Jets dial up the rushing attack in win over Jaguars
The Jets secured their fourth win of the season over the Jaguars, 26-21, as they were depleted with COVID-19 as head coach Robert Saleh watched from home as he recovered from the illness.
The Jets were without key players like Quinnen Williams, John Franklin-Myers, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Foley Fatukasi, Michael Carter II, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Ashytn Davis.
But they found a way to win and that’s all that matters for one of the youngest teams in the NFL. Some Jets fans are a little disappointed because it might prevent them from getting into a chance to draft blue chip defensive ends in Oregon stud Kayvon Thibodeaux or Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Aidan Hutchinson from Michigan.
My only rebuttal to that is, missing out on those players won’t really matter if Zach Wilson turns into a franchise quarterback. It’s all about finding the quarterback. Folks mention missing out on Nick Bosa in the 2019 NFL draft. At the end of the day, the Jets still had Sam Darnold. So Bosa wouldn’t have changed the trajectory of the franchise.
But here are three takeaways from the Jets versus Jaguars duel.
RUN BABY RUN
The Jets were without their stop three receivers in Jamison Crowder, Corey Davis and Elijah Moore. The remainder of the corps was Braxton Berrios, Keelan Cole and Denzel Mims.
So Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur dialed up the rushing attack as they ran for 273 yards on 36 carries. That’s the most rushing yards in a single game by a team in the 2021 season.
Michael Carter led the way with 118 yards and Wilson racked up 91 and a rushing touchdown. Tevin Coleman added 57 yards.
The Jets accomplished this without two starting offensive lineman in Vera-Tucker, Duvernay-Tardif and Connor McGovern, who suffered a knee injury during the game. Carter placed the credit on the offensive line for the outstanding rushing performance.
“They were moving people out the way,” Carter said. “between the offensive line and receivers blocking we didn’t really have to do all that much, we just had to make our guys miss at the second level.”
PUT BERRIOS IN THE PRO BOWL
Berrios was selected as a Pro Bowl alternative when the voting was finalized. He came into the game averaging 30.7 yards per kickoff return. There were always moments when he almost took one to the house.
Then against the Jaguars, Berrios finally did it as he ran a 102-yard kickoff to the house.
“It felt great to finally finish one this season, obviously,” Berrios said. “We had a scheme going, and the 10 guys, I mean I think we pretty much ran it to perfection – (I had the) kicker to beat, and once we beat him, we were out of the gate.”
Berrios also led the Jets in receiving with five catches for 37 yards. Good day for Berrios, now get him in the Pro Bowl NFL.
WILSON’S INTERCEPTION FREE STREAK
Wilson came into Sunday going 81 passes without an interception and extended that to 103. There were a few close calls, though.
That shows growth from a rookie QB, who tossed 10 in his first seven starts. His decision making has improved over the past few weeks and isn’t forcing as many throws into windows that will cause trouble.
Wilson did almost get in trouble when he threw a deep ball to Mims in the first quarter against cover-two. Jaguars safety Andre Cisco jumped in front of the pass but couldn’t corral it as he fell to the ground.
There were two other potential interceptions but those were unlucky plays versus Wilson making a poor throw.
