The Jets are reeling right now as they have lost their last two games by a combined score of 55-9!  But they are still in good shape as far as the Wild Card is concerned.  The Steelers have the second best record in the AFC as they are one game behind the Patriots.  They are also only 1 game up on the Ravens in the AFC North so this is a very important game for both teams.  The Steelers have won four games in a row by turning up the D as they have only given up a combined 36 points during the winning streak.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  I don’t see the Jets changing this weekend.  That means I think they will tighten up the chinstraps and try to run the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson, Shonn Greene and Brad Smith against a Steelers’ D that is allowing only 60.1 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry.  This is a put up or shut up game for QB Mark Sanchez.  Troy Polamalu isn’t going to play tomorrow so there will be plays to be made down the field.  Santonio Holmes will without a doubt want to stick it to his old team and if Sanchez has time to throw the ball (the Steelers have 39 sacks) he will.  Braylon Edwards, Dustin Keller and Jerricho Cotchery give Sanchez one of the best set of skill players in the passing game in the league and it’s up to him to make some plays against a Steelers’ D that is giving up 232.9 yards passing per game.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers will also want to run the ball tomorrow with Rashard Mendenhall but that will be easier said than done as the Jets are only allowing 88.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry.  The Jets will need to get back to blitzing because when Ben Roethlisberger has a lot of time in the pocket, he makes plays down the field in the passing game.  The Jets need big games out of CBs Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie against WRs Hines Ward & Mike Wallace if they want to win this game.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 20, JETS 17

The Jets are looking to rebound from the 45-3 beating they took at the hands of the Patriots last Monday Night.  They are still only 1 game behind the Patriots in the AFC East so this is a must win game for them.  The Dolphins have alternated wins and losses the last 8 weeks and they lost last weekend against the Browns.  The Fins are also a really good road team as the are 5-1 away from Miami this year.  The Jets beat the Dolphins 31-23 earlier this year in Miami.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out feeding the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene who will have to work hard to earn every yard against a Fins’ D that is allowing 99.6 yards rushing per game and only 3.7 yards per carry.  With the weather likely to be poor, I look for Mark Sanchez to keep the passing game short with TE Dustin Keller being targeted  more than he has been lately. 

When the Dolphins have the ball:  The Dolphins are also likely going to try to come out running the ball with Ricky Williams & Ronnie Brown.  The Jets are only giving up 87.5 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry so they should be  able to handle them.  With the problems the Jets have at safety the Dolphins might give them some trouble as they also like to throw short passes like the Patriots do.

PREDICTION:  JETS 23, DOLPHINS 20

This is a huge game as the Jets and Patriots are tied atop the AFC East and they also share the best records in all of football with the Atlanta Falcons.  The Jets beat the Patriots back in week #2, 28-14 in New Jersey.  The Jets have won 4 games in a row and they are 5-0 on the road this year where they have outscored the competition 142-97.  The Patriots are 5-0 at home this year where they have outscored the competition 158-120.  Something has to give on Monday Night Football and here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  I look for the Jets to mix things up on offense as the Patriots’ D is pretty awful.  I still think they will come out running the ball with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene as the Patriots are giving up 110.6 yards per game and 4.2 yards per carry.  Look for Mark Sanchez to attack the Patriots’ D off play action as they are giving up 288.5 yards passing per game this year.  Dustin Keller, Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards will be Sanchez’ top targets in this game.  Also, look for Brad Smith to run the Wild Cat quite a big in this game as he is a big time playmaker.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are likely going to run the ball and throw short passes in an attempt to control the clock.  That means BenJarvus Green-Ellis will likely be carrying the load in the running game along with Danny Woodhead who likely has had this game circled on his calendar since getting cut by the Jets.  The Patriots’ O-Line will likely give Tom Brady enough time to throw the ball and I look for him to spread the field and take on the safeties and backup corners of the Jets.

