Jets Vs Browns Preview

After finally picking up their first win of the year last week against the Rams, the Jets travel home for the final home game of the season to take on QB Baker Mayfield and the soaring Cleveland Browns. Today could potentially be the start to a Jets' winning streak, and the first draft pick is also now at stake. 

Even though the Jets and Jaguars now have identical 1-13 records, the Jaguars own the tiebreaker based on that they have a weaker strength of schedule than the Jets did, so the Jets at the moment would recieve the number 2 pick in next year's draft. As a huge fan and writer myself, I never want to promote the Jets losing for higher draft stock, and no matter what game it is, you always play to win. It seems like some Jets fans were upset with the win because now that takes away chances of drafting Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, but look at the bright side, the Jets battled and were able to finish out a game and win against a legtimate contender in the NFC. This is encouraging for the road ahead, and should not be taken as a negative.

Coming into this week's matchup, a few injuries have occured and COVID protocol has forced a few players out of today's matchup. For the Jets, DT Quenin Williams played amazing last week, but suffered a concussion in the second half and reports have said that his season is done, so he will be out. LB's Harvey Langi and Jordan Jenkins have both been placed on IR along w S Ashtyn Davis, so it seems likely their seasons are done. Improving CB Javelin Guidry is doubtful today, so he is most likely out of this matchup as well. A big positive is that RB La'mical Perine is back off IR today, so he will be featured in the offense, but in limited capacity with Frank Gore and Ty Johnson picking up most of the carries. 

For the Browns, they are short of basically all of their starting WR's, as COVID tracing to their team had all of them considered as "close contact." These players are WR's Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and KhaDarel Hodge. This also included LB Jacob Phillips as well. They also are down OT Jedrick Willis Jr and OG Wyatt Teller too. As you can see, their offense is significantly diminished today.

Browns QB Baker Mayfield is a threat
in any matchup he plays in

For a preview of the Browns, it all starts offensively with their star QB Baker Mayfield. He is a competitor and can be super effective in any given moment. Whether it's with his legs or his arm, he is dynamic and definitely hard to stop. He also has a 2-0 record against the Jets in his career, so he has had success against the Green and White before. In the backfield, they feature a tough 1-2 punch with RB's Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. With the Browns being shorthanded today, I would highly anticipate Chubb and Hunt to run a lot, so the Jets must be ready for what the Browns running game throws at them today. 

The starting WR's today for the Browns are Marvin Hall, Ja'Marcus Bradley, and Derrick Willies. Bradley and Willies have not even played this season, and Willies hasn't caught a pass for the Browns since 2018. Hall is the only legitimate WR that has played at all this year, and he has just 17 catches all season (espn.com). The Browns do have strong TE targets to go to though, featuring both Austin Hooper and Harrison Bryant. Mayfield will definitely be looking for both of them as open targets today without his starting WR's available. 

Defensively, the Browns are a strong unit. Up front, they have four solid pass rushers, with DE's Myles Garett and Olivier Vernon and DT's Larry Ogunjobi and former Jet Sheldon Richardson. They are a pass rush heavy team and they stop the run well, so QB Sam Darnold will be under pressure for a majority of the matchup knowing how the Jets offensive line is. In the secondary, second year CB Denzel Ward and S Karl Joseph are two threats, and QB Sam Darnold must be willing to take risks and challenge both of them throughout the game. Overall, the Browns are typically a good team on both sides of the ball. 

In order for the Jets to win today's game, they must stop the run defensively, even without Quenin Williams available. If the Jets can hinder the Browns run game, it will force Baker Mayfield to have to throw more, and with limited options, this can make this a lot more difficult than normal. The Jets have to go right from where they left off defensively last week, making critical stops when needed, and giving the offense the opportunity to shine. Offensively, Sam Darnold must continue to play with confidence like he did last week, and continue to distribute the ball to all different offensive targets and be smart with the ball in certain situations when needed. They must also turn red zone opportunities into TD's, in order to execute on offensive drives. They did a good job of this last week, and hence they won the game because of it. No more settling for three points when there are scoring opportunities.

Before my prediction, we wanted to say from Jack Henry and myself, we hope all of you have had a happy holiday season and a happy New Year to come. Now for the prediction, even though my confidence level did rise with the Jets after last week's win, will they be able to translate this to two games in a row? The Browns being shorthanded big time on offense will definitely be a big boost to the Jets having an opportunity to win today. However, the Jets have struggled mightily all year, so it's hard for me to believe they'll make it two in a row. I believe it will be a competitive game, but lower scoring. I got the Browns winning this one 17-14.

Jets QB Sam Darnold played well in last week's win,
going 22/31 for 207 yards and a TD pass
and no INT's (Profootballreference.com)

-Miles Chamberlain