Following Monday’s disastrous performance against the New England Patriots, all eyes will be on QB Sam Darnold when the Jets take on the Jaguars (3-4) this Sunday. Will we see the Darnold that tortured the Cowboys two weeks ago or the ghost seeing Darnold who threw four interceptions against the Pats?
Once again the shaky Jets’ offensive line will have their hands full against one of the best pass rushing units in the NFL. Jacksonville has 21 sacks this season (4th in the league), while the Gang Green’s struggling line has allowed 26 sacks (31st in the league). Jags rookie DE Josh Allen recorded a sack in the last three games and has five sacks this season.
The Jets’ offense is still dead last in the league, averaging measly 209 yards per game. The Jags’ offensive unit, led by rookie QB Gardner Minshew, is 9th in the league (378.4 yards per game). Minshew has completed over 60% of his passes, 10 TD and 2 INT. He’s been sacked 16 times. The Jets, on the other hand, have only 7 sacks this season (30th in the NFL).
Historically, the Jags are leading the all-time regular season series between the teams, 7-6. Last year Jacksonville easily defeated the Jets, 32-12. It was Sam Darnold’s fourth career game and he did reasonably well, completing 17 of 34, 167 yards, 1 TD. Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles torched Todd Bowles’ defense for 388 yards, 2 TDs.
This time the Jags are favored by 6.5 points. The odds on the Jets are pretty much where they were before the Cowboys game. Various NFL betting sites and news outlets only rate the Bengals and the Dolphins lower than Adam Gase’s team in the AFC. Although for some reason it’s now possible to bet on the Jets winning the division (+30,000).
Defensively the Jets have been playing pretty well, allowing 352.2 yards per game (14th in the NFL). Run defense is one of the best in the league, as they have allowed only 3.2 yards per carry (2nd in the NFL). This presents an interesting matchup against the Jags running offense ranked 5th best in the league (140.1 yards per game).
Interesting Jets vs. Jaguars facts:
- No Jets quarterback ever passed for over 300 yards in a game against the Jaguars. Boomer Esiason came very close in 1995 when he threw for 296 yards.
- Bilal Powell holds the Gang Green’s single game rushing record against Jacksonville. He ran for 163 yards on 21 carries in 2017.
- Wayne Chrebet holds the single game receptions record against the Jags. He caught 12 passes for 162 yards in 1996.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick is the last Jets quarterback who had a QB rating of over 100 against the Jaguars. He went 21 of 34, 2 TD, 0 INT, 106.5 QB rating against Jacksonville in 2015.
- Dustin Keller is the last Jets who had over 100 receiving yards in a game against the Jaguars. He caught 6 passes for 101 yards, 1 TD in 2011.