Tag: Jets vs. Vikings

Eagles fan TV watch guide: 5 games to watch in Week 5

The Eagles (2-2) are off for the Week 5 bye. Although Philadelphia fans won’t be able to see their favorite team, there are still plenty of viable NFL games to watch on the national and local television schedule. There are matchups full of star …

The Eagles (2-2) are off for the Week 5 bye. Although Philadelphia fans won’t be able to see their favorite team, there are still plenty of viable NFL games to watch on the national and local television schedule.

There are matchups full of star power and several that feature revenge factors or playoff implications.

With the Sunday slate of games set to begin, we’re looking at five games for fans to watch.

Philadelphia will face both teams in the coming weeks, which will give Eagles fans an opportunity to scout two of the NFL’s top quarterbacks, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. In the Ravens’ four wins over quarterback Joe Burrow, Baltimore has held Cincinnati’s wide receivers to an average of 119.7 yards. In the Ravens’ three losses to Burrow, Baltimore allowed the Bengals’ wide receivers to average 287.3 yards.

Philadelphia will face both of these teams, and it’s an exciting storyline that features two of America’s most-watched franchises. The Cowboys will be without their two best players on defense, Micah Parsons (ankle) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot), facing the 10th-best rushing offense. Pittsburgh’s offense has averaged 34.5 rushing attempts per game despite averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. The Cowboys are 27th in run defense but gave up just 26 rushing yards last week.

Philadelphia will face Cleveland in Week 6, while two upcoming matchups against Washington loom. Washington’s defense played its best game last week against Arizona, holding the Cardinals to 115 total passing yards and sacking quarterback Kyler Murray four times. Nick Chubbs could return for the Browns, and the Commanders have struggled versus the run, allowing 5.3 yards per carry, which ranks 31st in the NFL. The Browns rank 17th, rushing the ball at 4.3 yards per carry.

An early morning game in London will feature Aaron Rodgers and the Jets against the NFC’s top team, the Minnesota Vikings. Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has had a touchdown reception in every game this season; with one on Sunday, he can join Randy Moss (2004) as the only player in Vikings history to receive a touchdown in each of the team’s first five games.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has thrown seven passing touchdowns and zero interceptions in his past five home games. Houston wide receiver Stefon Diggs will face off against his former team, the Buffalo Bills.

What the Jets were saying about the red-zone inefficiencies

Saleh, White and Berrios talk red-zone troubles

The story of the New York Jets’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday was all about the red zone. The Vikings were able to finish drives, the Jets were not. Plain and simple.

The Vikings were 3/3 in their trips to the red zone. The Jets went 1/6. That was the worst red-zone performance for the Jets with at least six red-zone chances since Week 3 of the 2014 season against the Bears.

The Jets got a little too cute and a little too soft at times when they got inside the 20 and it caused them to settle for a little too many field goals. Credit Greg Zuerlein for nailing all five of his attempts, including setting a franchise record with a 60-yard field goal just before halftime, but that strategy won’t win a team a lot of football games, even one with a defense as strong as the Jets. Robert Saleh said so himself.

“They were three-for-three and one-for-six, or one and one-of-three in goal to go situations. Can’t win the game just kicking field goals.”

Quarterback Mike White, who had another strong performance and helped give the Jets a chance to win the game despite the red-zone inefficiencies, also believes those missed opportunities changed the complexion of the game, and he starts the blame by pointing the finger at himself.

“My job as a quarterback is put our team in the best position, and that’s scoring in the red zone,” White said after the game. “So starts with me. You gotta figure out how to put the ball in the end zone and if we can do that you can win games.”

White also gave some insight on the last play, the dropped pass by Braxton Berrios (via post-game transcript):

What did you see on that last play?

The last play we were trying to get all eligibles into the end zone. They essentially took Garrett (Wilson) away in the boundary. Harrison Smith was waiting on Elijah (Moore), and the safety just drove on Corey (Davis). We thought at the time he was our best option, felt the rush on me, so I didn’t want to finish up with the ball in my hand. Just wanted to give our guy an opportunity and see what was going to happen.

