Jets Look For Upset of the Season Against Ravens

The Jets, on the other hand, have won four out of their last five and are looking to start another winning streak of their own. The only issue is the Jets have five wins, and none of them have come against teams with a winning record. There is, however, one thing that the Jets do well that may help them in this game.

Jets Run D

The Ravens top the league in rushing yards per game, and it is not even close. They are averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground, and the team in second averages less than 150. The one thing the Jets consistently do well is stop the run. They are second in the league allowing only 79 rushing yards per game.

In order to stay in this game at all, the Jets NEED to slow down Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram. Lamar has already eclipsed 1,000 yards, and Ingram is on pace to over the next two weeks. This is a two-headed monster that the league has never seen before. Nobody has been able to stop them this year, and Greg Williams will need his best game plan yet to make it happen.

Stopping the designed runs will not be as difficult as stopping Jackson from scrambling. Ryan Fitzpatrick had a field day scrambling against the Jets this past week. On seven scrambles, Fitzpatrick rushed for 65 yards. That is going to be a problem on Sunday unless the Jets can figure something out to contain Jackson.

Jets Ground Game

With the addition of LeVeon Bell, the Jets were supposed to have a great rushing attack. That has not panned out at all this year! The Jets are ranked 31st in the league in rush yards per game at 75.6. They are tied for dead last at a tad over three yards per carry. This stat should tell you everything you need to know about the state of the Jets run game.

Bilal Powell rushed for 74 yards this week, the most by a Jets running back in a game this year. 

The rushing game has been awful this year, and the Jets will need it more than ever this week against the Ravens. The Ravens are only surrendering 95 rush yards per game, but they are allowing over four yards per carry on the season. Their run defense has not been great, but by blowing teams out, they have not had to stop the run very much this year.

Powell left the Dolphins game early, but whoever is in the backfield needs to see plenty of work. Darnold throwing the ball 35-40 times WILL NOT work against this Ravens secondary. Whether it is LeVeon, Powell, or Montgomery, the Jets need to run the ball 30-40 times. Dominating on the ground is the only way they can stay in this game. 

Simply put, if you try to get in a shootout with the Ravens, you will lose. 

Lamar Jackson’s Arm

My first point of emphasis in this article is that the Jets need to stop the run. Now doing that does not guarantee anything because Lamar can still do plenty of damage with his arm. He loves using his tight ends, but Jackson may be missing his favorite one. Mark Andrews has not practiced since the start of the week, and his status for Thursday’s game is unknown. If he does miss time, Hayden Hurts would likely step into a full-time role.

Either way, the Jets have been very good at stopping opposing tight ends this year. This is in large part due to the great safety play they have received from Adams and Maye. Jamal has not practiced this week, so it remains to be seen if he will suit up. If he doesn’t, the Jets may be in a world of trouble.

Not only do the safeties have to worry about the tight ends underneath and up the seams. They also must worry about the speed of one Hollywood Brown. He can run right past any corner in the NFL, and he has done so a few times this year. He has six touchdowns on the year, and Blessaun Austin is going to have his hands full on Sunday.

Final Word​

Sam Darnold, right now, is not built to throw the ball over 35 times per game, especially not against this secondary. The Ravens secondary contains the likes of Earl Thomas and Marcus Peters, and it will be a long day for the Jets if they get down early.

Getting the ground game going and keeping it going all game is the key. They cannot let off the gas, and it is the only way that this upset becomes possible.

Either way, I don’t think it will happen, but there is only one recipe for a miracle.

Ravens 37 Jets 16

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