5 things to watch as Jets face Commanders in Week 16

The Jets went into Miami last week with some optimism that they could pull off the upset against an injury-riddled team coming off a bad loss. However, things didn’t quite go to plan, and they were embarrassingly shut out in a 30-point blowout loss.

This week, in their final home game of the season, the Jets face a Washington Commanders team that has lost five games in a row, so they should be expecting a much more competitive game.

Here are the biggest stories to watch...

Can the Jets generate some offense against the league’s worst defense?

The Jets’ offensive struggles have been well-documented this year, but they have a chance to post one of their better performances of the season as they face the team that is dead last in the NFL for points and yardage allowed.

New York had 401 total yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, but otherwise hasn’t surpassed 400 yards in any game this season. The Commanders have given up more than 400 yards in four of their last five matchups.

With Zach Wilson still in concussion protocol, it will likely fall on Trevor Siemian to get the offense rolling. He had three turnovers in the second half of Sunday’s game, but Washington has failed to force one in four of their past five games.

How often will the pass rush get to Sam Howell?

Howell is the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL this season and, for much of the year, was on pace to threaten the all-time record. The Jets’ pass rushers may be looking forward to this game and a chance to pad their stats against a quarterback with a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long.

Howell was only sacked once in last Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, which was only the second time all year he was sacked fewer than three times. However, that’s partly because he was benched for Jacoby Brissett. Howell will be back in the starting lineup for this game, which should have the likes of Bryce Huff, Quinnen Williams and Jermaine Johnson licking their chops.

Can Mekhi Becton bounce back after a couple of rough games?

Becton had been one of the Jets’ most consistent linemen this year for most of the season, but he’s struggled in the past two games as he’s given up a handful of sacks, struggling to stay in front of Bradley Chubb and Jonathan Greenard.

The Commanders traded their two best pass rushers at the deadline, so the Jets should have more success protecting the quarterback this week as long as they can fix some of their communication issues up front.

With Becton a free agent at the end of the season, he can’t afford to end it on a downward trend, so he’ll look to dominate in Sunday’s game before facing the daunting task of blocking Myles Garrett in Week 17.

Will the Commanders be able to exploit the Jets’ lack of depth on the defensive interior?

The Jets placed Quinton Jefferson on injured reserve this week, putting an end to a solid season where he racked up a career-high six sacks in 14 games. Having already lost Al Woods, Tanzel Smart and Perrion Winfrey, the Jets are struggling to find bodies to fill out their rotation.

Solomon Thomas will presumably make his first start since 2020 alongside Williams on Sunday, with Jalyn Holmes having been signed to the active roster to back them up. Holmes had been elevated from the practice squad for the previous two games. The Jets will probably also need to elevate someone -- either Bruce Hector or Marquiss Spencer -- from their practice squad.

Washington is seventh in the league for yards per carry on the ground, so they’ll be hoping Brian Robinson and/or Antonio Gibson can get the ground game going. Robinson is dealing with a hamstring issue, though.

Will any young players get more opportunities now that the Jets have been eliminated?

The Jets are unlikely to go into full tank mode any time soon, but the fact that these last three games are essentially meaningless should give them more opportunities to try and get some reps for their younger players to give them a chance to prove they deserve to be considered as potential contributors for next season.

It would be good if they can get more offensive touches to players like RB Israel Abanikanda, TE Jeremy Ruckert, WR Xavier Gipson and WR Jason Brownlee rather than potentially wasting reps on players at these positions who likely won’t be back next season.

On defense, defensive end Will McDonald IV is the obvious player most fans would like to see more of, as the first-round pick has shown some encouraging flashes in a limited rotational role so far. John Franklin-Myers is dealing with an injury, which could help to free up some reps for McDonald. Rookies Zaire Barnes and Jarrick Bernard-Converse would presumably benefit from some defensive reps as well.