Oh, and they’d like a win while they’re at it…hopefully Santa Claus had a few gifts left over this holiday season.
The offense, led by banged-up (shoulder) quarterback Mark Sanchez, has done well against tough opposition the last two weeks (Chicago and Pittsburgh) and Sanchez is a major reason why. His completion percentage on the season (54.8 percent) only ranks third-to-last among qualifiers, but he’s completed better than 65 percent in the last two contests.
Coach Rex Ryan seemed to say on Wednesday that he doesn’t want to mess up his recent momentum in spite of his sore shoulder. “He has a good thing going right now and he’s comfortable,” Ryan said.
By Thursday the decision was made, “I saw him throw today. He looked good. We’ll go ahead and start Mark this game. How long he plays, we’ll determine that as the game goes,” Ryan said.
Could there be others they’ll hold back in terms of playing time as well? “That’s could be a possibility. We’ll see how we feel,” Ryan said, leaving all his options open.
Those who won’t be playing will be safety James Ihedigbo (knee/ankle) and tackle Damien Woody (knee). Woody’s replacement, Wayne Hunter, has played well in the last two games.
Meanwhile Ihedigbo’s absence has made the defense adjust personnel yet again as Dwight Lowery has stepped in. Ryan seems to like Lowery but admits he needs reps, “We’re throwing him in that position. He played like a young safety would. He’s got skills.”
Another personnel change made to the defense was moving rookie defensive back (and UFL Defensive MVP) Isaiah Trufant to the active roster, “We want to see the kid play. Could he help us in the playoffs? That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
The defense could definitely use any kind of help as they have allowed an average of 27.5 points a game in the four games since safety Jim Leonhard was lost for the season. Prior to Leonhard’s injury, they gave up just 17 per game.
But Ryan thinks the mistakes are correctable, “The answer is on tape. It starts with your pad level and then knocking the line of scrimmage back and coming off blocks, not just walking off blocks. That’s been our focus this week.”
Playoff Scenario
What the Jets are playing for is yet to be determined as they currently are the sixth seed, but still could move up to the No. 5 seed if things go their way.
Here’s how: the Steelers (11–4) and Ravens (11–4) are tied for the AFC North lead, one game ahead of the (10–5) Jets with Pittsburgh owning the tiebreaker over Baltimore.
The Jets own the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh, by virtue of its win two weeks ago. But Baltimore, by virtue of its opening day win over the Jets, owns the tiebreaker over the Jets.
So if Baltimore and Pittsburgh achieve the same result on Sunday, the Jets aren’t moving up. But if Baltimore wins at home to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh loses on the road in Cleveland, and the Jets win, then the Jets would be the No. 5 seed with an outside shot of hosting a playoff game. And Santa will have been pretty generous.
