Game Preview – PHI at NYJ

Posted: October 13th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The Jets have:

• Elite CB
• Elite DT
• Explosive RB
• Outstanding LBs
• Star WR
• Good pass rushers

They are dead last in the NFL in passing yards.

They can’t block anyone.

Somehow the defense isn’t as good as it should be.

Talented, but flawed.

The Jets are 2-3. In the two wins, they ran for at least 173 yards, forced at least 3 turnovers and had a return TD. That formula works for everyone. The problem is that you can’t count on a great rushing performance, multiple takeaways and non-offensive TDs.

In three losses, the Jets averaged 13 points a game and struggled to move the ball.

When the Jets have the ball, the interesting matchup will be RB Breece Hall against the Eagles top-ranked run defense. Kyren Williams went 13-53 last week and that’s the best any RB has done against the Eagles this year. Hall has two games with 100+ rushing yards. He went for a total of 83 yards in the other games.

Watch that clip and you can see that run is more about bad defense than great offense. Still, Hall did explode up the field and take full advantage of the room to run. He can absolutely fly. I would be shocked to see him have holes like that against the Eagles.

Jalen Carter is out this week and that will hurt, but Fletcher Cox returns and Jordan Davis will be clogging the middle as usual. If the Eagles shut down the run game, all the pressure is on Wilson and the passing attack. Not good news for the New Yorkers. Wilson has a passer rating of 73.4 and has only thrown for more than 200 yards in one game.

Wilson isn’t a good QB, but he also has a porous OL in front of him. The Jets have multiple backups playing. Even with the Eagles missing Carter, this is a game where they should get regular pressure. Haason Reddick will go against the backup RT. This could be another week for him to add to his sack total.

Darius Slay and Justin Evans will miss the game so the Eagles could be vulnerable on the back end. That makes it all the more important for the pass rushers to get to Wilson and force him to get the ball out quickly. We’ll see if the Eagles go with Sydney Brown or Terrell Edmunds at safety. Brown isn’t 100 percent, but he’s more athletic and more talented than Edmunds.

The Jets had a top 4 defense last year in yards and points. Expectations were sky high for that group. They are 14th in points allowed and 22nd in yards allowed. They are especially vulnerable to the run, giving up at least 134 yards in each of the last four games. You can bet the Eagles will try to run on this team. You want to pound on their front and not let them get after the QB.

Sauce Gardner was sick late in the week, but he’s expected to play. Fellow CB DJ Reed will miss the game due to a concussion. If the Jets put Gardner on AJ Brown, this could be a week where DeVonta has a big showing. He should be able to eat up their backup corners.

The Jets will have a tough choice in whether they focus on the run or coverage.

DT Quinnen Williams is the one guy up front who can wreck games. I’m sure the Jets will try to have him go against Sua Opeta as much as possible, but Opeta and the OL shut down Aaron Donald last week so they have a good idea of what they’re doing.

The Eagles will be focused on red zone offense, after getting off to a slow start. The Jets are #3 in the league in red zone defense so this will be a tough test for the Birds.

That seems like a noteworthy difference. Let’s see if they try feeding Swift in the red zone and how that works. The Jets struggle for every point so scoring TDs instead of FGs makes it all the more difficult for them to keep up.

I am curious to see how the Eagles coaches approach this game. Will Brian Johnson prefer to run on them or attack the banged up secondary? Will Sean Desai blitz Zach Wilson and try to overwhelm him or let his DL do their thing?

The Eagles are the better team and should win this game. The Jets are dangerous because they can make plays on defense and then have weapons in Hall and Garrett Wilson on offense. If the Jets don’t come up with big plays, I think they will really struggle in this game.

*****

This is so dumb it actually made me laugh.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/10/game-preview-phi-nyj/