The Jets needed a win not only to keep their season alive but also to build back morale after what had to be a very stressful week at the office. New York snapped a five-game losing streak firmly with a 30-6 win over the Houston Texans.
Because the Jets were up comfortably, they were able to empty the bench and get other players some snaps late in the game, a luxury the Jets haven’t been afforded much lately. We’ll take a look at how the snaps were distributed on offense and defense from Week 14.
Offense
#Jets snap counts (offense): Used all 8 OLM. Mitchell (shoulder) didn’t finish and was replaced by Turner. The OL injury plague continues. Brown used as an extra … and actually ran a pass route at the goal line. Cook started, but “this is Breece’s team,” Saleh said. Hall wound… pic.twitter.com/nX2zvq1Qxs
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 11, 2023
Despite Dalvin Cook actually starting the game, the Jets still led Breece Hall loose and he finally broke out of his slump. Hall totaled 126 yards on 18 touches, including eight catches. Hall saw 42 snaps to Cook’s 16 as Cook remained ineffective on the ground with just 13 yards on seven attempts.
Israel Abanikanda saw his first game action since Week 11. He finished with -1 yard on three rushing attempts but the important piece here is he still saw the field, even if it was in garbage time.
Injuries again hit the offensive line as the Jets used all eight active offensive linemen. With Carter Warren inactive, the starting line left to right was Mekhi Becton, Laken Tomlinson, Joe Tippmann, Jake Hanson and Max Mitchell. Tippmann and Mitchell were both banged up during the game, so Chris Glaser and Billy Turner also were mixed in and the Jets continued their newest trend of using Duane Brown as a sixth blocker and even had him run a route.
Allen Lazard played 49 snaps, second-most among wide receivers Sunday. He didn’t see a single target. Randall Cobb scored a touchdown on his lone target as he played just 13 snaps.
Jeremy Ruckert is very much in the passing game now and was right up there with Tyler Conklin Sunday. Conklin played 38 snaps; Ruckert played 33. Kenny Yeboah also was in the mix with 23 snaps, one more than fullback Nick Bawden. Conklin and Ruckert combined for seven catches and 94 yards on nine targets.
Defense
#Jets snap counts (defense): A rare occasion: Comfortably ahead and emptied the bench. JFM limited due to an ankle injury. He was limping earlier in the week, didn’t look promising. Credit for pushing through. pic.twitter.com/Ha80zrlKf9
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) December 11, 2023
With the Jets in control and the game out of reach, a few depth and younger players were able to see the field for a few plays on defense.
An ankle injury limited John Franklin-Myers to just 15 snaps Sunday. It wasn’t a certainly he would even play. The elevation of Jalyn Holmes (13 snaps) seemed to indicate the Jets were going to rest Franklin-Myers. Instead, it was another week with Carl Lawson inactive as Franklin-Myers was able to push through and play.
He only played 13 snaps but rookie Will McDonald recorded his first full NFL sack. McDonald is simply buried on the depth chart — certainly not the best look for a top-15 pick — but he has been fairly effective in recent weeks in what limited opportunities he does see.
Even with only playing about half the snaps each game, Bryce Huff scored another sack against Houston and now has the team lead with seven. Huff needs to at least be one of, if not the most, prioritized in-house free agent for the Jets this offseason.
