The Jets have a short week as they prepare to face the Ravens on Thursday night. The good news is that RB Le'Veon Bell (illness) and S Jamal Adams (ankle) could both return after missing Sunday's win over the visiting Dolphins.
"The doctors said that he's feeling better than what he was and he's closer to being 100% than what he was three days ago," Coach Adam Gase said of Bell. "The fact that he's being let back in the building is a positive, so everything should be lined up to where he'll play Thursday."
Speaking about Adams, Gase said: "I'm not going to count him out. I know kind of how he feels about the whole situation, but I think we just have to look at it with trainers' and doctors' perspective, Joe [Douglas'] thoughts. I know where Jamal stands on it, but we have to make sure we do the right thing by him."
The Jets went through a walkthrough on Monday, and will do the same Tuesday, instead of practice. Gase said that players who would not have practiced are: Adams (ankle), TE Ryan Griffin (ankle), WR Demaryius Thomas (hamstring/knee), RB Bilal Powell (ankle/illness), RT Chuma Edoga (knee), DL Quinnen Williams (burner), CB Brian Poole (concussion), and CB Arthur Maulet (calf).
"We're just trying to maximize the time," Gase said. "We're trying to put our guys in a position to get used to the later night start and we'll see how that goes for us."
The Jets are the latest opponent to encounter a Ravens offense powered by QB Lamar Jackson, who is having an MVP-worthy season. Jackson has 1,017 rushing yards, which is ninth in the NFL, but he's as dangerous throwing the ball. He leads the NFL with 28 passing touchdowns and is completing 66.3% of his passes for 2,677 yards.
"I think he runs their offense very well," Gase said. "How they're running the football right now is as good as a lot of us have ever seen as far as the running backs and the quarterback being able to run the football. But I think the play-action pass off of what they're doing in the run game, when you watch the tape, you just see guys running wide open. They're getting guys sucked up in the line of scrimmage and these guys are doing a great job of yards after catch.
"He's making really good throws. There are times where there's really tight coverage and he's threading it in there or dropping it in there on certain routes. He's making all the throws and then they're doing a good job of being creative in the passing game as well. Greg Roman [Baltimore's offensive coordinator] is doing a great job of really taking advantage of how teams are trying to play them and they're really gutting people."
The Ravens (10-2) are a complete team. Running back Mark Ingram ranks No. 12 in the NFL in rushing yards (887), and the offense averages an NFL-best 33.1 points per game. Baltimore's defense is the sixth-best in the league and it has forced 20 turnovers (tied for No. 6). So, how do the Jets plan to take on the AFC's No. 1 seed, a team that hasn't lost since Weeks 3 and 4?
"It's just one of those things where we have to play well as an offense," Gase said. "We can't be going three-and-out and giving them more opportunities than what they're going to get. That's the hardest thing about calling plays. You feel like every play is valuable. There aren't any throwaway plays like, 'Hey, let's try this.' You need to be on it and you need to do a good job of moving the ball, converting on third down and in the red zone."
