The New York Jets have set themselves up for a tall order on Thursday night — they have to beat the AFC South-leading Houston Texans at Met Life Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 8:15 p.m. eastern in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Jets (2-6) have lost five straight games and allowed another win to slip through their fingers as they fell to New England, 25-22, on Sunday. Throw out the blowout loss to Pittsburgh and New York has lost those other four games in the streak by a total of a dozen points.
So close, yet so far away.
Houston (6-2) has won four of its last five games and has done so in spite of losing receiver Nico Collins and, more recently, Stefon Diggs. The Texans just seem to find a way to win, but they’re a bit vulnerable on the road, where they’ve absorbed their only two losses.
So how do the Jets beat the Texans? Here are three keys to making it happen.
Turnovers
The New York Jets defense just isn’t creating any right now. New York went on a run after failing to create a turnover in the season opener. In their next four games the Jets’ defense forced six. Less than two per game on average, but you’ll take it.
But, since forcing two against Minnesota, the Jets have been in the desert. The New England game marked their third straight without forcing a turnover. That’s 180 minutes of football without a quick flip of the field. No fumble recoveries, no interceptions.
The Texans have given up their fair share. Houston has given up at least one turnover in six of their last seven games, including one against Indianapolis on Sunday. So, the Texans are vulnerable in that area.
But the Jets must be mindful, too. Houston’s defense has forced nine turnovers in its last three games. The Texans are plenty capable of flipping the field quickly. New York must win this part of the game.
Jets Must Stop the Run
Stopping the run is getting away from the Jets’ defense. Without watching the game, seeing New York gave up 111 rushing yards seems acceptable. But the Jets gave up successful runs at key moments, including some big quarterback runs on broken plays.
But, this is getting to be a problem. New York has now allowed six 100-yard rushing games out of eight contests. The Jets’ last three opponents, and four of their last five, have rushed for at least 100 yards. That’s 123.4 yards rushing per game during the five-game losing streak.
The arrival of edge rusher Haason Reddick won’t help them there. The Jets lost Leki Fotu again for Sunday’s game to a new injury. The interior of the defensive line simply isn’t getting the push needed to slow down the run.
Houston is a solid rushing team and has rushed for an average of 125 yards in the last five games. They’re right on the average the Jets are allowing. But look at what Indianapolis did to Houston on Sunday. The Colts only gave up 96 yards. Something worked there. Get into the film and figure it out.
Pick a Poison on Offense
On paper, the Houston defense is a problem for the Jets. Why? The unit is good against both the run and the pass. Only one team has managed more than 200 yards passing against the Texans this season. The Houston run defense is a bit less effective, but the unit just gave up more than 160 yards rushing to Indy after allowing fewer than 100 yards on the ground in each of the two games before that.
For the Jets to win, they may have to sell out to something. Given the trends statistically, it’s probably the run. Houston is giving up 116 yards per game on the ground. Even though the New York run offense hasn’t looked good, if they can exploit some weakness on Houston’s part they can shorten the game and keep Houston’s offense off the field. New York would be better served trying to run the ball, especially early in the game.
