PHILADELPHIA – Outside of the eye-opening 59-yard field goal that John Hall blasted through the uprights in the waning moments of the first half, the most entertaining moment of the night was the appearance of a huge banner reading, “Yo NeXturf, Kiss My Grass,” hanging proudly along a mezzanine wall at Veterans Stadium.
Unfortunately though, the creative sign, which dissed the manufacturer of the controversial stadium turf, didn’t make it to kickoff before being removed by stadium officials with no sense of humor.
This game, the preseason finale for both teams, was less about the final result – Eagles 13, Jets 12 – and more about survival.
The teams were on a mission to survive both the questionable stadium turf and the replacement officials, and make it to their respective regular-season openers unscathed.
The Jets and Eagles, each of whom played their starters for only the first few plays of the game, found out little more about themselves last night than they already knew.
One thing Herman Edwards didn’t have in mind was watching his starting defense get torn apart by the Eagles’ offense on the first series of the game.
“We’ve got to stop the run,” Edwards said. “We got hit a couple times on some runs. We’re a little soft on the inside, and if that continues to happen it’s going to be tough. It’s a concern for me every day. You’ve got to stop the run in this league. If you don’t, it’s a long day.”
The Jets’ long night began on the first series, when their run defense was ravaged right up the middle. Duce Staley busted one run for 25 yards, then another for 10 before someone named Correll Buckhalter gained nine yards up the middle.
That’s not good news with the Colts’ super back Edgerrin James waiting in the regular-season opener a week from Sunday.
The night ended in misery with a fourth-string Eagles’ quarterback named A.J. Feeley throwing a game-winning, 17-yard touchdown pass to Sean Scott with 23 seconds left.
“Hopefully, we learned a lesson,” Edwards said. “It always boils down to what happens in the last two minutes of the first half and the last two minutes of the game.”
The last seconds of the first half was when Hall rocketed that 59-yard bomb with yards to spare to tie the game at 6-6.
“We were thinking about punting it and I asked John is he could make it, and he said, ‘I can make it, coach,’ ” Edwards said.
“Try a 59-yard field goal?” said Hall, who booted a 60-yarder for Wisconsin in college. “I’d try a 59-yard field goal with the wind in my face. I’d try a 59-yard field goal in the parking lot. You don’t get many chances to kick a 59-yard field goal.”
Of course, the final seconds of the game cost the Jets a feel-good 3-1 preseason and left them at 2-2.
The Eagles’ TD ruined a marvelous night for Hall, who was 4-of-5 on FGs, finishing 9-of-12 for the preseason.
The Jets’ first team offense had only one first down in three series. Vinny Testaverde was 3-of-5 for 19 yards. Curtis Martin and Richie Anderson each had two carries for 6 yards.
As for the potential controversies surrounding the game, the turf produced no significant injuries and the replacement officials proceeded without any embarrassing incidents.
Interestingly, the NFL refused to identify where the replacement officials came from because of a concern about harassment by the officials’ union.
