NFL Picks Week 15: 6 Keys to New York Jets' Victory over Philadelphia Eagles

This week’s matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles has many playoff implications for the New York Jets. 

The Jets are only one game up on the Bengals, Titans and Raiders for the last wild-card spot, and all three teams own tiebreakers against them.  The Jets have to treat these last three games of the season as must-wins in order to clinch their spot in the playoffs for the third straight year and keep alive hopes of finally reaching the Super Bowl. 

These six keys to the Jets' matchup against the Eagles this week will determine if the Jets keep their winning streak alive or if they get bumped out of the last wild-card spot.

Trent Cole and Jason Babin vs. Wayne Hunter and D'Brickashaw Ferguson

The Jets pass protection this year has been spotty, at best, and this week they go against one of the best defensive end tandems in the NFL in Babin and Cole. 

Ferguson and Hunter will have their toughest test of the year against this Eagles pass rush. Last week against the Dolphins, Babin and Cole combined for six sacks and one forced fumble in their win.  If Ferguson and Hunter can manage to keep the pass rush at bay and give Mark Sanchez time in the pocket, they will have a good chance of putting up points on this Eagles defense.

But if Babin and Cole can get to Sanchez early and often, the Eagles defense can have another outstanding game.

Shonn Greene

In the last two weeks, Shonn Greene has had his best two games of the season‚—rushing for over 100 yards against the Chiefs and scoring three TDs against the Redskins. 

If the Jets hope to win this game, they will need another breakout performance from Greene.  Luckily for them, the biggest weakness of the Eagles defense is its inability to stop the run: It allows over 115 yards per game on the ground.  The Eagles linebackers are small and inexperienced, and they have had a lot of trouble against good offensive lines. 

If Nick Mangold and company can open up holes for Greene—and he can get over 100 yards on the ground—the Jets will be able to keep the explosive Eagles offense off of the field and will take pressure off Mark Sanchez. 

DeSean Jackson

Easily one of the most controversial players on the Eagles roster, Jackson is also one of the most dynamic scoring threats in the NFL.  He has the ability to swing the momentum of a game and change the outcome with one play. 

He is small, quick, cocky and emotional, but Jackson has the ability to beat any cornerback in the NFL. 

As Rex Ryan said this week, according to Sports Illustrated, “We will have our track shoes on.”

The Jets better have them on to try and slow down Jackson. 

Whether they stick Darelle Revis or Antonio Cromartie on Jackson, they will also need help over the top from their safety, because Jackson can beat a cornerback with his speed alone.  If the Jets can get Jackson off of his game and maybe even get in his head a little, their chances of beating the Eagles will exponentially increase.

Michael Vick

Coming off of a rib injury, Mike Vick had a good game against the Dolphins last week and hopes to keep momentum rolling against the Jets this week. 

He will be facing a much better defense in the Jets, and I am sure Rex Ryan has something up his sleeve to try and stop this dynamic threat.  The Jets showed weakness in stopping a dual threat quarterback in their loss to Tim Tebow, and Mike Vick is quicker, more experienced and a much better thrower than Tebow. 

Vick does make bad decisions and has a tendency to get hurt while running, so the Jets will need to capitalize on any miscue Vick may have.  I was at Fed Ex field last year when Mike Vick made it look like he was playing a pee-wee team against the Redskins.

I know all too well that he has the capability of doing that against any team in the NFL, even the Jets.

Jets Special Teams

Like I said before, when DeSean Jackson is on his game, he can win the contest in more ways than one, and punt returning is on top of his list. (See last year’s Giants when he single-handedly put them out of the playoffs with one play.) 

Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff said this week that he is not scared of Jackson and he will punt him the ball.  Hopefully Westhoff has a perfect game plan and his players execute that plan to a tee.

If they don’t, there will be points on the board from these returns.

Mark Sanchez

Sanchez has played surprisingly well the last couple of weeks.  He has good pass protection, an excellent running game and he has hit open receivers. 

This week, Sanchez goes against three of the best corners in the NFL: Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.  What the Jets need to worry about here is falling behind early. 

If the Eagles jump out to a 14-0 lead and the Jets get away from their run game, if Trent Cole and Jason Babin can pin their ears back and go after Sanchez and if he is forced to throw the ball at those corners, the game could get ugly very quickly. 

However, if Sanchez can carry the pressure of playing from behind and lead the team to victory instead of handing the ball off and managing the game, it will instill a lot of confidence in the coaching staff, the media and the fanbase. 

Watch out Jets fans, this could be the turning point in Mark Sanchez’s young career when he finally takes that step to the next level.