Just 18 seconds remained when Ryan Fitzpatrick found David Nelson in the end zone to give the Buffalo Bills a 38-35 victory against the Oakland Raiders, who had previously been leading 21-3 at half time. While the Raiders managed to blow away a convincing lead, the Jets had no such problem, as they obliterated the Jaguars in a 32-3 blowout, in which they dominated on both sides of the ball from start to finish.
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So the Jets should have no problem in this one, right?
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Wrong. There are some key aspects of either side to figure into this game, and some of them look mighty appealing if you’re wearing the black and silver.
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1) Under Pressure – Kamerion Wimbley vs. Mark Sanchez
It seems unlikely that the focus of pass rush for a team running a 4-3 defensive scheme would come from one of its outside linebackers, but Kamerion Wimbley has started off the season in style. After just two games, Wimbley has achieved an +11.8 grade including a +8.0 pass rushing grade. To put that in perspective, these figures lead both 4-3 and 3-4 outside linebackers league-wide. In terms of cold hard facts, Wimbley has managed an incredible 10 pressure this season, and although he has yet to record a sack, he is making the kinds of plays he rarely produced back in his 3-4 days with the Cleveland Browns.
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Wimbley’s lack of sacks could very well change when he takes to the field against the Jets, who have a combined -4.8 grade when it comes to pass protection. Oakland’s defensive coordinator, Chuck Bresnahan, will surely look to match Wimbley up against Jets right tackle Wayne Hunter, who has struggled badly in pass blocking so far, amassing a -6.3 grade in this respect (he has given up nine pressures in two games). It’s also interesting to see what happens to Mark Sanchez’s numbers when he was under pressure, as his accuracy has dropped to just 50% (27th amongst all quarterbacks) and his grade is -3.0.
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2) Darren McFadden vs. Jets Run-Defense
The Jets have established a reputation as being a difficult team to move the ball against while under the leadership of Rex Ryan. The secondary gets most of the credit – Darrelle Revis drawing most of it – but the run defense has proven to be equally as tough. In 2009, the Jets ranked second against the run with a cumulative PFF grade of +97.1; they improved on this in 2010, by taking the top spot with a +104.6 rating. The key players in this elite unit are Bart Scott (+27.5 2010 grade against the run), Mike Devito (+21.4) and Sione Pouha (+19.0), and it will be up to them to try and stop Darren McFadden.
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With 222 yards already this season, McFadden has proven himself to be an elusive and exciting running back. More importantly however, is the fact that McFadden has proven to the public that his 2010 season was not a fluke, and it will be interesting to see how well he will do against one of the league’s premier defenses.
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3) Missing Mangold
It’s difficult to put into words just how important Nick Mangold is to the Jets’ offense. Between 2008 and 2010, Mangold garnered a monumental +49.9 grade and allowed just 17 pressures on the quarterback – a single pressure every three games. To put this into some perspective, the next best graded center, Matt Birk (+38.4 over the same period), had allowed 27 pressures all of last year. The real problem that the Jets are faced with, is that Mangold’s backup, Colin Baxter, is a 24-year-old undrafted free agent who prior to last Sunday, hadn’t played a single snap in the NFL. Moreover, after replacing Mangold early in the game, he went on have a rather poor debut which is reflected by his -5.0 grade. There will be few better chances for the Raiders to take control over the Jets offensive line and dominate in the trenches than this weekend and it will be interesting to see if Baxter will step up and rise to the occasion.
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