I enjoyed the Jets/Browns game, and it seems like the fanbase as a whole enjoyed watching the Jets end a three-game skid and get back into the winning column. The team is undefeated against the AFC, and the same people who were clamoring to fire Glenn two weeks ago are now scheduling plans around a potential playoff berth in January. It always cracks me up to see how badly the fanbase reacts from week to week.
I explained in last week’s piece why I didn’t think this was a must-win game, and several of you pushed back. I think we should all agree that this upcoming game is the most important of the season so far. It’s a chance at .500, a chance to beat a division foe, and a chance to string together a winning streak for just the second time in the Aaron Glenn era. All of those things would be huge for this young and attractive locker room.
Aaron Glenn has yet to beat a divisional opponent as head coach of the New York Jets. I think we’re all hoping/hoping that changes this year against a very poorly constructed Dolphins team, but why not shock the world against the New England Patriots who made the Super Bowl last year?
They’ve been up and down all year, and even though they’ve won two straight games, we’ve seen chinks in the armor that prove the weakness of that team. Vegas is counting us down, but we’ll see how the chips fall on Sunday. Here are the things I would look at:
Both teams are getting major reinforcements back into the lineup this week, so it will be interesting to see how each side adjusts to the changes. We all know Christian Gonzalez is an elite cornerback talent, and with his return after two games, we can only assume he’ll be deployed to follow Garrett Wilson around and neutralize the Jets’ most explosive threat. What we don’t know is what Frank Reich will do to counter the assumed man-to-man coverage.
Of course, this isn’t the only return, as Jets rookie wide receiver Omar Cooper Jr. is slated to return. after missing the last four games with an ankle sprain. The funny thing is, he had one catch against the Titans and still went for the most yards after a catch of any player in the game. We can say with absolute certainty that we do not know the ceiling or even the nature of Cooper Jr.’s involvement. on offense – which is very exciting for the Jets.
The Jets may still be without WR2 Adonai Mitchell, but with Wilson, Cooper Jr., Sadiq, and Mason Taylor healthy and ready to go, they will have no shortage of playmakers for Frank Reich and Geno Smith to work with. Even players with little star power, like Isaiah Williams, Tim Patrick, and Jelani Woods, can dazzle in the passing game given the right opportunity. That’s the best part of being willing and patient at the helm: there are so many options to choose from.
Speaking of options, Drake Maye could have his top option, AJ Brown, back from injury this week. It has not been confirmed whether he will play, but he has been a limited participant since his practice window opened after suffering a Week 1 ankle sprain, unlike Cooper Jr., who was a full participant this week. That would be a decent sized wrench in the game plan for both sides.
I don’t have a lot of stats in this section, but the impact these returns have on the game is huge. The Jets get an explosive playmaker, and the Patriots get a shutdown corner. That same shutdown corner was carved up by Adonai Mitchell in primetime last year (though Mitchell had four drops, so it doesn’t count for much on the stat sheet), so I’m really curious to see how Garrett Wilson fares in the midst of his best NFL season to date.
I spent a lot of time worrying about Deshaun Watson’s legs tearing up the Jets defense last week, and while it ultimately didn’t kill the water, Deshaun had a solid rushing performance. Admittedly, the situation is difficult to assess because he was sacked eight times, so the Jets clearly did a good job of going after the quarterback. However, watching in person, Deshaun seems to be actively moving, and the stat sheet supports my observations, as he has the most yards per rush of any game all season.
Without the rain and all the calamities that come with it, we should get a clearer picture of how the Jets’ defense will fare this year with mobile quarterbacks. Watson entered last week’s game as the second-most rushing QB, and Patriots QB Drake Maye entered this game as the third-most. His designed runs are generally good, but his scrambles in difficult situations are more dangerous and timely.
This isn’t to put Maye on a pedestal: she’s been awful this year. He was sacked three times in one game leading up to this two-game winning streak, when he was sacked just once in each game. His seven interceptions in five games are tied for the most in the NFL this year, but again, he’s dialed it back in these two wins and has just one interception since their Week 3 loss to the Jaguars.
Can they force him to go back to being the unquestionable, scrappy QB who was a meme machine for the first three weeks of the season? To do that, the Jets will have to go through two old friends: OT Morgan Moses and OL Alijah Vera-Tucker. I spent so many years loving AVT and defending him through all of his injury-plagued seasons with the Jets that it personally hurt me to see him go to arguably the team’s biggest rival and immediately start trashing the Jets. A special part of my soul will heal to see him or Moses be responsible for releasing a sack.
But if not, there’s a good chance rookie tackle Caleb Lomu could be the barbecue chicken for reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Week David Bailey. The Bailey/Lomu matchup, and McDonald’s familiarity with facing Moses every day, makes me excited about the chances of putting pressure on Maye and putting him in the pocket.
One of my favorite parts of watching great football teams play is seeing how well they play complementary football. The team stages working as a unit, working together toward a common goal (winning), and usually achieving it. I know, that might sound like a foreign concept to you if you’ve only ever watched Jets football. How many times have you watched a Jets game, seen the defense make a perfect play, only for the offense to completely squander the opportunity? Remember AG’s iconic sideline dance? Special Teams makes a perfect play, only for the defense to choke out the win.
The Jets have a long and rich history of failure in this area of football, but I bring it up now for this pivotal matchup because we saw a glimpse of quality secondary football last week. With four minutes left, the Jets desperately needed a stop, and they forced a three-and-out. Then the football gods smiled on them when Corey Bojorquez dropped the punt, and the Jets started the next drive 23 yards down the paydirt. The Classic Jets committed another turnover, or could get a three-and-out themselves and miss the field goal.
Instead, Braelon Allen ran 22 yards for a touchdown, and the Jets won the game.
This Sunday, I want to see this team stick together from one phase of the game to the next. I want to see the defense and special teams create momentum for the offense, and the offense capitalize on said momentum. The best coaches are good at complementary football, and I have to sadly admit that next to outright cheating, this is Bill Belichick’s greatest strength. Vrabel has been impressive in this area in his own right, and I would love to see Glenn compete in this area.
It’s also worth noting that with Blake Grupe signing with the Rams, Jason Sanders is the only kicker in the room. Did the pressure/possibility of losing the younger Grupe’s job prompt his impressive performance? With no one ‘breathing down his neck’, will he continue to deliver, or will he take his foot off the gas? I’m especially curious to see Sanders play the man in the arena this Sunday, and in general, I just want to see a good performance that blends well with each unit. Vegas has the Jets as 7-point underdogs, but I think these three things can really turn the tide. Come on Jets!