The Jets are already two-thirds of the way through their early NFC North bloc, with the third of the three foes from that division on the schedule coming up Sunday when they travel to Chicago. This midwestern swing has been winless so far -- close losses against Green Bay and at Detroit -- and Joe Tippmann, as all Jets, is not happy with the start.

But Tippmann can take some solace in the fact that he's in his hometown element in these games.

"Colts. I grew up a Colts fan," the Jets right guard said after Wednesday's practice about growing up in the Fort Wayne, IN, area. "But there's plenty of Bears fans there, and actually a lot of Lions fans, too."

That makes the last game at Ford Field and Sunday's trip to the Windy City almost a Fortnight Fanfest for the Tippmann family. Soldier Field, he said, "has a rich history, it's kind of a cool place to play ─ in college I got a chance to play Notre Dame there [in 2021]. And being from the Midwest, I'm able to have a lot of fans come to the game.

"That's a cool experience, but it was the same at Detroit. I had a lot of family and friends come to that one, too."

But Tippmann, who also no doubt has a few Packers fans as well from his Wisconsin days, knows Sunday is more than a family reunion. It's a business trip for the Jets, and among the business tasks that must be taken care of are getting their running game back on track and getting back to .500 at 2-2.

"Run the ball. Be able to establish the run game early. That opens up things," he said, suggesting that the Bears' front, similar to the Lions, can thwart an opponent's ground game. Chicago's yardage rankings are middle-of-the-NFL-pack, but their interception and sack rates are both in the league's top 10. They like to move their defensive pieces around to mess with foes' plans to set combination blocks at the point of attack.

"We just need to lock back in, put two guys on a block, kind of lean on 'em, and run the ball again."

The Jets, however, have struggled with the run, which is averaging 92.3 yards/game (26th in the NFL) and 3.26 yards/carry (30th). And Breece Hall, the Jets' tailback starter, sustained a quadriceps injury late against the Lions, didn't practice Wednesday, and is listed by HC Aaron Glenn as "week-to-week."

But if the Green & White must go without Hall, Tippmann feels good about the tandem of Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis.

"We have a lot of confidence in those guys," he said. He's seen Allen, a former teammate at UW, "run close-up for four, five years now, just the way he's able to do it. And as a complement to that, the way Isaiah runs, we were able to see that late last season, the physicality that he runs with. It's not the same style as Braelon, but just the physicality and speed he runs with is impressive."

Allen has pounded his way to a career average of 3.7 yards/carry but has always displayed the ability to break free, whether with a cut or off of contact, for bigger gains. He has 5 career touchdowns, most recently against the Packers. Davis has been limited to special teams reps so far but when given the chance has popped with a career 5.6 yards/carry.

If Hall is available, the Jets would be thrilled. If not, Allen and Davis will carry the load and help QB Geno Smith and the passing game. However, the RB picture shakes out, Tippmann sees a good game plan ahead in Chicago for his linemates, the offense, the Jets as a team and Jets Nation as his extended family.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard," he said. "We know we need to be better each week, keep growing, keep trying to move it along as an O-line, get better in the run game. That's something that the team can rely on, and we take a lot of pride in that."