Eagles vs. Jets: Adam Gase put QB Luke Falk in a tough spot

The New York Jets made their matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles tougher than it needed to be.

The quarterbacking saga in New York is an interesting one. As the Jets franchise quarterback, Sam Darnold has been dealing with a sickness, he hasn’t been able to play or even practice with the team in a few weeks, leaving Luke Falk as the starter.

Initially, Sam Darnold had a potential return date set for the Philadelphia Eagles matchup on Sunday. However, Darnold’s doctors were not able to find a reason to clear him this week as he still had swelling in his spleen. Therefore, Darnold is out, and Falk is in.

Everybody in Philly expected to see Falk as the starter this week. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo in New York, though. Despite being in the know about everything regarding Darnold’s sickness, Jets head coach Adam Gase almost refused to believe that Darnold wouldn’t play.

Falk is in a tough spot

According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, Sam Darnold, NOT Luke Falk, obtained all of the starter’s reps in New York in preparation for the matchup against the Birds on the road.

Typically in a situation like this, a team that may not have their starting quarterback for the upcoming game would allow for their backup to at least get a fair chunk of reps with the first-team, so he’s prepared to play with the starters on game day.

However, that’s not how Gase prepared for the Eagles this week. The Eagles were already in a favorable spot, going against the Jets’ third-string quarterback. But now they get the Jets third-string quarterback, who prepared to sit as a backup all week. This game was already expected to be a blowout by the Eagles, but the decision-making by the Jets head coach just made it even more likely for Philly to dominate.