Three Things to Watch From the Jets in Week 11
All of a sudden, the New York Jets have a little momentum, something they will look to carry into Sunday’s game at Washington.
And while the Jets (2-7) haven’t had a great year, there’s a chance for them to build on last week’s 34-27 win over the New York Giants. And Washington (1-8) seems to raising the white flag on their season, making this a game where the Jets need to come out an impose their will.
Three Things to Watch from the Jets in Week 11:
1. Beware of Peterson – Adrian Peterson may be 34-years old, downright ancient for an NFL running back, but he is nonetheless productive and still a game-changer. Two weeks ago in a loss at the Buffalo Bills, Peterson had 18 carries for 108 yards.
In Washington’s last four games, he is averaging just under 96 rushing yards per game. That is certainly no small task for the Jets.
One encouraging stat from his last month of games: Peterson didn’t rush for a touchdown during that stretch. In fact, he hasn’t found the endzone since Week 2.
Also encouraging is that Peterson has done most of his damage on the road. In four home games, he’s averaging just a clip over 40 rushing yards per game.
2. Collins Proves His Worth – One of the few bright spots this year for Washington comes from safety Landon Collins, who is setting the pace for his new team with 52 tackles.
The former All-Pro safety left the Giants this offseason for a six-year, $84 million contract that included $44.5 million in guarantees. Collins has backed that contract up with impressive play in a statistically strong season.
Last week against the Giants, it was a solid performance from Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who didn’t have a single turnover in the win. If the Jets are to start a winning streak on Sunday, then Darnold would be wise to throw efficiently and avoid giving Collins a shot at his first interception of the year.
3. Same Intensity – A week ago, the Jets were a joke and fans were protesting head coach Adam Gase. This week, there’s a bit of a buzz about the team and a sense that the Jets could have turned a corner.
Against a Washington team that is terrible, the Jets need to guard against over-confidence. They also need to show up and play like they did last Sunday in a game where they seemed fueled by the doubters. A win on Sunday against a team they should beat would go a long way towards erasing the memories of their loss two weeks ago at the Miami Dolphins.
