Without Davis, the Eagles signed Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh before facing the Colts. Suh, 35, was a good run defender in his prime, and once upon a time Joseph, 34, would have been a perfect replacement for Davis, but neither was an effective solution in their first games with the team.
Davis isn’t expected to return until at least Dec. 4, when the Eagles play Derrick Henry and the Titans in Philadelphia. It could be a rude welcome back.
Zach Wilson’s development looks stalled.
A starting quarterback’s second year is typically a turning point. In that second season, with the player having a sense of game speed and familiarity with the playbook, teams are usually evaluating whether their draft pick is the building block they expected.
Assessing the Jets’ Zach Wilson has been a bit of a challenge. He’s 5-2 as a starter this year, even while dealing with severe injuries to members of the team’s offensive line and running backs. Wilson himself came into the season with a bone bruise and meniscus issues, forcing him to miss the first three weeks.
He’s also certainly not the first N.F.L. quarterback to be befuddled by Patriots Coach Bill Belichick’s defenses. But Wilson looked particularly off course in the Jets’ 10-3 loss in Foxborough, Mass., on Sunday, completing just 9 of 22 attempts for 77 yards and taking four sacks. In the second quarter, with the game tied 3-3, Wilson threw what would have been a devastating interception if not for Devin McCourty’s mind-boggling drop.
The Jets had more punts (10) than completions, and the team’s final punt was returned 84 yards for a touchdown by the Patriots rookie Marcus Jones for the decisive score with five seconds left in the fourth quarter.
As the Jets’ promising season has given way to a 6-4 record, sputtering that puts the team’s postseason dream into turmoil. Coming out of Brigham Young University in the 2021 draft, Wilson was billed as a strong-armed, wheeling-and-dealing scrambler type, an identity Coach Robert Saleh sought to encourage coming into this season. But Wilson has not developed within the pocket and ranks 32nd in passer rating (72.6) and 33rd in completion percentage (55.6).