Two three-win teams will meet in Week 10, but while the New York Jets may not be playing for anything other than draft position, the Los Angeles Rams’ postseason hopes aren’t snuffed out just yet.
Rams vs. Jets 2016: Start time, live stream, TV schedule, and 3 things to know
Jeff Fisher’s inevitable journey to 7-9 takes another step forward against the Jets.
The Rams are only 1.5 games out of the wild card race despite a 3-5 start thanks to a wide open NFC. While the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks, and Atlanta Falcons have established themselves as the class of the conference, the race for postseason bids behind them realistically still includes 11 of the remaining 13 franchises. While a recent four-game slide — including three defeats by a touchdown or less — has taken a chunk of optimism out of their latest NFL campaign, the Rams haven’t been buried yet.
The Jets, on the other hand, are a full three games behind Denver for the final AFC playoff spot and 4.5 games from catching the New England Patriots in the AFC East. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been dreadful in 2016 after a promising 2015. The journeyman passer has thrown more interceptions than anyone else in the league, thanks in part to a record-setting six interception game in Week 3 against Kansas City.
New York briefly trended upward after defeating Baltimore and Cleveland in successive weeks, but last week’s loss to Miami solidified its spot at the bottom of the AFC East. Los Angeles won’t have to worry about a last place finish in the NFC West -- that’s what the San Francisco 49ers are for in 2016 -- but stopping its losing streak at four games might be the only way to stay in the playoff picture this fall.
How to Watch Los Angeles Rams vs. New York Jets on Sunday
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis, and Peter Schrager
Online: Sunday Ticket, Fox Sports Go
Three big things to know:
1. Which team will hand the reins to its young quarterback first? Both the Rams and Jets have stubbornly stuck with underwhelming veteran passers in disappointing seasons despite the presence of young, talented quarterbacks further down the depth chart. In Los Angeles, it’s 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick Jared Goff. In New York, it’s second-year passer Bryce Petty and, to a lesser extent, 2016 second-rounder Christian Hackenberg.
Petty got to see limited action last week, throwing and completing the first two passes of his NFL career while Fitzpatrick sat out a series with an injury. Goff has yet to play this season, and likely won’t until the Rams are eliminated from playoff contention.
2. Will Los Angeles dial up its defensive intensity against a shaky quarterback? The Rams have one of the NFL’s most talented defensive lines, but that unit has struggled to turn its ability to pressure quarterbacks into sacks. The Rams ranked No. 2 in the NFL in sack percentage by dropping passers on more than 9 percent of dropbacks in 2013. This season, they’ve fallen to 23rd in the league and a rate that’s barely half that. They’ll need to step up the pressure if they want to force a mistake-prone quarterback out of his comfort zone on Sunday.
3. Can Greg Zuerlein and the Rams come up with a better onside kick than this?
Not many successful onside kicks travel 46 yards.
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