As we all celebrate the commencement of 2023, The Jets find themselves in yet another pivotal matchup after having what some Jets fans called a "Christmas Miracle" receiving more and more help from teams competing for the final wild-card spot with them. This time, the Jets will travel to Seattle at Lumen Field as they will play against former Jets QB Geno Smith and the struggling Seattle Seahawks. Both these teams stand at 7-8, and have very similar positioning in the AFC and NFC respectively. The big news on the Jets side of things too is that QB Mike White has been cleared to return and it couldn't have come soon enough.
Once again, after watching Thursday Night Football, many Jets fans thought that would completely put their season to an end, but once again, they have been revived and are now back alive once again in the race for the final AFC wild card spot. As it stands now, two division foes stand in the way in the Miami Dolphins (who own the final wild card spot currently) and the New England Patriots (who own the tiebreaker with the Jets). The main matchup Jets fans should be focused on outside of the Jets-Seahawks game will be the Dolphins playing the Patriots in New England. In order now for the Jets now to punch their postseason ticket, they will need to win each of their final two games (At Seattle and At Miami) and will need the Patriots to lose one of their final two matchups (Home against Miami and At Buffalo). It is preferable that the Dolphins do beat the Patriots for Jets fans tomorrow, but the patriots winning wouldn't eliminate the Jets. The only way the Jets would be eliminated tomorrow is simply by losing.
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| The return of Jets QB Mike White will play a major factor for the Jets offense in today's game |
For the injury report this week, starting with the Seahawks, they have six players listed as questionable, two of them being starters with RB Kenneth Walker (ankle) and WR Tyler Lockett (hand). It would be safe to say that both Walker and Lockett play in what will be a pivotal game for Seattle as well. WR Marquise Goodwin is listed as doubtful as well with a shoulder and wrist injury so it's more than likely that he will not play tomorrow. For the Jets, WR Jeff Smith is out again tomorrow and placed on IR, which more than likely ends his season with the Jets unless they make a big playoff run. CB Brandin Echols is also out tomorrow as he continues to battle a quad injury. The three Jets listed as questionable tomorrow are DE Vinny Curry (elbow), OG Nate Herbig (ankle), and Safety Lamarcus Joyner (Hip), but again with the stakes in this game very high, It would be safe to assume that all three of these guys will play.
For today's team preview, the Seahawks come into this game having lost five of their last six games, so similarly to the Jets, December has not treated this team well. Even despite the struggles, Seahawks and former Jets QB Geno Smith has had a resurgence in his career, having thrown for 27 TDs to just 9 INTs. In the backfield, they also feature rookie RB Keneth Walker III who has had a big rookie year and has helped Seattle establish a solid run game to counter Geno Smith. At wideout, they feature two solid options in Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf, who will be a good challenge for Jets CBs "Sauce" Gardner and DJ Reed to cover. at TE, they have former Broncos TE Noah Fant, who is better around the goal line. Although they haven't played as well in recent weeks, they are more than capable of coming out of the gate strong and could give the Jets defense a difficult time.
On the defensive side of things, the Seahawks are weaker and struggle to stop many NFL offenses. They have individual good players, but aren't as strong as a unit. Up front, they have veteran pass rushers in Shelby Harris and Poona Ford. At LB, they feature Bruce Irvin, who has had multiple stints in his career in Seattle along with Jordyn Brooks. The secondary features one of the stars in this Seattle defense with CB Tariq Woolen, who already has 6 INTs this year and will be competing with "Sauce" Gardner for defensive rookie of the year. He will be a solid CB for time to come in Seattle. At Safety, Quandre Diggs leads the charge and through his years in Detroit, he has proven why he when healthy is a solid option in the secondary. Overall, this defense is inconsistent, which will provide Mike White and the Jets offense opportunities to strike.
In order for the Jets to take care of business and win today, they must be more efficient offensively and take advantage of using the run game more instead of going too pass heavy. With the return of Mike White today, I do have good confidence that that will be possible and the players will respond better to the fact. Defensively speaking, consistency is key, and the Jets defense bent but didn't break last week where they did give up some yards and plays, but held the Jaguars to just one TD and 4 FGs. Keeping this offense out of the endzone will be a key to victory today.
For today's pick, I do have faith that this will be a favorable matchup for the Jets, even despite being on the road in Seattle. With two struggling teams hanging on for their playoff lives, I do have confidence that the Jets will finally get back to their winning ways. I'll take the Jets in a tough and gritty win winning by a score of 20-17 and their playoff hopes will remain alive. Happy New Years Jets fans!!
-Miles Chamberlain
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| Former Jets QB Geno Smith has had what might be the best season of his NFL career and has been selected to this year's Pro Bowl |
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