The New York Jets traveled to Houston this week to take on the Houston Texans. While the return of Zach Wilson was the focal point, many people were also simply interested in seeing which team is better. Behind a dominant run game, as well as a dominant defensive line, the Jets managed to pull out a win against the now 2-9 Texans.
In our Jets season preview series, we mentioned the defensive line and how dominant it could be. Well, the defensive line, to put it simply, ATE this weekend. On the first defensive drive of the game, despite the Texans moving the ball well, John Franklin-Myers made an amazing play to knock up a screen pass and then intercept it. Franklin-Myers had the best game of his career, matter of fact, finishing the day with an interception, two sacks, two tackles for loss, and three total tackles.
Outside of Franklin-Myers’ performance, Quinnen Williams, Quincy Williams, and Ronald Blair also logged sacks. The Williams brothers were great the entire day, and the defense as a whole came to play. After giving up 14 points in the first 25 minutes of the game, the defense hunkered down and shut the Texans out for the rest of the game.
The performance as a whole was not perfect, however, as the defensive backs gave up a couple of big plays in the first half. The Jets front office definitely should be looking to add more talent to that group in the offseason, whether it be through Free Agency or the NFL Draft.
Wilson was shaky in his return, throwing an interception on his third pass attempt. A miscommunication between Wilson and Ty Johnson, he threw the ball while crossing the line of scrimmage, while Johnson was turning to block downfield for him. The ball then ricocheted off Johnson’s back, and the Texans made a great play.
Outside of that interception, Wilson was still not great. He made a couple of shaky throws, including a fastball pass right through Elijah Moore’s hands on a 3rd and 12. Wilson looks like he is nervous out on the field, and needs to calm down a bit. He has the talent, he just has to find a way to start out games better. He took a few sacks that he would like to have back, and he missed some wide open receivers.
The running game was also dominant in this game. While they averaged 4.6 yards per carry, they got it done, and were efficient. Alijah Vera-Tucker was great, showing his promise as a great run blocker. The entire line stepped up. Despite this, Wilson wasn’t able to capitalize. They say a young quarterback’s best friend is a good run game, but Wilson has to learn what to do with it. Through seven games, he hasn’t played enough to label him a bust. Sure, he has struggled a bit, but remember that he is seven games into his career. There is hope for the future. Remember what he did to the Tennessee Titans.
The Jets are home next weekend for a matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are playing their second game in a row at Metlife Stadium, after losing to the New York Giants this week. They could do nothing on offense, as Jalen Hurts threw three interceptions and they couldn’t run the ball. Maybe the Jets will find the same defensive success the Giants did, but God only knows.
The Jets could very well extend their win streak to two games, it just depends on which Eagles team shows up on December 5th. Will it be the one that lost to the Giants and put up seven points, or the one that beat the Detroit Lions by 38 points?
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