Jets Wire breaks down New York’s Week 16 win over the Browns.
Two weeks, two wins for a Jets team that seemed destined to finish 2020 on the wrong side of NFL history.
New York took advantage of a short-handed Browns team and fought off a late Cleveland comeback attempt en route to a 20-16 victory. The Jets went after Baker Mayfield early and often, making life extremely tough on the Oklahoma product with his top four wide receivers sidelined because of COVID-19 issues. Jamison Crowder also spearheaded Gang Green’s offense with a pair of touchdowns — one of which came from his arm.
The Jets now have a chance to end the season with three straight wins when they travel to New England to take on the Patriots in Week 17.
Game Balls
WR Jamison Crowder: Crowder had himself a day, catching seven passes for 92 yards and a touchdown to go along with a 43-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
The defensive line: No Quinnen Williams, no problem for New York’s defensive line against the Browns. The Jets limited Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to a combined 39 yards on the ground — a testament to the line’s dominance in the trenches in Week 16. New York also sacked Mayfield three times and forced two strip-sacks, including a crucial one to give the Jets the ball back up four while deep in Cleveland territory late in the fourth quarter. The Jets forced another fumble on a Mayfield quarterback sneak attempt on fourth-and-one with a minute and a half remaining.
OLB Tarell Basham: Basham was responsible for Mayfield’s two fourth-quarter fumbles with under five minutes remaining, effectively winning the Jets the game. He also finished with five tackles and three quarterback hits.
Quick Thoughts
-All things considered, it’s really not much of a surprise the Jets beat the Browns. Cleveland is fighting for a playoff spot and needed this game, but it’s a lot to ask of an NFL quarterback to get on the same page with four new wide receivers in less than 24 hours. Missing two starting offensive linemen and two rotational linebackers didn’t help, either. Credit New York for coming to play and holding off the Browns at the end of the game.
-Frank Bush channeled his inner Gregg Williams and brought the heat after Mayfield all game. A wise move considering the Browns were missing two starters on their offensive line and featured a wide receiver group that consisted mostly of practice squad players. It paid off in spades in the end.
-How about the Jets’ run defense? Taking away Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, arguably the best rushing duo in football in 2020, is no easy task. New York made both players non-factors — without Quinnen Williams.
-So… Adam Gase waited 16 weeks to dig deep into his bag of creative play calls. It would have been nice to see some of that when the Jets were, you know, playing in meaningful games.
-Sticking with Gase, his clock management before halftime almost hurt the Jets again. The Browns missed their long field goal attempt, but had it gone through the uprights, it would have cut New York’s lead to seven before halftime.
-Rough day for Mekhi Becton going up against Myles Garrett and Olivier Vernon. It’s tough to blame Becton for his performance considering Garrett and Vernon are two of the best pass rushers in football. But Week 16 showed that while Becton is on his way to becoming an elite left tackle, he still has a bit to go in his progression.
-Two blocked kicks by the Browns — one extra point, one field goal attempt. Brant Boyer’s units typically fire on all cylinders, but something was off in Week 16. It’s back to the drawing board before taking on a Patriots team that is prone to taking advantage of special teams miscues.
-2-13. With the Bears defeating the Jaguars, the tank for Trevor Lawrence is officially over. It’s on to BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. Or Justin FIelds. Or maybe another year of Sam Darnold. Who really knows at this point? The Jets, however, are locked into the No. 2 pick.
