Not much is going right for either the Jets or the Giants. Both sit near the bottom of their respective divisions and neither team has mustered much momentum in recent weeks. There aren’t many short-term hopes for two teams facing off for the first time in the regular season since 2015, but both could flash in the future with their two young quarterbacks and two dynamic running backs.
Sam Darnold needs a bounce-back game after committing multiple errors against the Dolphins in Week 9, and the Giants offer a mouth-watering matchup given their weak pass defense. If Darnold can snap out of his mid-season funk, the Jets could find themselves back on the winning side for the first time in a month.
Here are four keys to the Jets offense in Week 10.
Attack through the air
The Giants’ secondary has been pitiful in 2019. They’ve given up the eighth-most passing yards this season (263.6 per game) and most yards per passing attempt (8.9). Sam Darnold should be able to light up the Giants defense with both short and deep passes since the Giants allow a lot of yards after the catch and the fifth-highest average depth of target (9.1). That means that the Jets should get a considerable return on their passes to the slot but can pick up first downs easily by targeting receivers nine yards past the line of scrimmage.
Darnold and the Jets haven’t had a tremendous amount of success through the air thanks to a bad offensive line, but when they threw for over 300 yards in Weeks 6 and 9 they finished with their top two scoring games of the season.
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Wrack up first downs
Because the Giants allow a 9.1 average depth of target, the Jets should be able to attack the line to gain and put the team in better positions to score. This plays well into another big weakness in the Giants – giving up first downs. They currently allow 20.8 first downs per game, which is seventh-highest in the league.
The Jets earned 20 first downs in their Week 6 wins against the Cowboys and 17 in a game the Jets should have won over the Dolphins in Week 9. With such a soft defense ahead again, the Jets need to sustain long drives to keep the offense on the field and put up points.
Go for home-run plays
The Jets have the players to rip of all gains, and the Giants are the perfect team to attack that way. Just this past week, the Cowboys gashed the Giants with touchdown plays of 42 and 45 yards. The Giants defense also allows the third-most plays of 20 or more yards (38) and the most plays of 40 or more yards (11).
With players like Le’Veon Bell and Robby Anderson, the Jets should be able to pick their spots and go for the big play in critical moments. Considering the Giants also allows the eighth-most yards after the catch in the league with 948. Darnold connected with Anderson on a 92-yard touchdown earlier this year, it’s time to try more plays like that again.
Establish the run early
The Jets have yet to rush for more than 93 yards this season despite Bell’s presence, but that shouldn’t stop them from trying against the Giants. The Giants allow the eighth-most rushing yards per game – 127.9 – and their margin of defeat increases by 10 points when they allow more than 150 yards on the ground.
Le’Veon Bell is banged up, but successfully running the ball combination of him, Ty Montgomery and Bilal Powell could help open up the passing game for Darnold to exploit.
