The Jets finally snapped their five-game losing streak against Houston on Thursday night with an impressive 21-13 come-from-behind win over the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. However, that will count for nothing if they can’t follow it up with a road win against a tough 5-4 Arizona Cardinals team.
Here are some of the biggest stories to watch as the Jets look to keep the momentum going:
This feels like a make-or-break game for the Jets, who would drop to 3-7 with a loss. That would more or less eliminate them from playoff contention.
If they can get the win on the road, they’ll have a chance to get back to 5-6 in time for the bye week with a win over the Colts next weekend and then reset for a possible run at a postseason berth. They cannot afford to look ahead to that game, though.
The Jets’ 21st-ranked run defense has been a weakness all season, although, they managed to win their last game despite giving up a season-high 187 rushing yards.
Arizona is coming off a game in which they rushed for over 200 against the Chicago Bears, led by veteran back James Conner’s 107. Gang Green’s defensive line must win the battle up front against an offensive line that features ex-Jets Kelvin Beachum and Tristan Colon.
Jets fans will be concerned over the threat of Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray racking up yards on designed runs and scrambles, although he had just two carries for six yards against the Bears. Instead, it was the backups who stepped up to complement Conner, with Emari Demercado showcasing his big-play capabilities on a 53-yard touchdown run.
The Cardinals boosted their pass rush this week by trading for Baron Browning who should make his debut in Sunday’s game. Browning has nine sacks across 17 starts over the past two seasons, but he is yet to record a quarterback hit this season.
Before adding Browning, the Arizona pass rush had their most effective game of the season against the Bears as they had six sacks and 12 quarterback hits.
The Jets will be looking to protect Rodgers, who said during the week he’s feeling better than he has since Week 4, but they are likely to be without both starting guards again.
Max Mitchell and first rounder Olu Fashanu, who finished last week’s game, could be called upon again.
The Jets traded away the wide receiver this week, so they will need someone to step up. Though Williams hadn’t made much of an impact, he had been averaging almost 40 offensive snaps per game since the opener, so there will be reps available.
With Allen Lazard already on injured reserve, Malachi Corley and Xavier Gipson seem like the most likely candidates to get an increased workload, though the pair has combined for just 27 receiving yards so far this season. Corley will be determined to atone for his blunder last week which saw him drop the ball before crossing the goal line to erase a would-be touchdown.
An outside candidate to step up could be special teamer Irv Charles, who Rodgers made a case for during the week. He has only been targeted once all season but is similar in size to Williams so he could be better suited than Gipson or Corley to being a direct replacement.
The Jets’ cornerback has had another solid season, but he’s undeniably not been at his best. He’s already given up more yards in coverage than he did all of last year, as he’s been banged up at times (going down twice against Houston). Gardner has also had issues with his tackling and penalties, and it’s now been over two years since he last intercepted a pass.
The 6-foot-4 Harrison should be an interesting matchup for Gardner. While he’s only caught 28 passes through nine games of his debut campaign, Harrison has shown his big-play capabilities with five touchdown catches and a 16-yards-per-catch average.
