Analysis of the Young GunIn his first professional start, QB Bryce Petty and the offense were a tale of two halves in Sunday's 9-6 loss. In the first half, Petty completed nine of his 13 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown, earning a rating of 116.8. Additionally, the Jets converted 57% on third down. In the second half, the offense struggled to find a groove as the second-year player threw for 65 yards on 10 completions and failed to convert a third down.
"He was calm, he was poised when he was out there," head coach Todd Bowles said. "He threw a deep ball well, he understood his reads, he went where he was supposed to go. He hurried up some things, but that's going to happen when a first time starter comes out there. He hurried some throws and missed a couple reads as well. But for the most part, other than one turnover, he played okay."
Taming the BeastOne of the focal points for the offense line entering Week 10 was to limit Rams DT Aaron Donald. Arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, Donald registered two tackles and one quarterback hit against a reshuffled offensive line.
"I thought it was a good battle. He won a couple, but they won their share as well for the most part," Bowles said. "They held the Rams to one sack, but they got some pressures here and there. I thought we held up pretty good on the line."
Next Man UpWith all of the injuries up front, Ben Ijalana has been a chess piece for the Jets this season. Originally starting at RT in the first half of the season, Ijalana found himself starting at LT against the Rams in place of Ryan Clady (shoulder), who was placed on IR earlier in the week. Ijalana said his goal was to "become invisible" as he became just the third player to protect the blindside of a Jets QB over the last 10 ½ years. The six-year veteran was flagged for illegal hands to the face in the waning moments of the first half, but was otherwise unnoticeable, a positive for an offensive lineman. Ijalana helped lead the Jets' ground game, which tallied 139 yards on 25 plays, averaging 5.6 yards per carry against what was the league's No. 11 rush defense.
"He did a decent job," Bowles said. "He gave up a few pressures here and there the last or so, but he's done a good job."
Finding QWR Quincy Enunwa burst on the scene this year and was debatably the Jets' MVP of the first eight weeks, leading the team in receptions (36) and touchdowns (three). Over the past two weeks, Enunwa has a combined 32 yards on two catches.
"They've been trying to take him away a little bit more," Bowles said. "They've been trying to take away Quincy and Brandon and sometimes your reads take you elsewhere. But we're trying to get him involved."
Bye week:Bowles told the media that the team will hold practice Tuesday and he has a few messages for his players before they enjoy the rest of the week.
Message No. 1: "Stay out of trouble. The obvious thing, rest up and get healthy. We have a lot of nicks, bumps and bruises right now, but let's get ready for this stretch run."
Message No. 2: "You say it all the time anyway because that's how you start out playing ball games, but you're always trying to win and get better. The name on your back is important and the name on the front of the jersey is important. You're always trying to win. You have to win for a bunch of reasons and that's our job to come in here and try to win. Mine as a coach, theirs as a player and ours as a team."
Injuries:CB Nick Marshall has a high ankle sprain and C Nick Mangold is hopeful to play against the Patriots in Week 12, but it's still too early to definitively tell.