PREDICTION:  JETS 27, PATRIOTS 23

The Jets need to stay on task and not overlook the Bengals tonight.  The Jets have won three games in a row against the Texans, Browns and Lions but only by a combined 12 points.  The Bengals have lost 7 games in a row but last weekend against  Buffalo (49-31) was the only loss of more than 8 points in the streak.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  I don’t see the Jets changing anything tonight.  I think they will come out running the ball with Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson against a Bengals’ D that is allowing 118.3 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Bengals only have 10 sacks this season and they are allowing 223.0 yards passing per game so Sanchez should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  Look for Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes to handle the deep stuff with Dustin Keller and L.T. doing the hard work on the short stuff.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Jets are going to have to get a solid pass rush on Carson Palmer because he has a lot of weapons to throw to and the Jets are giving up 220.0 yards passing per game.  The most interesting thing to watch tonight will be Terrell Owens against CBs Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie whom he calls Ren and Stimpy.  Hopefully the Jets don’t just focus on stopping him because Chad Ocho Cinco, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham are also good targets for Palmer.  The Jets can’t overplay the pass though because Cedric Benson is still a solid RB.

PREDICTION:  JETS 27, BENGALS 20

The Jets are only 2-2 at home this year and they are coming off tough overtime wins at Detroit and at Cleveland the last two weeks.  The Texans have lost three games in a row including a devastating loss to the Jaguars last week on a Hail Mary on the last play of the game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets aren’t going to change this week just because the Texans’ secondary sucks.  Look for them to come out running the ball with Shonn Greene & LaDainian Tomlinson.  It’s still going to be hard to resist letting Mark Sanchez take some shots down the field against a team that is allowing 301.3 yards passing per game.  Opposing QBs have a 110.2 rating against the Texans so far this year.  Look for Sanchez to run a lot of playaction passes to Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Dustin Keller.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Jets are going to need to get back into blitz mode as I have a feeling the Texans are going to come out throwing the ball this week.  Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and Joel Dreessen give Schaub the targets to hurt the Jets in this game.  Arian Foster will also be coming at the Jets’ D on both the ground and out of the backfield in the passing game so they better be ready for him.

PREDICTION:  JETS 30, TEXANS 24

The Jets are 4-0 on the season on the road where they have outscored their opponents 116-77.  But, the Cleveland Browns have won two games in a row where they have pounded the Patriots & Saints by a combined score of 64-31!  So what looked to be a easy win on the schedule now becomes a dogfight.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the football:  The Jets like to run the football as they are averaging 148.0 yards rushing per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  LaDainian Tomlinson & Shonn Greene are going to have to fight for every yard tomorrow as the Browns are only allowing 3.9 yards per carry.  Mark Sanchez will be taking aim at a Browns’ D that is allowing 240.5 yards passing per game, but he’s going to have to be careful as they already have 9 interceptions this year.  Braylon Edwards, Dustin Keller, Jerricho Cotchery and Santonio Holmes give Sanchez a nice bunch of targets to throw to.

When the Browns have the football:  This will be interesting as the Browns love to run the ball while the Jets are only allowing 87.4 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry so far this year.  Still, I see the Browns forcing the issue by giving the rock to Peyton Hillis a lot while also throwing to him out of the backfield.  Rookie QB Colt McCoy has looked pretty good this year as he is 2-1 as a starting QB.  The Jets’ safeties had better be ready because he likes throwing a lot to his TEs.

PREDICTION:  JETS 21, BROWNS 20

The Jets are licking their wounds after getting shut out by the Packers 9-0 in New Jersey last weekend.  The Jets have been outstanding on the road this season though as they are 3-0 and they have outscored the competition 93-57.  But, the Lions are 2-1 at home and they have outscored the opposition 113-66 at Ford Field.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are going to come out of the locker room feeding the football to Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson against a Lions’ D that is allowing 130.4 yards rushing and 4.9 yards per carry.  The Lions have 23 sacks already this year and they have 8 interceptions so the Jets don’t want to be forced to throw the ball too much this Sunday.  Mark Sanchez will need to be careful with the ball but the Lions are allowing 219.9 yards passing per game so there are some plays to be made in the passing game.

