The Jets take on another easy defense this week in the Washington Redskins and will look to string together consecutive wins for the first time since Week 6 of the 2018 season. Sam Darnold enjoyed a nice bounce-back game against the Giants in Week 10 and will face an even weaker secondary against the lowly Redskins, while Le’Veon Bell could find lots of running lanes against a bad run defense.
The Jets should be able to move the ball effectively considering Washington allows a league-high 6.7 plays per drive and teams convert 50 percent of their third-down attempts against the Redskins. The biggest thing for New York will be its ability to maintain the ball and attack Washington’s weakest points on defense.
Here are four keys to the Jets offense in Week 11.
Target CB Josh Norman
If the Jets want to succeed in the air, they should target Josh Norman in coverage. Norman is the Redskins’ third-highest paid player, but arguably their worst defensive back. When quarterbacks throw his way, Norman has allowed a passer rating of 142.5 (80th among cornerbacks) and 3.6 receptions per game for 51.9 yards and six touchdowns. Norman allows receivers to catch 70.7 percent of their targets.
This sets up Robby Anderson for a great spot against one of the worst secondaries in the NFL. Anderson is a speedster by nature and Norman gets burned (by allowing at least five yards of downfield separation) on 7.3 percent of targets. Darnold should attack Norman early and often downfield to jump-start the Jets offense.
Rush for more than 100 yards
Despite adding Le’Veon Bell this offseason, the Jets rushing attack has been abysmal all season. The Jets rank 31st in rushing yards and are the only team in the NFL not to rush for more than 100 yards in a game all season. That needs to change against the Redskins, who allow 136 rushing yards per game – fifth-most in the league.
A lot of the Jets’ struggles stem from their porous offensive line, which will now take on one of the weakest defensive lines in the league. Washington ranks 26th in Football Outsiders’ adjusted line yards with 4.66 and only stuffs runners on 16 percent of rushing attempts. Bell should be able to run a lot better against the Redskins if the offensive line can finally open lanes for him.
Don’t turn the ball over
Week 10 marked the first time all season the Jets didn’t give away the ball. Talk about progress. The Jets need to continue that pattern against the Redskins, which shouldn’t be too hard against a team with only 12 takeaways.
Darnold needs to continue to play smart football and can’t afford to make the same mistakes he made in the three games prior to the win over the Giants. The Jets are a much better team when Darnold doesn’t turn the ball over and will need him to keep a clean sheet if they want to progress positively by the end of the season.
Score more than 20 points
This one is about simple math. The Redskins offense averages about 12 points per game – fewest in the league – and only scored more than 20 points twice all season. For the Jets, eclipsing 20 points has equated to wins this season. New York averaged 29 points in its two wins this season while averaging 10.3 points in its seven losses. The Jets offense won’t need to go crazy to beat the Redskins, but scoring at least 20 points should do the trick.
It will be on Sam Darnold to find his playmakers and the rest of the Jets offense to not make mistakes. Luckily, they’ll face a very soft defense that allows 24.3 points per game.
