The Jets have brought improved mental and physical outlooks with them on their road trip to the Arizona desert. Soon it will be time to see if that can pay off in their interconference battle with the Cardinals.
The Green & White come to Glendale, AZ, at 3-6 and with a "one-game winning streak" under their belts, the 21-13 Thursday night home win over Houston, plus the resulting "mini-bye" week to prepare for the Cards, 6-3 playing dangerously well at State Farm Stadium.
It's always nice to hear that soon-to-be-41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers is feeling frisky, and he expressed happiness in returning to his first full week of full practice in the past six weeks as he worked through knee, ankle and hamstring issues.
Joining Rodgers are several starters and contributors who had been sidelined by their own injuries. Active for this afternoon's game are starting guards Alijah Vera-Tucker, who sat the previous two games with an ankle injury, and John Simpson, who got only 12 snaps vs. the Texans before leaving with a groin injury.
Also active are safety starters Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion), who both missed the past two games, plus nickel corner Michael Carter (back), who missed two games and was limited at New England and against Houston.
See the Jets arriving to the stadium in Glendale, Arizona before the Week 10 matchup against the Cardinals.
Still out for the Jets are MLB and defensive captain C.J. Mosley (neck), missing his sixth game of the Jets' last eight, and DL Solomon Thomas (knee, downgraded to out Saturday).
The absence of Solomon and Leki Fotu on Injured Reserve could present interior depth issues for the Jets' run defense. They have a formidable two-man starting group in Quinnen Williams and Jevon Kinlaw, but Sunday's interior backups will be rookie Leonard Taylor and just re-signed vet Bruce Hector.
Will the depth be an issue for the Jets as they try to slow down Arizona's potent ground game led by James Conner and QB Kyler Murray? Conner led a 213-yard, 3-TD rushing attack in the Cardinals' 29-9 home win over the Bears a week ago, and Murray is the No. 1 rushing QB in the NFL this year, averaging 8.1 yards/carry for the Cards' No. 2-ranked rush offense at 5.3 yards/carry. The Jets, while vulnerable to the run at times, comes in No. 8 in the league in allowing 4.3 yards/carry.
Offensively, meanwhile, Rodgers and his talented skill players of WRs Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams and RB Breece Hall are looking to build on their three consecutive touchdown drives in the second half on TNF. The Cards, despite their success this season, are ranked in the 20s in most defensive categories, and their third-down defense, 31st in the NFL in allowing 48.1% conversions, could be vulnerable to the Jets' third-down offense, which has risen to 10th in the league (40%).
Jets fans also have to be ready for a new placekicker in Spencer Shrader, elevated from the practice squad after Riley Patterson kicked last game in place of the IR-ed Greg Zuerlein.
The Jets list five players on Sunday's inactive list:
- RB Izzy Abanikanda
- LB C.J. Mosley
- OL Jake Hanson
- T Carter Warren
- DL Solomon Thomas
The Cardinals have a six-player inactive list for the game:
- S Jalen Thompson
- DL Darius Robinson
- LB Julian Okwara
- OL Christian Jones
- TE Travis Vokolek
- WR Xavier Weaver
