WEEK IN REVIEW
The Jets pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in their 23-20 victory on the road over the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams came into the game at 9-4 on a long week of rest, counting on the momentum from their 24-3 victory over the Patriots. The Jets defense and special teams made critical plays to stymie Sean McVay’s offense. The Jets’ defensive front, led by emerging star Quinnen Williams, limited the Rams’ rushing attack and forced Jared Goff to attempt to win the game, which he was unable to do. Marcus Maye showed up to help seal the win for the Jets with a big pass deflection on a would-be touchdown with about four minutes remaining.
The Jets scored one their opening possession of the game for the 8th consecutive game thanks to a great catch and run by Ty Johnson. They even managed to gain a 13-0 lead on the Rams late into the 2nd quarter. Sam Darnold still did not play well. Frank Gore was still not effective. But the defense put the Jets in such good positions to succeed that they were able to string together enough successful plays to pull off the narrow victory.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
Adam Gase is still the head coach. As mentioned in previous weeks, this will be the main story until it is no longer the case. Gase can’t even lose correctly. Thanks to the Jets’ upset victory over the Rams on Sunday, New York is now slated to pick 2nd overall in the draft instead of the number one position they had been holding onto all season. This likely means they will end up with Justin Fields as their best available option at quarterback compared to Trevor Lawrence, who now appears to be destined for Jacksonville.Â
Trevor Lawrence has been penciled in as the number one overall pick since his early days starting at Clemson as a freshman. He has natural gifts as an athlete and can place the ball anywhere on the field at will. He regularly leads his targets to put them in the best position to succeed and is one of the most sure-fire elite prospects we have seen in years. Fields, by comparison, is still very good, but is not nearly as close to a guarantee as Lawrence. Fields tends to struggle to find success outside of structure, which is one of the best indicators of elite NFL quarterback talent. He has also been criticized for being overly confident in his athletic abilities, leading to him being tackled in cases he believed he could escape. That is only going to hinder him more at the professional level. Thanks to this win, Gase may be handing the Jets additional losses in the future, even after he is gone.
THE WEEK AHEAD
The Jets will see a similar opponent this week in the Cleveland Browns, to whom they are 9.5-point underdogs. The Browns, like the Rams, operate their offense through their dynamic running backs. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt form one of the most dangerous rushing attacks in the league. They are the only pair of running backs in the league who each have over 1,000 yards from scrimmage so far this year. They also have scored 10 touchdowns apiece. The Jets’ ability to contain the Rams last week was the biggest reason for their victory and they will need to follow that up with a sequel performance to have a chance in this one.
Quinnen Williams is once again the most important player in the game as well as the best player on the Jets’ roster. The Pro Bowl snub will need to continue his growth and step up to his most challenging test yet. The Browns were held in check by the Giants last week and will be looking for redemption in their second straight game against a New York team. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has also played well lately, but he is greatly aided by the attention being occupied by the running backs. If the game falls on Mayfield, he may succumb to the pressure and give the Jets’ defense some opportunities to create turnovers.
