New York Jets Week 15 Stock Report

The New York Jets are trying their hand at becoming the cliche New York football team that gets hot at the right time and makes a run to the Super Bowl.

There are still three weeks remaining in the season, but after a 30-8 victory over the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, the Jets are 8-5, currently holding one of the two wild-card spots and looking as good as they've looked at any point this season. Of course, they will probably face much stiffer tests if they make it to the postseason than the test they faced against the Titans last week.

That being said, the Jets are playing the kind of complementary football that makes them so tough to stop. When the running game keeps the chains moving, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick protects the football and the defense plays aggressive, the Jets can play with just about any team in the NFL. That's how the Jets played on Sunday.

Those are the kinds of performances where it's difficult to find the negatives, but here's a crack at some ups and downs from Sunday's win.

Stock Up: Eric Decker

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Eric Decker is having a better year as the No. 2 wide receiver in 2015 than he had as the No. 1 receiver in 2014.

So far this year, Decker has already put up 66 receptions for 875 yards and nine touchdowns, which is just eight receptions and 87 yards shy of the totals he put up in 2014. On Sunday, Decker had seven receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown, marking the fifth time in the past seven games that Decker caught a touchdown. 

Granted, some of his success might be because he has better quarterback play with Ryan Fitzpatrick than he had with Geno Smith last year, and he probably can also thank Brandon Marshall for drawing some of the coverage away from him in the passing game.

That being said, Decker has now been a successful No. 2 wide receiver in two different systems with two different quarterbacks and while playing different roles, as well. Decker has spent a significant amount of time in the slot this year, and with 44 receptions from the slot, he is tied for the sixth most in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

He has found a home in New York, where he is an integral part of the Jets offense.

Stock Down: James Carpenter

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

In such a resounding win, it's hard to find any glaring negatives to nitpick. If we had to pick one, though, it has to go to left guard James Carpenter.

The 6'4", 321-pound lineman allowed two quarterback hurries and one sack, the only sack allowed on Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday. He also finished with a minus-1.9 grade as a run-blocker, according to Pro Football Focus.

When the Jets offense has been successful, the offensive line has been a huge part of that success. It can run the ball well and protect the quarterback. It did those things well on Sunday, but it was not a perfect game for all five guys.

Stock Up: Chris Ivory

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

As mentioned in the previous slide, when the Jets offense is playing to its maximum potential, it's because it is running the ball effectively. For more than a month, the Jets were unable to do that. Thanks to a bounce-back game from Chris Ivory, the Jets' running game got right back on track.

Ivory finished Sunday with 22 carries for 101 yards on 4.6 yards per carry, bringing his season totals to 217 carries for 914 yards (4.2 YPC) and seven touchdowns, all of which (except the YPC) are career highs. Ivory was running with his usual bulldozing mentality, with an average of 2.4 yards after contact per rush attempt, according to Pro Football Focus.

Ivory's slump was due to a groin injury and some bad blocking by the offensive line. If he continues to run with this kind of confidence and this level of efficiency, and if the offensive line continues to move the defense off the ball, the Jets can get right back to the ground-and-pound mentality that defined their offense earlier this season.

Stock Down: Buster Skrine

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Once again, finding areas to criticize from the Jets' win over the Titans on Sunday is nitpicking, to say the least. The 30-8 victory is hard to be critical about.

That being said, one Titans player who had an effective game on Sunday was tight and Delanie Walker. Most of the damage was done against cornerback Buster Skrine. Walker was targeted six times and picked up four receptions for 54 yards into Skrine's coverage, according to Pro Football Focus.

The bull's-eye on Skrine has grown this season since he's playing alongside Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis. As a result, Skrine has been targeted more than just about any other cornerback in the league, with the 10th-fewest coverage snaps per target, the sixth-highest yards allowed per coverage snap and the fifth-lowest coverage snaps per reception.

Basically, Skrine is targeted more frequently, gives up more receptions per snap he plays in pass defense and allows more yards than most of the other cornerbacks in the NFL.

The Jets aren't going to lose games because Skrine gives up four to six receptions in a game. As long as those receptions aren't all 20-yard bombs, the Jets can live with a handful of dink-and-dunk receptions over the middle.

Stock Up: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Over the past three weeks, Ryan Fitzpatrick has proved that he can be the type of quarterback who carries an offense.

He has played nearly perfect football, with 79 completions on 123 pass attempts (64.2 percent) for 930 yards, nine touchdowns, no picks and a 111.5 passer rating. On Sunday against the Titans, Fitzpatrick was 21-of-36 (58.3 percent) for 263 yards, three touchdowns and a 108.9 passer rating.

As usual, most of the production went to Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, who combined for 13 receptions, 199 yards and two touchdowns. That being said, can you blame Fitzpatrick for getting the ball to his best playmakers? If anything, that is job description No. 1 for quarterbacks in the NFL.

Fitzpatrick has played marvelously over the past few weeks, and if he continues to do so, the Jets could easily be a dark-horse candidate for a deep playoff run.