New York Jets: Three keys to victory over the Panthers in week 12

Slow Down the Pass Rush

These Carolina Panthers come after the quarterback fast and furious. So far in 2017 they have posted 29 sacks, an average of nearly three per game. They are led by the man who has found the fountain of youth, Julius Peppers. Take his 7.5 sacks, add them to Mario Addison‘s 6.5 and you have quite the tandem. Kawann Short brings four of his own, and let’s just say the Jets offensive line has its work cut out for it.

So how does one stop a pass rush? Make those big-time rushers stay at home. First is through the running game like we mentioned on the previous slide. The second way is to throw the ball over their heads, and that means the screen pass. All of the Jets running backs are capable pass catchers so this should come at any time. John Morton would be well-served to make the screen pass an essential part of the game plan. It will do wonders for the time Josh McCown has to throw.

Next: Grading the Jets draft picks through the bye

There is no game that is impossible to win. The Jets have shown that when they are on they can play with anybody. Now, there are games that are tougher than others and this is clearly one of them. But the Jets were not supposed to have done this well either. That’s why they play the games. Let’s see if the Jets can provide their home crowd a post-Thanksgiving afternoon to remember.