The Jets have signed 27-year old safety Gerald Alexander.  Alexander played in 2 games earlier this year for the Dolphins but he didn’t have any tackles.  Alexander has now played in 41 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 159 tackles, 14 passes defensed, 4 interceptions, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 1 tackle for a loss.  This was a smart move for the Jets, as they need help at safety with Jim Leonhard done for the year.

The Jets have lost 29-year old safety Jim Leonhard for the rest of the year due to a torn right patella tendon in his knee.  Leonhard played in 13 games for the Jets this year and he has 48 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 6 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 40 games in his first three years with the Jets and he has 185 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 15 passes defensed and 3 interceptions.  This injury is going to hurt the Jets, big time.

The Jets absolutely punished the Chiefs yesterday!  Mark Sanchez was very efficient as he completed 13 of 21 passes for 189 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 4 yards (2.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets in this game with 129 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 58 yards (19.3 avg) yesterday.  LaDainian Tomlinson pitched in with 14 yards rushing on 9 carries (1.6 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 50 yards (25.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  TE Dustin Keller (4 rec, 34 yards) and WR Santonio Holmes (2 rec, 12 yards, TD) also helped out for the Jets on offense in this game.  The Jets finished up with 159 yards rushing on 42 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 155 yards as they had possession of the ball for 37:42.

The Jets were awesome defensively yesterday, PERIOD!  LB David Harris (6 tackles, 1 sack and 1 QB hit), DE Muhammad Wilkerson (5 tackles) and saftey Eric Smith (5 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Jets on D in this game.  OLB Calvin Pace also had a very solid game with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1/2 a sack, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit.  Safety Jim Leonhard (interception) and DT Sione Pouha (tackled RB Jackie Battle in the end zone for a safety) also made big plays for the Jets on D.  The Chiefs finished up with 65 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 32 passes (50%) for 156 yards in this game.  The Jets are now 8-5 on the season.

The Jets have won two games in a row and they can’t overlook the Chiefs this weekend.  The Chiefs have only scored 35 points in their last five games but they somehow beat the Bears 10-3 in Chicago last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out running the ball this Sunday.  The Chiefs are giving up 130.3 yards rushing per game so far this year (4.2 ypc), so Shonn Greene is going to have  a chance to have a big game this weekend.  The Chiefs have a solid secondary as they have 17 interceptions so far this year, so Mark Sanchez is going to have to be careful with the football.  The Chiefs have a solid set of corners but the Jets are still going to try to get the ball to WRs Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress down the field.  Mark Sanchez will also be looking for TE Dustin Keller a lot in his game to challenge the safeties of the Chiefs.

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Jets are going to focus on stopping the Chiefs’ running game and force Tyler Palko to beat them by throwing the ball.  The Chiefs use Dexter McCluster, Thomas Jones and Jackie Battle in the running game and they all give defenses a different look.  Of that bunch, McCluster is the only game breaker type.  The Jets probably won’t blitz much as Tyler Palko will make his fair share of mistakes with the football.  CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie will have the upper hands on Chiefs’ WRs Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston, allowing the other nine guys on D to freelance a bit more than usual.

PREDICTION:  JETS 16, CHIEFS 6

26-year old cornerback Darrelle Revis is back to being one of the best defensive players on the planet.  He had a rough time in 2010 due to injuries but he has rebounded with a vengeance in 2011.  Revis has played in 12 games for the Jets so far this year and he has 43 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 13 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Revis has been locking down whatever WR he lines up against this year and he’s making opposing QBs pay for challenging him.  Revis has now played in 73 games in his first five years with the Jets and he has 274 tackles, 87 passes defensed, 18 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 2 tackles for a loss.

The Jets scored 21 points in the fourth quarter yesterday to surge to a nice road win over the Redskins yesterday.  Mark Sanchez was so-so once again as he completed 19 of 32 passes for 165 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Shonn Greene led the way on the ground for the Jets yesterday with 88 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 26 yards (8.7 avg) for the Jets in this game.  WRs Santonio Holmes (4 rec, 58 yards, TD) and Plaxico Burress (3 rec, 33 yards) led the way for the Jets in the passing game.  The Jets finished up with 101 yards rushing on 30 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 32 passes (59.4%) for 165 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:12.

