With all of the chaos surrounding the New York Giants, one might forget the state of disarray that the cross-town rivals New York Jets are in. While the Jets offense might have surprised some people, their defense is a complete mess. They currently sit at just 0-2 and unless the Jets keys to victory are accomplished, their season will be on the line when the Miami Dolphins come to town on Sunday.
Week Three New York Jets Keys to Victory
1) Passing Attack
The Jets have quietly put together a nice offensive passing attack. Wide receiver Jermaine Kearse currently sits near the top of most stats for receivers and has quickly developed a nice rapport with quarterback Josh McCown. The Jets extreme lack of depth behind Kearse is a major concern, however, he has continued to get behind defenses despite that fact.
The next step for the offense is to try to get other players involved in the passing game. If the Jets can develop one of their young receivers or get a running back involved down the field, the Jets will have an attack that can win them a few games. Lastly, McCown has to limit his turnovers. Against the Oakland Raiders, he was able to hold turnovers in check and the Jets offense benefited because of it. That will be a key factor on Sunday.
2) Ground Game
New York has a serious problem with its rushing attack. The player that was supposed to be its feature back, Bilal Powell, is averaging less than three yards per carry. 31-year-old back, Matt Forte, is averaging 4.6 yards per carry but has only 15 attempts. The Jets need to commit to one running back because the time-share isn’t working. Neither running back has a touchdown or has produced any real offense. Todd Bowles needs to fix this immediately.
3) Stop The Run
Through two games, the New York Jets have allowed the most rushing yards of any team in the NFL by more than 50 yards! When constantly playing from behind, stopping the run is a mandate. Unfortunately for Gang Green, that is perhaps their weakest spot.
Last year, the New York Jets surrendered a little over 1,500 rushing yards. This year they’re on pace to give up 2,960! The front seven is atrocious and it’s become a serious problem. Perhaps the loss of Sheldon Richardson is having a bigger impact on the defense than people thought. Either way, the Jets must stop the run if they want to have any chance of winning the game.
Final Word
If the Jets want a shot of beating the Dolphins on Sunday, they will need to contain Jay Ajayi and the Dolphins ground game. Before they can worry about scoring points, they have to limit how many the Fins put on the board. After that, the Jets need to focus on establishing the run. Those two factors along with limiting their offensive turnovers will decide the game and if the Jets will continue to search for one.
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