Mike, what about the throw to Braxton?

Right. It’s actually a credit to Braxton. It’s not the route the play called for. It was a break in and then back out, but he kind of saw the opening, and that’s just how he plays football. He sees things differently than others, and I was on the same page with him. And we just couldn’t connect.

So was that like an option route?

No. He goes to the angle and then comes in, then breaks back out. And he just saw the linebacker playing so heavy outside on him and he just saw the space. And luckily he did because that was really the only option we had. They sat on our out route. They sat on (Tyler) Conklin in the corner, and that was the soft spot in the defense. Tons of credit to him for finding it. We just gotta — I gotta figure out how to put that ball a tad more in front of him and let him securely make the catch instead of making a tough catch.

Credit White for not throwing Berrios under the bus, but it is still certainly a catch Berrios could have made.

Speaking of Berrios, he was also asked about the red-zone issues after the game. “It was one of those games,” Berrios said. “Whatever plan they [Vikings] had, it was good, and it was really sound, and they executed in the red zone a little bit better than we did throughout the game. We fought. Obviously, it was another one of those dog fight games, and we scratched some claw back. We really had an opportunity there at the end.”

Berrios also believed he had a shot at catching that last pass and should have caught that final pass.

“That’s on me. It’s fourth down. He has everything in his face, the rush coming, and he’s seeing bodies falling everywhere. He put it where it should’ve gone and so that one is on me.”

All that being said, while the focus will undoubtedly start with that play, the overarching story is the Jets missed five chances to come away with at least six points on drives. One other thing to keep in mind is the Jets had almost 500 yards of total offense, even with having to play catch-up most of the game.

If the Jets can bring everything together, have their offense click and finish drives, they can score with just about any team in the league. They’ll need that this week in their rematch with the Bills. Or the Jets can just hold the Bills to 17 points again like the first meeting. Either way, the offense could use a big day in Buffalo this week.

New York Jets snap counts from Week 13

New York Jets snap counts from Week 13

The snaps counts are out from the Jets’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13 and they tell a couple of interesting stories.

Starting on offense, we can see that, just two games in, rookie Zonovan Knight looks to have asserted himself as the No. 1 running back in the absence of Michael Carter, and you can make the argument he deserves to be so even when Carter returns from his ankle injury.

Knight saw the most snaps among the running backs with 47 offensive snaps compared to 28 for Ty Johnson and just nine for James Robinson.

Knight carried the football 15 times against the Vikings. Robinson (4) and Johnson (1) combined for just five rushing attempts.

Knight also touched the football 20 times Sunday. Johnson had seven touches and Robinson had just four.

How the Jets divvy up the touches when Carter returns will be interesting to follow, but Knight has earned the right to remain the top back for the rest of the season.

Among the wide receivers, it’s interesting to see the gap in snaps between Elijah Moore and Denzel Mims. Perhaps it was just Moore’s turn to see more playing time, but Moore out-snapped Mims 58-16. This is out of 85 total snaps.

Not surprisingly, Garrett Wilson saw the field the most among the wide receivers, seeing 78 snaps, followed by Corey Davis with 69, then Moore’s 58, then Berrios with 20 and then Mims with 16.

With the tight ends, Tyler Conklin out-snapped C.J. Uzomah 61-39 and saw seven targets to Uzomah’s one. But there are times you wonder why isn’t Uzomah getting more playing time and more targets, especially in the red zone. Kenny Yeboah didn’t see the field Sunday.

We also saw a flip at right tackle. “Felt like (Max Mitchell) was struggling a little bit,” head coach Robert Saleh said after the game. “So just trying to get George (Fant) out there.”

Fant wound up seeing 60 snaps after Mitchell was taken out after 25 snaps.

