterback. Membou was called for holding and false start penalties in the three series he played.
One potential starter for Philadelphia who played was linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The Eagles started Brett Toth at left guard and rookie Drew Kendall, and then flipped the two as Philadelphia looks for depth at left guard after three-time Pro Bowl selection Landon Dickerson had surgery on his right meniscus two weeks ago.
Wide receiver John Metchie III, acquired by Philadelphia last Sunday from Houston for tight end Harrison Bryant, played in the first few series and had a 14-yard catch on two targets.
Jake Elliott appeared in midseason form for the Eagles, kicking field goals of 51, 53, 23 and 45 yards. The last two were set up by turnovers: a strip-sack by Antwaun Powell-Ryland that was recovered by Mac McWilliams and an interception of Martinez by Lewis Cine.
Harrison Mevis, competing with veteran Nick Folk, was wide right on a 55-yard attempt for the Jets early in the third quarter.
Lawrance Toafili had a 19-yard touchdown run with 9:12 remaining. Martinez then ran it in a 2-point conversion to cut New York's deficit to 19-11.
Martinez finished 7 of 14 for 86 yards and an interception, while Cook was 13 of 19 for 99 yards and also was picked off.
Eagles: Rookie LB Lance Dixon went to the locker room with an undisclosed injury in the fourth quarter.
Eagles: Kick off the NFL's regular season by hosting Dallas on Sept. 4.
Jets: Host Aaron Rodgers and Pittsburgh on Sept. 7.
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