The defense was really solid yesterday, especially against the pass.  Safety Eric Smith (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery) and OLB Calvin Pace (6 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery) led the way for the Jets on D in this game.  CB Kyle Wilson (3 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) also pitched in with some big plays for the Jets in this game.  The Redskins finished up with 100 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 46 passes (41.3%) for 204 yards in this game.  The Jets are now 7-5 on the year.

The Jets broke a 2-game losing streak last weekend in a hard fought 28-24 win at home against the Buffalo Bills.  The Redskins snapped a six game losing streak last weekend with a 23-17 on the road in Seattle.  Both teams have got to be feeling better about themselves after last weekend, so here is a look at the matchups in tomorrow’s game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets have been running the ball more lately and look for that to continue against the Redskins.  The Jets really need Shonn Greene to have a good game to keep the offense balanced.  The Redkins have 33 sacks already this season as they blitz from everywhere.  So Mark Sanchez is going to have to make quick decisions with the football in this game.  That is not his strong suit.  TE Dustin Keller will likely be Sanchez’ top target in the passing game tomorrow, and the hope is that he will be able to get a lot of extra yards after the catch.  Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress will also give the Redskins’ DBs some issues with their size and speed combination.

When the Redskins have the ball:  The Redskins would like to run the ball a lot tomorrow, but Roy Helu just doesn’t scare the Jets’ D one bit.  The front seven should be able to handle him without much help from the secondary.  Redskins’ QB Rex Grossman is a gunslinger type, who is at his best throwing the longball.  Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney are going to be his top targets in this game, so Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie are going to likely get challenged quite a big in this game.  Look for either Revis or Cromartie to pick off a pass in this game.  TE Fred Davis is going to give the Jets’ defense fits as he is developing into one of the better pass catching TEs in the NFL.

PREDICTION:  JETS 17, REDSKINS 13

23-year old RB Joe McKnight has been a lot more productive than most people this he has been so far this year for the Jets.  He has played in 11 games for the Jets this year in which he has carried the ball 39 times for 133 yards (3.4 ypc) and he has caught 11 passes for 110 yards (10.0 avg).  McKnight has also returned 26 kickoffs for 901 yards (34.7 avg) with 1 TD return and 5 punts for 26 yards (5.2 avg) so far this year.  McKnight has touched the ball 81 times for 1,170 yards (14.4 yards per touch) and he is averaging 106.4 all purpose yards per game for the Jets this year.  The Jets hope that McKnight keeps up the good work the rest of the season.

The Jets’ offense came alive to cover for the D today.  Mark Sanchez completed 17 of 35 passes for 180 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 INT today.  Shonn Greene amped up the running game with 78 yards rushing on 13 carries (6.0 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg).  Joe McKnight pitched in with 21 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 19 yards (6.3 avg) in this game.  TE Dustin Keller (4 rec, 61 yards, 2 TDs), WR Plaxico Burress (4 rec, 54 yards, TD) and WR Santonio Holmes (2 rec, 22 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Jets.  The Jets finished up with 138 yards rushing on 23 carries (6.0 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 35 passes (48.6%) for 180 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 23:49.

The defense had issues today as the Bills were throwing the ball all over the field against them.  CB Darrelle Revis (8 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and LB David Harris (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) led the way on D for the Jets today.  CB Donald Strickland (6 tackles) and OLB Aaron Maybin (2 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) also pitched in for the Jets on D today.  The Bills finished up with 86 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) for 250 yards in this game.  The Jets are now 6-5 on the year.

The Jets beat the Bills 27-11 just three weeks ago in Buffalo, and they have not won since.  The Jets have been outscored 54-29 the last two games.  The Bills have lost three games in a row by a combined score of 106-26!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets might try to get the running game going if Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are ready to play.  If not, look for Mark Sanchez to get the shackles taken off.  It makes sense to let Sanchez throw the ball 30+ times in this game as both of the Bills’ starting CBs are out for the season and the Bills only have 16 sacks so far this year.  WRs Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes have huge edges over the corners that will be playing this weekend.  If the Bills’ safeties try to double team either of the Jets’ WRs, look for Sanchez to attack them down the middle of the field with TE Dustin Keller.

When the Bills have the ball:  The Bills have had issues throwing the ball as of late, so I have a feeling that they might come out running the ball.  C.J. Spiller will be getting the start at RB and he has explosive speed.  The Jets’ front seven are going to have their hands full with stopping Spiller.  The Jets won’t be blitzing much in this game as they are confident that their secondary will be able to shut down Ryan Fitzpatrick again this weekend.

PREDICTION:  JETS 24, BILLS 13