5 Bold Predictions for New York Jets' Week 6 Matchup
The offensively inept New York Jets began the 2014 NFL season with legitimate playoff aspirations but now face the daunting reality of potentially plummeting out of contention less than two full months after the conclusion of training camp.
The Jets are a flat-out bad football team.
They flaunt minimal depth across the 53-man roster while boasting a severe lack of playmaking talent on offense and a secondary that melts faster than butter on toast.
Things don't figure to get any better for Gang Green in the coming weeks. For the fourth time in five games, the Jets will oppose a quarterback who sustains a passer rating of 94.9 or better.
The Denver Broncos pose a season-defining challenge for the Jets. While it seems as though New York doesn't stand a chance on paper, a momentous upset could severely alter the course of the Jets' season in a very good way. This is the first time during the Rex Ryan era that New York has dropped four of its first five games. Peyton Manning and Co. will look to make that five-of-six in their return to MetLife Stadium.
For Ryan's Jets to improve to 3-1 all-time against a Manning-led team (including playoffs) on Sunday, they essentially need to be perfect. A single costly turnover will evaporate any chance the Jets have at contending in a contest that could conceivably be out of reach by the end of the first quarter. The Jets haven't played a turnover-free game since Week 17 of last season and will be hard-pressed to end an ugly streak of mistake-filled losses against the Broncos.
The following slideshow examines five bold predictions for the Jets' Week 6 matchup against Denver.
5. Jets Fail to Record 100 Rushing Yards
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Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg has dialed up a pass-heavy game plan throughout the first five games of the season. Jets quarterbacks have combined to throw at least 31 passes in each of the last four games (all losses), which is a product of frequently falling behind early.
The Jets have scored first in three of their five games this season but twice settled for field goals. That's a trend that likely won't change on Sunday. This is a team that simply struggles to find pay dirt. It won't get any easier to cross the goal line against a defense that ranks seventh in stopping the run, allowing just 88.3 rushing yards per game.
The Jets' offseason acquisition of former 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson was seemingly a vital additive to an already successful run game, but it hasn't panned out that way. Mornhinweg has misused the Jets' shiny new toy, frequently calling his number between the tackles. At 195 pounds with nearly 1,800 carries to his name during a seven-year career, Johnson isn't the type of back who can plow through the trenches.
Mornhinweg has also seemingly forgotten about Bilal Powell, who averaged a solid 4.0 yards per attempt on a career-high 176 carries in 2013 but has received just nine rushing attempts in five games this season. The Jets also haven't utilized Chris Ivory as much as they should have to date. Ivory is averaging 5.4 yards per carry but is receiving just 11.8 rushing attempts per game.
The combination of a continuously misused trio of running backs and a stout Denver run defense will prevent the Jets from recording 100 rushing yards for back-to-back weeks.
4. Geno Smith Throws Three Interceptions
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The wheels are coming off for second-year starter Geno Smith, who currently leads the NFL with six interceptions. Smith flashed some signs of progress at the season's start courtesy of No. 1 wideout Eric Decker, who racked up 137 receiving yards and one touchdown on nine receptions through the first two games of the season.
Decker's nagging hamstring injury has had a profound impact on Smith, especially considering the glaring lack of competent receivers the Jets flaunt on offense. According to Darryl Slater of The Star-Ledger, Ryan expects Decker to play on Sunday, but it remains unclear how effective the former Broncos wideout will be.
It's fair to state that some of Smith's struggles can be attributed to his supporting cast, but the fact remains that he doesn't appear capable of sustaining consistent success at the pro level. After being relegated to the bench after a laughable performance against the Chargers in Week 5, Smith has reportedly begun to lose the respect of teammates, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News.
The so-called Smith era could be coming to a crashing end in New York. His supposed lack of leadership will lead to yet another disastrous performance against the Broncos on Sunday, when his league lead in the turnover category (8) inflates to 11.
3. Jets Offensive Line Allows Five Sacks
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A severe lack of belief from teammates will lead to the biggest pounding of Smith's career on Sunday.
The Jets offensive line has been average at best throughout the 2014 season, ranking 21st overall according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). The unit has allowed eight sacks on Smith, contributing somewhat to his poor 69.3 passer rating, which ranks 32nd out of 33 qualifying quarterbacks.
To compare, the Chargers O-line has allowed the exact same number of sacks (8), yet Philip Rivers owns the best passer rating in the NFL (116.3). The Jets offensive front does deserve some of the blame for Smith's inefficiencies, though.
According to a tweet from Rich Cimini of ESPN New York, Smith has been under pressure on 31 percent of his dropbacks during his career, which ranks as the third-highest mark in the NFL.
As a unit, the Jets O-line ranks 32nd in penalties largely thanks to Brian Winters, who has struggled immensely in pass protection, and flag-prone veteran Willie Colon. The Jets rank 13th in pass protection and 20th in run-blocking.
The Broncos defense has recorded 11.0 sacks on the season to rank 11th in the league. Look for Denver to frequently pressure Smith on Sunday and force the second-year starter into committing multiple mistakes.
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2. Peyton Manning Accumulates 400 Passing Yards
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The Jets essentially have no chance of slowing down the Broncos offense in Week 6. The future Hall of Fame QB will be on his game this Sunday, shredding the Jets 30th-ranked secondary for over 400 yards in what will be an offensive clinic. Perhaps the Jets should take notes.
New York's Scotch-tape secondary is more frail than a dried-up rubber band and is completely incapable of preventing big play after big play. They've enabled opposing quarterbacks to collectively record an outrageous 107.5 passer rating while giving up 12 touchdown passes, the second-most in the league.
Opposing signal-callers are completing 64.4 percent of their pass attempts against the Jets, who have registered a league-worst one interception on the season. Manning has numerous deep threats at his disposal, making it nearly impossible for Gang Green to minimize the damage.
For the Jets to force the Broncos offense to stall, they need to put a ton of pressure on Manning in the pocket, which means Ryan will likely resort to the jailbreak blitz. The Jets' head coach simply doesn't have any other options considering how bad his defensive backfield is.
Manning is averaging 245 passing yards on 22 completions with 1.2 touchdowns against one interception in 11 career starts against the Jets. This game will be different, though. The Broncos have too much firepower on offense to be bothered by one of the league's worst secondaries.
1. Jets Fail to Score a Touchdown for Consecutive Games
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Failing to score touchdowns has been a staple in Ryan's regime with the Jets. They could be on the verge of recording back-to-back games without finding the end zone for the third time in Ryan's tumultuous head coaching stint.
The Jets appear bound for what could become their ugliest season since 2007 (4-12). Eight of the Jets' final 11 games are against teams with a record of .500 or better, potentially making four wins their ceiling. The combination of turmoil surrounding Smith and a multitude of roster-crippling injuries is a clear-cut formula for disaster.
Less than six weeks ago, the Jets figured to be concrete contenders for a wild-card berth given their revamped offense and stout front seven on defense. Now they're faced with the realistic possibility of falling to 1-5 on the season in front of what will be a grumpy home crowd.
Oh, how fast things change in the NFL.
Prediction: Denver Broncos 38, New York Jets 6
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