The Jets lost a game in the rain last Sunday, but nobody at 1 Jets Drive believes the season is slipping away with London calling as a Sunday showdown with the undefeated Minnesota Vikings (4-0) awaits at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
"If we were to ask ourselves two months ago that we were 2-2 going into the second quarter of the season, then we'd be pretty content with that," said WR Allen Lazard. "And knowing there is a lot of football and a lot of potential for this team – especially offense – to reach and everything. As far as the numbers and completions and all that, obviously Sunday wasn't up to our standard."
'Master of Disguise'
Instead of heading to the United Kingdom on a three-game win streak, the Jets will look to win their third game in four contests. Aaron Rodgers, who was sacked 5 times as the Jets were kept out of the end zone in a 10-9 Week 3 loss to the Broncos, will encounter a 'Vikes defense overseas that is last in pass yards allowed (274.3 yds/g) but leads the NFL in interceptions (8) and sacks (17) and is fourth in scoring (14.8 pts/g.)
"They do a lot of different things – they throw a lot of different things at you," said Rodgers during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show." "The front is really good. Harrison Phillips – I played against him – is a stout player in the middle, they have some young edge rushers, young guys in the back end other than Harrison [Smith] and [Stephon] Gilmore. But they play really well together, they throw a lot of different things at you, obviously they have empty pressure.
"The thing that they do really well is they are able to call into pressures and call out of pressures, so they have an awareness that if looks like you are checking out of a pressure – they're going to check out. And then sometimes, they can check into pressures as well. It's a smart defense, obviously B-Flo [Brian Flores] has them on the same page because they do a lot of different things. It's master of disguise."
'Ultimate Chess Match'
Aaron Rodgers, who has completed 64.1% of his passes with 5 TDs and 1 INT, is averaging 6.6 yards per attempt. According to NextGenStats, Rodgers was blitzed on 49.0% of his dropbacks against Denver and he will see more pressure packages from the 'Vikes. Under Flores, Minnesota's 41.3 blitz percentage is No. 2 in the NFL.
"I still think they're finding their way in the pass game," said Vikings HC Kevin O'Connell of the Jets this week during his weekly sit-down with Minnesota play-by-play man Paul Allen. "Aaron is a supercomputer back there playing quarterback, he's hand-signaling, he's wanting to see what you're in defensively and then get to a route, get to a concept, get to man beater, get to a ball out quick play to beat a pressure. There is going to be an ultimate chess match going on between Aarron and that offensive group and Brian Flores and his defense on Sunday. It's going to be a blast to watch."
While Rodgers' 7,157 yards against the Vikings are his most against any opponent (one he used to face twice a season with Green Bay), he has never faced Flores as a defensive coordinator. His 57-8 pass TD-INT ratio against the Vikings is the best by a quarterback against one opponent since 1970, but the Jets must account for every defender on a unit that is led in the sack department by Patrick Jones (5), Jonathan Greenard (4 ) and Andrew Van Ginkel (4).
"Just seeing it, getting the tells and seeing the tells and knowing what's coming, what type of blitzes are coming or who's coming or who's slanting, stuff like that," said LG John Simpson. "I feel like there is a lot more than goes into those things than the average eye sees, it's getting our tells and going off of that."
HC Robert Saleh added: "Their ball disruption is as good as any team in football, the windows are tight. Their edge rushers are high-effort game wreckers, Van Ginkel and Greenard. It's a really, really good group of guys. You're not going to look at the roster and recognize a lot of names, but they play well together."
Come Back Home With a 'Dub'
The Jets' defense also has been playing well together, ranking No. 1 in pass yards per play (4.74), No. 2 in yards per play (4.38) and No. 5 in points allowed (15.5 pts/g). They'll take their passports to the United Kingdom and a pass defense that just held back-to-back opponents to fewer than 75 yards each. But former Jets QB Sam Darnold leads the NFL with 11 pass TDs and a 118.9 passer rating, and WR Justin Jefferson is T1 with 4 receiving TDs and his 358 receiving yards rank No. 5.
"He's ballin' man," said CB D.J. Reed of Darnold. "Right now, he looks like an MVP-type of player for the National Football League. I would just say the O-line is doing a great job blocking for him, there's not that much pressure in his face. I think he's one of the best if he just doesn't have anything in his face and he's just making throws. He can throw it great without pressure and he's making smart decision and he's making explosive plays as well."
The 'Vikes also have an excellent dual threat out of the backfield in Aaron Jones (464 scrimmage yards) and WR Jordan Addison returned to the lineup last week. Teams have rarely put any game pressure on Minnesota entering Week 5 as the Vikings have trailed for only 3:26 of 240 minutes. The Jets hope they take the Vikings into deep water across the pond. Clouds and showers are in the forecast, but the Green & White have a clear focus approaching their longest road trip of the 2024 season.
"It's going to be a grind, it's going to be a quick turnaround when we get there going straight to practice," Simpson said. "It is what it is – don't lose sight of what we're here for. You're coming to play a game and to come back home with a 'dub.' That's the mindset we have to go in with."
