The New York Jets have come back down to Earth after their strong start to the season. They are on a three game losing streak. The Jets will look to break that streak against the Buffalo Bills in primetime on Thursday night. In the meeting of these two teams back in week one, the Bills got the win 21-12. For the Jets to win this week, they must accomplish these keys to victory.
Week Nine New York Jets Keys to Victory
Contain Tyrod Taylor
Tyrod Taylor is known for his ability to use his legs to escape the pocket. When he is allowed to get outside of the pocket he is dangerous. He can make plays with his arm as well as his feet.
Containing him starts with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams with their electric ability to get to Taylor quickly. If they cannot get to him, Todd Bowles needs to put out a quarterback spy to follow Taylor and make a play on him.
When Taylor escapes the pocket and extends plays, the secondary will need to stay disciplined and not commit penalties. Penalties have really hurt the Jets in pressure situations and when plays are extended, that is when most penalties in the secondary are committed. Even though the secondary is the main part of the defense that needs to be disciplined when Taylor extends plays, the whole defense is going to need to be aware of his ability to run.
Establish a Running Game
In the first meeting in week one, the Jets only ran the ball for 38 yards on 15 attempts. Even though Josh McCown has been very consistent with his play this season without a run game, the Jets need to establish one to make life easier on McCown.
Matt Forte came out and said that he was not happy with the play calling in the game against the Atlanta Falcons. He was not happy that he only got four carries. Forte is not the same running back that he used to be. Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire are the potential running backs of the future for the Jets and that may be the reason that they are getting more carries.
Whoever is getting the carries out of the backfield needs to produce more than what the Jets have been getting so far this year.
Hold a Lead
Obviously this seems like a given when it come to winning a game in the NFL, but the Jets give up leads a lot. During their current three game losing streak, the Jets have held leads in all three games and 14 point leads in two of those games.
When the Jets gain a lead their offense has gone quiet and their defense gets really soft. These are recipes for disaster because they get out of rhythm and it is very hard to get back in rhythm. If the Jets get a lead in this game they need to keep playing their game and let the other team beat them, not let the Jets beat themselves.
Bottom Line
This game is pretty much a must-win for the Jets this week against the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills. They will need to bounce back from the week one matchup against the Bills and perform in from of their home fans. The Jets will come out fired up but whether or not that shows in their performance on the field will be seen at the start of the game.
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