WATCH: 3 keys to a New York Jets victory in Week 2
The New York Jets will face the Cleveland Browns at home in Week 2 and will be looking to rebound from last weekend’s agonizing loss to the Buffalo Bills. The Browns are coming off a Week 1 43-13 drubbing at the hands of the Tennessee Titans, but Cleveland is a lot more talented than that scoreline would indicate.
On paper, the Browns are one of the most complete teams in football and once everything starts to click for them, they’ll be very hard to stop in all three phases of the game; especially since the Jets will be without quarterback Sam Darnold and stud middle linebacker C.J. Mosley this Monday.
Both teams will be hungry for a win in this one and if Gang Green wants to end the night in the win column, they’ll need to do the following.
Offense: Lean on the run as much as possible
Gang Green will be at a severe disadvantage Monday night now that, with Sam Darnold out indefinitely, they’re pinning their hopes on backup quarterback Trevor Siemian for the time being.
The Northwestern product has enough starting experience (25 career starts) under his belt to give the Jets a fighting chance against Cleveland, but he isn’t the kind of player that can win games on his arm alone.
However, he’s seen a considerable amount of success when he’s had a strong running game to lean on.
Siemian has just 13 career wins, but 11 of them have come when his backfield has given him at least 80 yards rushing of support. That being said, a strong ground game will be vital to New York’s success.
Running the ball effectively should keep Siemian out of third-and-long situations and allow the Jets to win the time of possession battle, which should keep Cleveland’s explosive offense off the field long enough to limit any impact it may have.
Defense: Dial up the blitz
The Browns have one of the most explosive offenses in the league - on paper, anyway - and quarterback Baker Mayfield could be in for a huge day against New York’s suspect secondary if they don’t put together the right defensive game plan. If they want to limit Mayfield’s impact, Gang Green may need to take a play from the playbook of the Titans.
Literally.
The Titans dialed up the blitz often against Mayfield last Sunday and putting pressure on the sophomore signal-caller was a huge reason why they won in such a dominant fashion.
Tennessee blitzed Mayfield on 10 of his 38 drop backs (26.3 percent) in Week 1 to great effect, notching four sacks and five quarterback hurries while forcing Cleveland’s QB into bad throws 15.8 percent of his attempts (including three interceptions) on the afternoon.
Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams showed us in Week 1 that he isn’t afraid to bring the heat (17 blitzes on 37 pass attempts) and he needs to have the same mentality Monday night.
As long as Williams gets creative with his blitzes, the defense should disrupt Mayfield’s rhythm just enough stunt Cleveland’s passing game and compensate for his unit’s suspect secondary.
Player Spotlight: Contain Myles Garrett
You can make a pretty good case for mentioning any one of their dynamic offensive players here in this section, but the Browns’ X-factor in this matchup plays on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive end Myles Garrett was living in Tennessee’s backfield in Week 1, notching two sacks (T-No. 4 in NFL), two tackles for loss (T-No. 3 in NFL) and two quarterback hits on the afternoon.
A 2018 Pro Bowler, Garrett can change a game on any given snap and when you take into account their struggles in pass protection against Buffalo in Week 1 (four sacks allowed), Gang Green’s offensive line will have quite the task ahead of them.
Double-teaming Garrett throughout the evening may be the best way to limit the impact he can have, but the offensive line will need to be in complete sync in order to make it happen. Otherwise, the 23-year-old may end up dominating New York’s backfield on Monday.
