Coming off back-to-back losses to the New England Patriots (excusable) and the Oakland Raiders (not as bad as they used to be), the New York Jets now need to rebound against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that upset a decent Buffalo Bills team last week.
Jaguars vs. Jets 2015 live stream: Start time, TV schedule and how to watch online
New York hopes defense can carry banged-up offense to a win.
At 4-3, the Jets are still in one of the AFC wild card positions, but they’ve let a lot of teams sneak within a game. A loss to the Jaguars would put them even deeper into the morass of teams around .500. Meanwhile, a victory for Jacksonville would make it 3-5 and within striking distance of a postseason berth that no one expected.
The first thing the Jets would like to do is re-establish their running game. After putting up 428 yards in back-to-back wins over the Miami Dolphins and Washington, they only managed 163 against New England and Oakland. That will be a tall order against the Jaguars, who are averaging a league-best 3.5 yards allowed per rush. With Chris Ivory dealing with a sore hamstring and Bilal Powell still sidelined with an ankle injury, that could be a problem.
If the Jets can't move the ball on the ground, that's going to put it in the hands of Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will be playing through a torn ligament in his non-throwing hand. Fitzpatrick hasn't been great after replacing Geno Smith, but his three interceptions probably cost the Jets an early-season game against the Philadelphia Eagles. With Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker both expected to play, he'll have his top two targets back from injury.
The Jaguars have struggled against the pass, only intercepting three balls all year, and Blake Bortles isn't having a good year under center himself. Bortles has thrown 15 touchdowns in Jacksonville's high-risk, high-reward system, and he's averaging 12 yards per reception. On the other hand, with a vertical passing game, he's only completing 55.7 percent of his throws, has eight interceptions and has been sacked 19 times.
Bortles has a pair of deep-threat receivers who are catching more than four passes a game in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, but hasn't gotten anywhere near the expected production from tight end Julius Thomas, who has only 10 catches for the year.
That isn't a pretty matchup against New York's third-ranked pass defense, but there's not a lot of promise for the Jaguars against the second-ranked pass defense. T.J. Yeldon is averaging 4.0 yards a carry, not what you want from your No. 1 back, especially where there isn't a second option. Toby Gerhart hasn't produced and the ongoing quest to find some way to harness Denard Robinson's unquestioned athletic ability is still ongoing. As one of the most explosive players in recent NCAA history, you'd think there would be a way to get him the ball, but Michigan couldn't do it after his elbow injury, and neither have the Jaguars.
With the game in New Jersey, and the Jaguars not having the kind of explosive offense needed to put up points against the Jets, New York should be able to bounce back despite the offensive injuries.
How to watch
When: 1 p.m. ET
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
Network: CBS
Announcers: Greg Gumbel, Trent Green, Jamie Erdahl
Online: NFL Game Pass
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