When the Lions have the ball:  Matthew Stafford is back at QB for the Lions and they pass block very well for him as he has only been sacked 2 times this year.  Stafford has the kind of arm to make all of the throws and make them in tight windows.  He isn’t afraid of any CBs so he will still be throwing to Calvin Johnson early and often in this game.  The Jets are giving up 218.6 yards passing per game and they only have 5 interceptions this year so look for Stafford to be slinging the ball around.  The Lions won’t abandon the running game unless they get behind by a lot of points.  That means the Jets will have to be ready to deal with Kevin Smith & Jahvid Best.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 27, JETS 24

The Jets have won five games in a row and they’ve had two weeks to prepare for the Packers.  The Packers won last Sunday Night against the division rival Vikings in a very hard fought game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Packers allow 124.3 yards rushing and 4.7 yards per carry so it’s going to be no mystery when the Jets come out running the ball in this game.  Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson are likely going to get a lot of work in this game.  The Packers have 22 sacks already this year so Mark Sanchez is going to have to make quick and solid decisions when throwing the ball.  He also has to be extra careful because the Packers already have 10 interceptions this season and they boast an outstanding pair of starting corners in Charles Woodson & Tramon Williams.  This is the kind of game where Sanchez will likely keep the passing game short which means TE Dustin Keller & Jerricho Cotchery should have success.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Jets have to be careful about blitzing Aaron Rodgers because he will make them pay.  The Jets would probably be smart to be in the nickel most of this game because the Packers are going to keep passing the whole game long against a Jets’ D that is allowing 229.0 yards passing per game. 

PREDICTION:  JETS 24, PACKERS 20

The Jets have won four games in a row as they are looking like the class of the AFC East right now.  The Broncos are an up and down team that can really throw the ball.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are a run first team and I look for that to continue this Sunday in Denver.  LaDainian Tomlinson (435 yards rushing) and Shonn Greene (280 yards rushing) should find a lot of running room against a Broncos’ D that is allowing 127.4 yards rushing and 4.4 yards per carry.  The Broncos have absolutely no pass rush so Mark Sanchez will likely be deadly off playaction in this game after the run is established.  Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller will give Sanchez a lot of choices in who to throw the ball to tomorrow in Denver.

When the Brocos have the ball:  The Jets are only giving up 79.0 yards rushing and 3.3 yards per carry while the Broncos are averaging only 51.8 yards rushing and 2.3 yards per carry.  I don’t look for the Broncos to even attempt to run the ball unless they get a quick, big lead on the Jets in this game.  The Jets will have to send a lot of blitzes at Kyle Orton because if he has time to throw the ball he’s going to have success against a Jets’ D that is allowing 234.6 yards passing so far this year.  I look for the Broncos to spread the field with WRs Jabar Gaffney, Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd and rookie Demaryius Thomas and put the ball in the air at least 40 times.

PREDICTION:  JETS 27, BRONCOS 20

Forget the records in this game I see it being a slobber knocker on Monday Night.  The Jets are cooperating with a league investigation involving Brett Favre and some of the team’s employees in his year with them.  The Vikings also traded for Randy Moss earlier this week and the Jets’ corners have been yapping about him all week.  I look for the Vikings to be plenty motivated against the Jets on Monday Night.  Of course, the Jets love to talk so this is just all part of the game with them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Jets have the ball:  The Vikings’ D is probably playing even better than the Jets’ D so far this year.  That won’t change how the Jets try to go about there business on Monday Night.  Look for them to give the Vikings a heavy dose of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene despite the Vikings holding opponents to 87.3 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry.  The Vikings only have 4 sacks this year so Mark Sanchez should have time to throw the ball.  Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Dustin Keller give the Jets a lot of solid options in the passing game.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings average 143.3 yards rushing and 5.0 yards per carry so look for Adrian Peterson to challenge the Jets’ D all night long.  The Jets will likely send a lot of blitzes at Brett Favre as he can be forced into mistakes after he gets hit a few times.  The safeties will likely have to deal with TE Visanthe Shiancoe who is a favorite target of Favre.  But, Randy Moss will get the full attention of the D as he is still a premier gamebreaker.  They also must keeps tabs on Percy Harvin who has the speed to score any time he touches the football.

PREDICTION:  JETS 17, VIKINGS 13