JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jaguars can’t take their foot off the gas. Any loss could leave the door ajar for the Houston Texans to sneak on through.
This is a game the Jaguars should win, but they can’t get complacent either, especially with some uncertainty surrounding who will be the Jets’ quarterback.
Here are three key matchups for the Jaguars’ Week 15 vs the Jets:
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Travis Etienne vs Jets’ Defense
Many thought the Jaguars’ offense would run through a committee this season as Travis Etienne, Tank Bigsby, and Bhayshul Tuten all seemed pretty deserving of touches. Oh, how much has changed. It has ended up being a career year for Travis Etienne.
Etienne is currently on pace to post his best season yet, just shy of 1200 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. He’s really been even better than those numbers indicate. For much of the season, the offense has run through him. It will be interesting to see if the Jets’ defense, which is allowing 140 rushing yards per game, can stop the Jaguars on the ground.
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Breece Hall vs Jags’ Defense
Speaking of offenses running through running backs, we move on to Breece Hall, who, aside from Garrett Wilson, has been the only bright spot on the Jets’ offensive side of the ball.
Touchdowns aside, Hall has very comparable numbers to Etienne on the season; the Jets just have had a tougher time finding the end zone.
The Jaguars’ defense has been a lot better at stopping the run, however. In fact, they have been just about the best, allowing a league-best 82.9 rushing yards per game. Only one running back has topped 70 rushing yards against the Jags this season, and it was just this past weekend to Jonathan Taylor. That said, it did take him 21 carries to reach those 74 yards.
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Josh Hines-Allen vs Jets’ OL
Josh Hines-Allen was the focus of my previous article and how deserving he was. Hines-Allen is on an absolute tear, leading the NFL in pressures since Week 9 (39) and collecting 6.5 sacks in those six games as well. Heck, he even added a safety this past weekend.
On the other side of things is the Jets’ offensive line, which is dead last in both pressure rate (44%) and sack rate (11.3%) allowed. It’s uncertain who will suit up at quarterback, but those are pretty tough conditions, even if the Jets’ QBs do hold the ball among the longest in the NFL.
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