Over on defense, Sauce Gardner, C.J. Mosley, Jordan Whitehead and Lamarcus Joyner played all 68 snaps, while D.J. Reed played 67.

The Jets went back to a 10-man rotation on the defensive line with the return of Sheldon Rankins. The snaps broke down as such:

Quinnen Williams – 49
John Franklin-Myers – 43
Carl Lawson – 40
Sheldon Rankins – 35
Nathan Sheperd – 21
Jermaine Johnson – 19
Solomon Thomas – 18
Bryce Huff – 17
Micheal Clemons – 15
Vinny Curry – 15

Quincy Williams saw 58 snaps followed by Kwon Alexander with 22 among the linebackers after Mosley.

Michael Carter saw 31 snaps as he was banged up a bit with an injury, so Brandin Echols saw time at nickel and played 18 snaps. The Jets also ran a few sets out of “big nickel” or three-safety sets, with Will Parks as the third safety. He played eight snaps.

Red-zone woes doom Jets in 27-22 loss to Vikings

The Jets went 1/6 in the red zone

When you get into the red zone, you’re always looking to come away with seven points. Sometimes, you have to settle for three points, but as long as you can eventually come away with a few touchdowns, you’re in good shape.

When you only come away with one touchdown out of six trips to the red zone, your chances of winning a football game do way down.

Yet, the Jets still had a chance to win late in the game, but a brutal drop in the end zone by Braxton Berrios followed by a late interception thrown by Mike White killed their hopes on Sunday, as the Jets fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27-22. The Jets are now 7-5 with a huge trip to Buffalo looming in Week 14.

After a slow start on offense, the unit picked up steam in the second half and helped nearly erase a 20-6 halftime deficit, scoring on their first four possessions in the second half. Unfortunately, where they could have had 28 points (assuming extra points after each touchdown), they only took away 16. At least Greg Zuerlein is around. 5/5 in field goals, including a franchise-record 60-yard field goal.

The defense, once again, also deserves a ton of credit for keeping the Jets in the game. They forced five Minnesota punts in the second half. But a 75-yard touchdown drive nearly was the dagger for the Jets.

Other than that, the Jets really held the Vikings’ offense in check. Kirk Cousins only had 173 yards on 21/35 passing with a touchdown and Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen were held to 72 yards combined on nine catches.

Quinnen Williams recorded his 9th sack of the season and Carl Lawson scored his 6th of the year. In fact, the defense held the Vikings to under 300 yards of total offense.

The Jets, on the other hand, had almost 500 yards of offense. 486, to be exact. White recorded his second straight 300-yard passing day, going 31/57 for 369 yards. He also rushed for a touchdown on fourth down in the fourth quarter that gave the Jets hope, when the initial ruling on the field was that he was short. But two interceptions, including the late one to ice the game for the Vikings, really killed the Jets’ momentum.

One highlight from the Jets Sunday was Garrett Wilson strengthing his case for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Eight catches, 162 yards. It’s his third game with 100+ receiving yards and easily a career-high for him. His previous high was 115 against the Patriots in Week 8.

Zonovan Knight also rumbled for 90 yards on 15 carries, including a 48-yard scamper. He has carved out a role going forward, even when Michael Carter returns. James Robinson had 10 yards on four carries, while Ty Johnson had a ten-yard carry.

The defense gave the offense a chance, but the offense couldn’t take advantage. The moral of the story is you can’t get soft in the red zone and settle for three every time. Six red zone trips mean at least 36 points are possible, and with Zuerlein, 42 would certainly be possible. The Jets came away with 22 points.

Now, in a vacuum, 22 points doesn’t sound all that bad. But against an offense like the Vikings, you had to start wondering if all those points left on the table would come back to bite the Jets. It turns out they did.

Add to that the fact that third downs once again ruined the Jets on both sides of the ball. The Jets went 3/16 on third down. The Vikings went 9/18.

And now the Jets are clinging to a playoff spot and find themselves two games back in the division race and only one game ahead of the Patriots, to whom they lose the tiebreaker. Next week isn’t 100% a must-win for the Jets, but it may be very close to it.

