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New York Jets boot Philadelphia Eagles in preseason finale

By The Sports Xchange
Christian Hackenberg and the New York Jets raced past the Philadelphia Eagles in a preseason game Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Christian Hackenberg and the New York Jets raced past the Philadelphia Eagles in a preseason game Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, the likely No. 1 tight end for the New York Jets, caught a touchdown pass Thursday night and Ross Martin may have locked up kicker duties by converting both his field goal attempts in the Jets' 16-10 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in the preseason finale for both teams at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Seferian-Jenkins, who will miss the first two games of the regular season while serving a suspension stemming from a DUI arrest last September, finished with two catches for a team-high 32 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown pass from Christian Hackenberg in the second quarter.

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Martin, who has been battling veteran Chandler Catanzaro all summer, hit field goal attempts of 27 yards and 22 yards. Catanzaro opened the scoring by nailing a 28-yarder in the first quarter.

The field goal by Catanazaro highlighted an unusual first quarter for the Jets. While most teams -- including the Eagles on Thursday -- use the final preseason game as a wide-open audition for players unlikely to make the team, New York employed most of its projected starting lineup in the first two series -- including 38-year-old quarterback Josh McCown, who played just one possession in the first three preseason games as head coach Todd Bowles took an extended look at Hackenberg and Bryce Petty.

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The strategy nearly backfired on the Jets when McCown had the wind knocked out of him after being hit by Eagles linebacker Joe Walker during New York's second series. McCown left the game but returned one play later and completed the drive that ended with Catanzaro's field goal. McCown was 6-of-8 for 57 yards.

Hackenberg played the rest of the game and finished 10-of-22 for 105 yards.

Eagles second-string wide receiver Marcus Johnson caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from fourth-string quarterback Dane Evans. Kicker Caleb Sturgis booted a 33-yard field goal.

The Eagles nearly won the game in the waning seconds after Hackenberg and running back Marcus Murphy botched a handoff just after the two-minute warning. Rookie linebacker Christian Tago recovered the ball for Philadelphia, which got inside the Jets' 5-yard-line in the final minute but could not score.

Evans finished 11-of-23 for 190 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Both teams finished the preseason at 2-2. Each opens the regular season on Sept. 10, when the Jets visit the Buffalo Bills and the Eagles visit the Dallas Cowboys.

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