Jets Week 15: Players to Keep an Eye On

After a embarrassing loss in Week 14 against the Denver Broncos, the Jets will look to rebound against a scary New Orleans Saints team. If the Jets hope to pull of the upset, there are a few players they will need to step it up. Here are some players to keep an eye on as we approach Sunday’s game:

The Running Backs

In a disastrous 23-0 loss to the Denver Broncos, the whole Jets offense was abysmal. One reason the offense didn’t do well, besides Josh McCown going down with a broken left hand, was not giving the running backs enough touches. The Jets only rushed 20 times with their committee after rushing 38 times against the Chiefs. Not great considering they’ve been inconsistent giving the backs touches.

The Jets are 21st in rushing yards, which is not good with the variety of backs they have. Last week Bilal Powell had 13 of the 20 carries for 35 yards and Matt Forte had all but six carries. This is coaching staff’s fault all the way. The Jets offense was unbalanced, and the score and stat-line proved it. But with last week in the books, I fully expect the Jets will lean on the running game this week. The Jets can’t trust Bryce Petty to make throws against a 10th ranked pass defense.

Morris Claiborne

This has been a great comeback season for Morris Claiborne, who only played seven regular season games last year. But in Week 14, Morris may have had the worst game of his career. He was letting Demaryius Thomas walk all over him like he was 2016 Darrelle Revis.

For the first Broncos touchdown, Claiborne was all over Thomas but he never turned his head around, which lead to Thomas being able to catch the 20 yard pass for a touchdown. On the day Thomas had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. Claiborne was covering him for most of the game, but after the game, he noted that he played hurt which lead to him get burnt. He reportedly played with an sprained ankle.

Claiborne was limited in practice Friday after not practicing on Thursday. If he plays (which I think he does), he will definitely be a player to keep an eye on to see if he rebounds against the young and talented Michael Thomas.

Demario Davis

The only positive thing that came out of Week 14’s loss to the Broncos was how good Demario Davis played. He had 12 tackles (10 of those tackles were solo). It was a pretty good stat-line in a bad loss, but Davis has consistently played good after returning to New York in a trade that sent Calvin Pryor to the Cleveland Browns.

Davis isn’t the same player he used to be. He has become a leader on defense. He has also improved mightily this season with 109 tackles (81 of them being solo tackles) from 99 tackles (59 of them being solo) with the stinking Browns. Davis was by far the best player in Week 14 for the Jets and also has been a top player on this team this year.

The leading LBs in run stops after Week 14 pic.twitter.com/1cQSQxL6lW

— PFF (@PFF) December 11, 2017

While this matchup could result in a blowout, there is still opportunity for the Jets to upset the Saints. However, currently, the Jets sit as -15 point underdogs. And with the recent news of McCown being placed on injured reserve with a broken hand, the Jets odds aren’t looking too well.

– Cooper Weissbard is a staff writer for Full Press Coverage Jets and covers the New York Jets. Like and follow on Follow @catchingtapick6 Follow @FPC_Jets