For the first time this season, Gang Green hits the road to the Dawg Pound to take on The Browns. However, even though the Jets didn't play their best offensively last weekend, this will be an opportunity for them to bounce back against a Browns team without their starting QB in Deshaun Watson. Instead, they will see former Patriots, Colts, and Dolphins veteran QB Jacoby Brissett. He has had his struggles over the past few seasons and has filled in as a backup option for the teams he has played for, such as backing up Tom Brady in New England back in 2016 or backing up Tua Tagavailoa just last year in 2021 with the Dolphins. He now does the same in Cleveland, but one thing's for sure: Cleveland's rushing attack on offense will make or break this game for the Jets.
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| Jets Rookie WR Garrett Wilson has a chance to shine in this week 2 matchup with the Browns |
For today's injury report, The Jets are down a few numbers on the offensive side as anticipated. QB Zach Wilson did return to practice from his knee surgery this past Wednesday, and is on the road to returning, but is still out for the time being. Along with Wilson, TE CJ Uzomah picked up a hamstring pull during the week of practice and is now listed as doubtful coming into week 2. The fair assumption is he will not be playing today. Five different Jets are listed as questionable today. Those five are WR Braxton Berrios (Heel), OT George Fant (Knee), John Franklin Myers (Toe), S Jordan Whitehead (Ankle) and P Braden Mann (Back). It is safe to say they all will play today. For Cleveland, only 3 players were listed on the injury report.
For the team preview, the Cleveland Browns come off of a big 26-24 road win at Carolina against the Panthers courtesy of a game winning FG by rookie Cade York. In that game, they relied heavily on the defense and rushing attack to win, and it would be anticipated that until Deshaun Watson comes back into the lineup, they will continue to play this way.
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| The Browns offense relies heavily on RBs Nick Chubb (Left) and Kareem Hunt (Right) |
The two main offensive threats the Jets must keep an eye on are RBs Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, who both are quality options in the backfield. If the Jets' rush defense performance can be reciprocated from last week against the Ravens, it will force a run heavy Cleveland offense to rely on the pass game downfield, which isn't their strong suit. The main receiving targets to keep an eye on for the Browns would be WR Amari Cooper and TE David Njoku. Jets and CBS reporter Bart Scott put it best on Jets Gameday today when he said that the LBs have to continue to "pinch in" defensively, and he included such names as Kwon Alexander and CJ Mosley in this comment. If the Jets LBs pinch in defensively, that forces the secondary players to cover outside and force the Browns to run up the middle and into traffic, which will play to the Jets' defensive strengths.
For the Browns' defense, similarly to the Jets, play strong, particularly up front. With star pass rushers in Myles Garrett and Jadaveon Clowney, the Jets MUST block for an immobile QB in Joe Flacco. We saw what had happened last week, and this problem needs to be avoided today. According to CBS Sports, in 4 matchups against the Jets, Garrett has had 8 sacks, so it is safe to say he has a knack for beating the Jets' offensive line up front. CB Denzel Ward has established a big role in the Cleveland defense as well during his time in the Dawg Pound. He could potentially match up with Jets WR Elijah Moore, so that should be a very interesting matchup to see. The Jets must challenge Ward in the secondary and find openings for WR Corey Davis and rookie WR Garrett Wilson in the Browns' defense.
For the Jets to win this week, the continued effort from the defense needs to be there, and CBs DJ Reed and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner played big roles last week allowing only 8 yards on 6 targets combined. Forcing the Browns away from the ground game could play a major difference today as well. Offensively speaking, the Jets must take chances downfield and not play so conservatively. QB Joe Flacco already is on thin ice coming into this week, after throwing 59 times in last week's loss, which is simply too much and needs to be cut down and more balanced this week. Utilize a one-two punch in the backfield with Jets RBs Michael Carter and rookie Breece Hall and balance the pass-to-run ratio better. This game is definitely within sites for the Jets today.
For the prediction today, after a rough week 1 loss for the Jets, they will have more of an opportunity to continue off of last week's positives, and try to put the winning pieces together. Do I believe that will happen all this week? Yes, the offensive adjustments will be made, and the defense will continue to grow this week and force a one-dimensional Cleveland offense to use an element they are not as strong in. This game, however, will be low scoring, and I think the Jets will find a way to sneak a win out in the Dawg Pound. I will take the Jets to win in a low scoring 13-10 win.
-Miles T. Chamberlain
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