With all but one of their projected starters out of the lineup, the New York Jets completed their preseason with a 19-17 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium on Friday night. HC Aaron Glenn’s unit finished the summer season 1-2.
Quarterback Adrian Martinez and rookie WR-KR Jamaal Pritchett rallied the Jets from a 19-3 deficit in the final quarter. The Green & White made it a one-possession contest late as Lawrance Toafili‘s 19-yard run in the fourth quarter cut the deficit to 19-9. That was followed by Martinez’s successful run for a 2-point conversion. Then rookie Donovan Edwards punched it in from 1-yard out, pushing the Jets within 19-17 with 3:07 remaining in the fourth. But Edwards was stopped at the 1 on the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt.
“We’re a resilient bunch,” Martinez said. “I think that’s something AG has ingrained in us that we have fight whether that was obviously some of the guys on the field today or some of the starters who were in tee T-shirts and shorts. They were just as fired up as the rest of us.”
The Jets’ defense held, and Pritchett answered with a 22-yard punt return and got 8 yards on a catch from Martinez. Pritchett led the Jets with 54 yards receiving on 4 catches and he averaged 21 yards on three punt returns. In a final chance to showcase his talents before Tuesday’s roster cutdown, Pritchett was fast and elusive throughout while Eagles defenders were left grabbing for air on multiple tackle attempts. But Martinez and Pritchett couldn’t connect on a fourth-and-10 from the Philadelphia 42 and the comeback was halted.
“Probably one of the most exciting preseason games I’ve been a part of,” Glenn said. “There are a number of things I could talk about when it comes to mistakes, when it comes to penalties, I could talk about those for days. But the one thing I am proud of is man, they were resilient today and they did not quit. They were excited on the sideline, and they tried to will themselves to win this game.”