Throughout the regular season, NewYorkJets.com reporters Eric Allen, Randy Lange, Susanna Weir and Jack Bell will give their responses to a series of questions regarding the Jets.
Today's question:
What is the Most Important Matchup in Jets-Bengals?
EA: Several numbers enter my mind heading into Sunday's game. The first few I think of are 23, 16 and 1. Bengals superstar receiver Ja'Marr Chase was targeted 23 times by Joe Flacco against the Steelers and he hauled in 16 catches. Jets star CB Sauce Gardner (No. 1) is in concussion protocol while rookie CB Azareye'h Thomas (No. 23) could be in line to get his first NFL start against the dynamic combination of Chase and Tee Higgins. We've also wondered all week whether No. 7 (Justin Fields) or No. 2 (Tyrod Taylor) will get the call at QB for the Jets. But the numbers that stand out above all are the Bengals are allowing 30.6 pts and 394.4 yds/g. Something has to give between the Jets' offense and Bengals' defense as both units are looking to ascend in Week 8. Star WR Garrett Wilson (knee) hasn't practiced this week and could miss his second consecutive game, plus rookie TE Mason Taylor didn't participate Thursday due to a quad injury. So, no matter who gets the call at QB, the Jets will look to return to a punishing ground attack and find some balance through the air. Injuries to their top two receiving targets would make that make more challenging.
RL: I'll shift into reverse on this one and say it's MLB Jamien Sherwood and the Jets' run defense, 14th in the NFL in allowing 4.13 yards/rush, against third-year RB Chase Brown and Cincinnati's run offense, 29th in gaining 3.68 yards/rush. Brown had been puttering along at 2.7 yards/carry — up until last week vs. Pittsburgh, whose run D allowed him to rumble for 108 yards on 11 carries and helped spring WRs Ja'Marr Chase (16-161-1 TD) and Tee Higgins (6-96-1) for even bigger games than usual, As that wily veteran of seven Jets games and four starts, Malachi Moore, said this week: "Some places might have just one superstar receiver, but they have two of them and it kind of stretches out the defense a little bit." I could have answered this week's question with Chase/Higgins catching Joe Flacco passes doing damage Sunday, no doubt, whether Sauce Gardner (concussion protocol) is on the field or not. But the Jets' run stoppers can help control that burn by sitting on the other Chase, the guy in the Bengals backfield.
JB: DE Trey Hendrickson (hip) missed the second half of Cincinnati's loss to Green Bay in Week 6 and was then inactive for the Bengals' Thursday night win over AFC North rival Pittsburgh, which ended a 4-game losing streak. He had been limited in practice, so far, this week ahead of the Jets' visit in Week 8. But if there's one thing that is certain to get the versatile 9-year veteran's juices flowing and feeling ready to play it might be the prospect of facing an offense that is looking to establish a rhythm. Hendrickson does get around ... 2 games at RDE, 2 at LDE and 2 with no specific designation through his 6 games and team-leading 4 sacks this season. At 6-4, 265, Hendrickson will be a handful for the Jets' two young tackles -- second-year LT Olu Fashanu and rookie RT Armand Membou, and the rest of the unit. The Bengals' destroyer has logged 17.5 sacks in each of his last two seasons. The Jets have yielded 20 sacks over its last 3 games (Dallas 5, Denver 9, Carolina 6). If the Jets hope to get the offense on track, keeping Hendrickson under wraps will go a long way.
SW: Perhaps it's the obvious choice, but I'm going with the Jets' secondary facing a Bengals' receiving corps coming off an exceptional Week 7 performance. WR Ja'Marr Chase was targeted a whopping 23 times in the Bengals' "TNF" win over the Steelers, and he hauled in 16 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown. Newcomer and veteran QB Joe Flacco has quickly developed chemistry with both Chase and WR Tee Higgins, who collected 6 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown last week. The Jets could be without CB Sauce Gardner -- who sustained a concussion in Week 7 -- this week. As the defense looks to build off back-to-back strong performances, players such as CB Brandon Stephens and rookie CB Azareye'h Thomas will likely be counted on to make some plays. Containing the Bengals' passing game will be essential this week to get the job done in Cincinnati.