Vikings 20, Jets 6: Quick First Half numbers

Vikings 20, Jets 6: Quick First Half numbers

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbx856p96chh2p4 player_id=none image=https://jetswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

The Jets have seemed to fall back to their old ways on offense, as they are badly struggling to keep pace with the Vikings, who have scored on four of their five possessions. The Jets, on the other hand, have punted twice, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs late in the second quarter.

As a result, the Jets are trailing at halftime, 20-6.

Mike White hasn’t exactly had his magic today. He is 14/26 for 121 yards with one interception and a quarterback rating of 50.3.

The rushing attack hasn’t been all there either, with the three running backs combining for 32 yards on nine carries. Bam Knight leads the way with 21 yards on six carries. James Robinson has two carries for eight yards and Ty Johnson has rushed once for three yards.

Garrett Wilson leads the way in receiving with 43 yards on three catches, while Corey Davis has had issues again with stops but does have 26 yards on two catches.

Kirk Cousins is 14/24 for 104 yards. Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison have the two touchdowns for the Vikings and have combined for 73 yards on 12 carries.

The Jets begin the second half on defense and need to find some kind of spark and in a hurry, or this game will get very ugly, very fast.

Jets vs. Vikings final score prediction

Drop your final score predictions for Jets-Vikings

Week 13 may be a non-conference matchup for the New York Jets, but it sure isn’t a game that’s not important for the Jets. With a chance to distance themselves from the New England Patriots in the AFC East, which will boost their playoff chances, the Jets head to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Vikings. Can the Jets steal a win in the dome up north?

If Sauce Gardner can continue his incredible rookie season and hold his own against Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson, the Jets will absolutely have a shot.

But one spot where the Jets can absolutely take advantage is getting after quarterback Kirk Cousins. With Christian Darrisaw still out, the Jets have an opportunity to let their stable of pass-rushers get after Cousins with Blake Brandel starting in place of Darrisaw at left tackle.

The Jets can also take a page from the Cowboys’ playbook, when Dallas got to Cousins nine times in their 40-3 trashing two weeks ago. The Jets have the firepower to ruffle Cousins in the pocket and turn him into primetime Kirk Cousins, even though the game is a 1:00 kickoff.

But the key of course is Mike White. After throwing for 315 yards against a Bears defense that was littered with injuries, White faces a much tougher test in Minnesota, though the Vikings did get into a shootout on Thanksgiving with Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (28/39, 382 yards, two touchdowns).

Can White come up with another big day and hold off Zach Wilson for another week? Can the Jets keep pace in the AFC East?

Our guess is…yes. The Jets can matchup well with the Vikings, Gardner can limit Jefferson and the Jets will leave Minnesota with an 8-4 record.

Prediction: Jets 24, Vikings 20

Jets vs. Vikings: Week 13 inactives

As expected, Michael Carter is inactive.

As expected, running back Michael Carter is inactive for the New York Jets against the Minnesota Vikings. Carter missed practice all week with the low-ankle sprain he suffered last week against the Bears. Zonovan Knight, Ty Johnson and James Robinson will be the trio in the committee this week.

Safety Ashtyn Davis was ruled out Friday after missing all week of practice with a hamstring injury. Cedric Ogbuehi, who was also out with an ankle injury, was placed on injured reserve Saturday.

No other surprises with the inactives for the Jets. Quarterback Zach Wilson will remain inactive until he returns as the starting quarterback, if he returns as the starting quarterback.

Tight end Jeremy Ruckert, wide receiver Jeff Smith and cornerback Bryce Hall round out the inactives.

New York Jets inactives

  • QB Zach Wilson
  • TE Jeremy Ruckert
  • S Ashtyn Davis
  • WR Jeff Smith
  • RB Michael Carter
  • CB Bryce Hall

For the Vikings, offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw returned to practice Friday after being in concussion protocol but was ruled out for Week 13 on Friday. Tight end Ben Ellefson was also ruled out with a groin injury on Friday.

