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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Sunday's 24-17 victory over the Jets wasn't pretty. But with the Eagles coming into the game 0-2 on the season, appearances were the last thing on head coach Chip Kelly's mind.
The Jets were undefeated entering Week 3 and had surrendered just 17 combined points through two games. New York's defense is one of the most talented units in the NFL. In the opening weeks of the season, the vaunted group had already forced 10 turnovers, a number just three shy of their total from the entire 2014 season and three more than any other team in the league.
Kelly knew to win the game, his Eagles needed to control the pace of play via the ground game and win the turnover battle. That's exactly what they did, ending the day with a 3 advantage in takeaways after surrendering the ball just once on a late-game fumble by running back Ryan Mathews.
"I thought it was gritty," Kelly said of the road win. "You knew going in, to use a boxing analogy, that two guys were just going to stand in the middle of the ring and start swinging at each other, and that's what happened."
The Eagles threw for just 118 yards on the day and completed exactly half of the 28 passes they attempted. On the ground, though, they were able to break the century mark for the first time this season, rushing 39 times for 113 yards. Defensively, Philadelphia allowed just 47 yards on 16 carries and forced quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who threw the ball 58 times for 35 completions (60.3 percent), into three interceptions.
"We kind of just went back to basics," Kelly said. "What we really talked about was creating turnovers on our side of the ball, and it's something (we) talked about last April, that we turned the ball over too much and we had to create more on the defensive side. Obviously, it had a huge impact on this game."
The Week 3 contest wasn't necessarily "must win," but with the Eagles in danger of opening a season 0-3 for the first time since 1999 the pressure was certainly on. Now, at 1-2, the Eagles boast a record identical to that of both Washington and New York and sit one game back of the 2-1 Cowboys, who lost to Atlanta on Sunday, in the NFC East.
But Kelly won't let his team begin to look too far into the future, nor too far into the past for that matter. With the Eagles set to travel to Washington next week, he's stressing to his team the importance of turning its full attention to the task at hand, improving to 2-2.
"It's got to be the same mentality (next week as it was this week)," he said. "Obviously, you've got to make your adjustments on Tuesday and just go, because what happened the week before in this league sometimes really doesn't have a real big impact on the next week. Every week's going to be kind of a street fight, and you've got to be prepared. We still have a lot of corrections to make, but it's obviously easier on Tuesday when you're talking to a team after a win than it is after a loss."
The Eagles traveled to New York to face the Jets in Week 3 of the regular season. View the full gallery here...
RB Ryan Mathews on the run
RB Darren Sproles going for the touchdown!
Making the turn
RB Ryan Mathews celebrates his touchdown
RB Ryan Mathews puts up protection
S Malcolm Jenkins closes in
Almost home free!
QB Sam Bradford warms up in New York
WR Riley Cooper faces off against S Malcolm Jenkins during pregame
QB Sam Bradford has some space to make the play
Talking strategy against the Jets
RB Kenjon Barner gets moving
WR Jordan Matthews is ready for the game!
LB DeMeco Ryans gets the team fired up
LB Marcus Smith leads the charge
LB Brad Jones takes his turn with the run
LB Najee Goode runs the route
Goode in focus
TE Zach Ertz warms up
The Eagles have arrived in the Empire State
DT Beau Allen prepares for the game
K Cody Parkey gets ready for the kick
C Jason Kelce is ready to take the field
Ready to fly
FlyEaglesFly
It's game time
The Eagles make the stop early
LB Jordan Hicks squares up
Taking the field
LB Najee Goode runs towards the play
S Chris Maragos sticks with the tackle
LB Brad Jones and S Chris Maragos stop the Jets
RB Darren Sproles plots his route
RB Darren Sproles pushes through the line
WR Jordan Matthews gets the yards
RB Darren Sproles tries to break free
LS Jon Dorenbos and K Cody Parkey celebrate the extra point
S Malcolm Jenkins pounces on the Jets
RB Ryan Mathews runs past the blocks
C Jason Kelce directs the line
WR Jordan Matthews runs through the open field
Closing in on his next move
WR Jordan Matthews steers through Jets traffic
RB Darren Sproles pushes through
QB Sam Bradford takes the snap
K Cody Parkey makes the kick
QB Sam Bradford finds his target
Sproles on the go
DE Brandon Bair gets in the mix
WR Jordan Matthews takes off
RB Darren Sproles takes the handoff
DT Bennie Logan and DB Walter Thurmond team up for the tackle
RB Darren Sproles celebrates the huge punt return for a touchdown
Off to the races!
LB Marcus Smith congratulates RB Darren Sproles
CB Byron Maxwell goes for the ball
CB Byron Maxwell fights for the tackle
QB Sam Bradford sends the ball flying
The Eagles defense works hard
Congratulations are waiting on the sidelines
P Donnie Jones sets up for the kick
Going, going, gone!
QB Sam Bradford takes his time to make the play
The Eagles swarm
TE Zach Ertz with the reception
RB Ryan Mathews prepares to make the catch
RB Ryan Mathews takes off
The Jets try to close in on Mathews
Congratulations after the extra point
QB Sam Bradford looks for his receiver
TE Zach Ertz holds onto the ball
LB DeMeco Ryans gets in position
DE Vinny Curry goes for the ball
DE Vinny Curry is not giving up
RB Darren Sproles looks for the opening
RB Darren Sproles shakes the tackle
Getting to the open field!
LB Najee Goode celebrates with RB Darren Sproles
The running backs celebrate the touchdown!
LB Jordan Hicks takes possession
The Eagles recover the ball!
WR Jordan Matthews stretches for the touchdown
Another Eagles stop
DT Bennie Logan gets ahold of the Jets
CB Nolan Carroll marks up
RB Ryan Mathews breaks free
QB Sam Bradford looks down the field
RB Ryan Mathews has the endzone in sight
Mathews moves along
Making the call
The defense is dialed in
Going long
RB Darren Sproles celebrates the touchdown
Head Coach Chip Kelly makes the call
On the line
DE Vinny Curry holds on tight
RB Darren Sproles pushes through the coverage
RB Darren Sproles walks away with the ball
Another celebration for RB Darren Sproles
RB Darren Sproles protects on the run
Eagles Nation representing in New York
The pass is in the air...
Getting the yards
LB Brandon Graham applies pressure
The Eagles continue to pressure Fitzpatrick
DT Bennie Logan stops the run
The line puts up a wall
LB Jordan Hicks charges
DT Bennie Logan is pumped up!
LB Marcus Smith watches the ball
The Eagles break up the pass
DB Walter Thurmond goes for the interception
Not so fast!
The head coaches shake hands after the game
Brotherly Love
Ryans and Fitzpatrick shake hands
CB Byron Maxwell speaks with Jets QB Ryan Fitzpatrick after the game
Catching up after a tough game
Eagles Nation showed their support
CB Byron Maxwell thanks Eagles Nation
RB Darren Sproles is unstoppable
The linebackers celebrate
DE Fletcher Cox congratulates LB Jordan Hicks
A huge stop!
DB Walter Thurmond is on Cloud 9
...On the Road to Victory!
RB Ryan Mathews breaks free
WR Seyi Ajirotutu recovers the ball
A quick timeout discussion
