After losing eight straight match-ups against the Baltimore Ravens, the New York Jets got a much needed win after defeating the Ravens 24-16 at MetLife Stadium. The Jets move to 2-5, getting their first home win of the season. The Jets took advantage of a struggling Ravens team to snap their four game losing streak.
New York Jets Week Seven Takeaways
There’s still a long road ahead for the Jets to even sniff the playoffs, but their schedule is a bit softer after a brutal six game stretch. If the Jets limit their mistakes, play sound defense and run the ball consistently there is hope to turn the season around. Here are the key takeaways from the Jets week seven performance.
Special Teams Miscues
The Jets overcame a muffed punt snap, but these mental mistakes have cost the Jets games dating back to last season. Rookie punter Lachlan Edwards, who has had a solid rookie campaign, mishandled Tanner Purdum‘s snap. After a fight for the ball, rookie wide receiver Chris Moore recovered the ball which led to a Ravens touchdown less than six minutes into the game.
Lachlan had another gaffe when he recorded a 17-yard punt giving the Ravens good field position during the third quarter. While the Ravens weren’t able to capitalize, this mistake could have doomed the Jets had it been against another team. Defensive tackle Brandon Williams also batted down kicker Nick Folk‘s 51-yard field goal attempt, giving the Ravens life, but the Jets defense made the necessary stop. If the Jets want to beat playoff teams, they must limit the costly mistakes.
Quarterback Carousel
Quarterback Geno Smith finally got the opportunity he longed for – Jets starting quarterback. After a disastrous start to the season, head coach Todd Bowles benched Ryan Fitzpatrick in favor of Smith to spark life into the offense. Smith finished the day going 4-of-8 for 95 yards before suffering a knee injury midway through the second quarter on a sack by linebacker Matt Judon.
Stats don’t always tell the whole story. Smith played sound football. While at times he held on the ball too long, wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Charone Peake dropped two of Smith’s passes. He did receive help from wide receiver Quincy Enunwa. Trailing 10-0, Smith connected with Enunwa who sprinted and beat defenders for a 69-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to three. After only being benched for a quarter and a half, Fitzpatrick entered the game and finished the game 9-of-14 for 120 yards and a touchdown. While Fitzpatrick didn’t turn the ball over, he didn’t exactly light it up. The running game took pressure off the quarterback immensely. It will be interesting to see how serious Smith’s injury is and if he will be named the starter against the Cleveland Browns.
Running Game Breathes Life
Running back Matt Forte had a strong showing finishing with 154 total yards and two touchdowns (one rush and one reception). Forte managed 100 yards on 30 carries for his second 100-yard rushing game as a Jet. His touchdown run was also the first running score for the Jets since week two.
In total, the Jets finished with 155 yards rushing against the Ravens top five defense. It will be vital for the Jets to rush consistently if they want to win games especially as quarterback questions remain.
Defense Makes Plays
The secondary troubles continued early in the game as the Jets gave up its ninth pass of 40-plus yards. In the first quarter, quarterback Joe Flacco threw a 53-yard bomb to Mike Wallace off a play fake, beating cornerback Buster Skrine and safety Calvin Pryor which led to a Justin Tucker field goal.
Despite the early struggles, the unit turned it up a notch in the second half only allowing 42 total yards and picking off Flacco twice. After Flacco set a Ravens franchise-record of 176-consecutive passes without an interception, Skrine picked off Flacco’s pass intended for wide receiver Breshad Perriman and returned it 51-yards. Three plays later, Folk connected on a 22-yard field goal putting up the Jets 17-16.
On the ensuing Ravens drive, Marcus Gilchrist intercepted a deep pass in the middle intended for Perriman which led to an odd touchdown score. On second down at the Balitmore three-yard-line, Forte fumbled the ball and recovered by defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan. However, as he was running the other way, Marshall jared it loose, setting the Jets up 1st-and-goal at the five. Three plays later, Forte ran it in for the touchdown.
The run defense bounced back as they only allowed six rushing yards setting a new franchise record. The previous record was 12 yards which the Jets set in week 12 against the Miami Dolphins last season. In his natural position, defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson had his best outing of the season. He finished with a sack and three tackles for a loss accounting for seven total.