Minnesota Vikings inactives

  • OLB Luiji Vilain
  • T Vederian Lowe
  • T Christian Darrisaw
  • TE Ben Ellefson
  • DL Esezi Otomewo
  • DL Ross Blacklock

Jets vs. Vikings game and viewing information for Week 13

Jets vs. Vikings game and viewing information for Week 13

The New York Jets (7-4) enter game No. 2 of the 2022 Mike White era after he threw for 315 yards last week against the Chicago Bears. This week, it’s a date with the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings. The Jets will be looking to distance themselves from the New England Patriots while also keeping pace with the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills in the AFC East race, especially with a huge trip to Buffalo next week. Here’s your quick game information for Week 13.

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, December 4 (1:00 eastern)

TV info: CBS (Ian Eagles, Charles Davis, Evan Washburn)

In-market live stream: fuboTV (try it for free).

Radio: WEPN-FM, ESPN New York 98.7 (Bob Wischusen and Marty Lyons)

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Forecast: Sunny, 27 degrees (game played in a dome)

Referee: Clete Blakeman

Opponent Wire site: Vikings Wire

Jets vs. Vikings: Final Week 13 injury report

Sheldon Rankins will play Sunday, Michael Carter and Cedric Ogbuehi are doubtful.

The Jets released their final injury report for Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings. The big question throughout the week was the status of running back Michael Carter with his ankle injury. Chances are the Jets will not have him available for Sunday. He is listed as doubtful after missing practice all week.

Offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi is also doubtful with a groin injury. He also missed practice all week between the injury as well as an illness this week.

One player has already been ruled out for Sunday. Safety Ashtyn Davis will miss Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury.

Offensive tackle Duane Brown is listed as questionable with a shoulder injury, but that has been his weekly routine this season. He practiced in full on Friday and will play Sunday.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (elbow) and tight end Kenny Yeboah (calf) both practiced in full Friday and are off the injury report.

For the Vikings, offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw returned to practice in a limited fashion Friday as he returns from a concussion. That’s good news for the Vikings. However, he has been ruled out for Sunday. Also out for the Vikings is tight end Ben Ellefson with a groin injury.

Defensive tackle Ross Blacklock is questionable with an illness after missing Thursday and Friday.

Safety Harrison Smith (ankle), cornerback Akayleb Evans (concussion) and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (calf) are off the injury report.

Jets Thursday Week 14 report: Sheldon Rankins practices in full, Michael Carter still out

Sheldon Rankins practiced in full, Michael Carter still out

The good news for the New York Jets coming out of practice Thursday is defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins practiced in full, meaning he is trending toward playing on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. He was limited on Wednesday. D.J. Reed also returned after taking a personal day on Wednesday.

The bad news is Michael Carter missed a second day of practice this week, meaning he is trending toward not playing against the Vikings. That could mean James Robinson gets back into the rotation this week, after expressing frustration with his role since coming over from the Jaguars.

Safety Ashtyn Davis (hamstring) and offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi (groin/illness) were also out of practice Thursday.

Duane Brown (shoulder) has had his usual week of being limited early and then practicing in full on Friday and tight end Kenny Yeboah (calf) was also upgraded to a full participant.

Also keep in mind that George Fant is not on the report because he has not yet been activated from injured reserve, but there is a chance that will happen this week, especially if Ogbuehi cannot go.

For the Vikings, offensive tackle Christian Darrisaw (concussion) remains out and could miss his second straight game Sunday, which would help move the needle toward the Jets.

Also missing Thursday was tight end Ben Ellefson, who also missed Wednesday but was omitted from the report. He is dealing with a groin injury.

Safety Harrison Smith (ankle) was upgraded from limited on Wednesday to full on Thursday and cornerback Akayleb Evans (concussion) and defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (calf) were full participants again Thursday.