The New York Jets closed the preseason with a victory -- something that means quite a bit to Rex Ryan -- by beating the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20 at MetLife Stadium on Thursday evening.
Eagles vs. Jets: Simms sublime in New York win
New York watched the son of a Gotham legend light up the field on Thursday.
New York might have found something in the process, a statement rarely made about the final preseason game. Quarterback Matt Simms, the son of ex-New York Giants signal-caller Phil Simms, was on-point to say the least. Simms threw for 285 yards on 33 of 44 passing without firing an interception.
Granted, Simms was playing against backups but ask yourself this: Would Geno Smith or Mark Sanchez have played better than that? Over at Gang Green Nation, there was plenty of talk about the night Simms had and what it means for his roster chances:
This performance, coming on the heels of last Saturday's strong showing in a come from behind triumph against the NY Giants, may have been enough to vault Simms past erstwhile 3rd string QB Greg McElroy and into the lead for what is likely the final QB slot on the 53 man roster.
For the Eagles, it was a time to evaluate some of their backup players before giving many the boot before the Aug. 31 deadline to have the roster set at 53. However, two backups who stood out in a negative way were quarterbacks Nick Foles and Matt Barkley.
Foles went 6-for-17 while Barkley completed only 13 of 27 on the evening. Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation didn’t enjoy watching Foles in the finale:
Nick Foles didn’t look good tonight. It wasn’t all his fault, but he definitely does deserve some of the blame. The OL didn’t offer him great pass protection and his receivers dropped too many passes. Still, Foles held onto the ball for too long at times. Foles finished the 2013 preseason with 27/42 (64.3%), 446 yards (8.1 YPA), 0 TD, 1 rush TD, 3 turnovers (1 INT, 2 fumbles).
The Jets open the regular season at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the Eagles take on the Washington Redskins next Monday night.
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