It’s not quite a 19-game winning streak in meaningless action, but it’s still a record.
A new rule change applied for the first time in NFL history on Friday night in the Eagles-Jets game at MetLife Stadium. Jets fans who paid to see the only preseason home game of the season didn’t see Zach Wilson and they didn’t see a winner but they saw something memorable in the 31-31 finish.
The league eliminated earlier this year overtime for the preseason. The Eagles and Jets game resulted in the first 60-minute tie the league had seen since implementing an overtime period in 1974.
Down 31-23 after a fumble on the prior drive led to an Eagles touchdown, the Jets had 1:03 to try to tie the game. Quarterback James Morgan made it happen, connecting on a final-play, 49-yard Hail Mary to Kenny Yeboah to pull the game to 31-29. Then, the Jets converted the two-point conversion on a run by Josh Adams to cap the outcome at 31-31.
So, yes, it’s the first regulation tie since 1973, when the NFL had seven of them. It’s also the first time an NFL game ever ended in a tie with a Hail Mary followed by a two-pointer, given that end-of-regulation ties went away 20 years before the NFL embraced the two-point conversion.