THREE-POINT STANCE
(Three points of interest in Sunday’s game)
OLD PRO
Geno Smith added stability to the Jets offense when he was acquired in an offseason trade after a year with the Raiders. He also brought an elite deep ball. Smith, who turned 36 on Saturday, leads the league with a 72.6 completion percentage and the accuracy stays on throws downfield.
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“Throws a good ball. Throws a good deep ball, making good decisions of keeping it out of harm’s way,” Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said. “So we just got to do a good job of putting pressure on him and finding a way to attack the ball and take it away from him.”
Smith will be without receiver Adonai Mitchell (finger) but still has wideouts Garrett Wilson and Isaiah Williams and tight ends Jeremy Ruckert, Mason Taylor and Kenyon Sadiq. Wilson leads the Jets with 24 catches for 270 yards and two touchdowns. He and Ward didn’t overlap at Ohio State but have faced off in the pros three times in Wilson’s four previous seasons. His best outing was in his second game as a rookie, when he caught eight passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-30 Jets win. If the Browns feel Wilson is the clear No. 1 threat in the passing game, they could assign Ward to shadow him. Ward, a five-time Pro Bowler, continues to play at an elite level.
“Definitely fun matchup,” Ward said. “Great player. He’s from Ohio State, so I know what he’s all about and the type of player that he is. Just a dynamic player for those guys and able to make plays all over the field. Great hands, great routes.”
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Smith was originally a second-round pick of the Jets in 2013 but didn’t establish himself until 2022 with the Seahawks. He led the league with a 69.8 completion percentage and was NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He and the Jets look to bounce back after a 23-12 loss to the Bears in which he completed only eight of 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He’s passed for 902 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in the Jets’ 1-3 start.
“If you give him time back there, they’ll start making plays,” defensive end Jared Verse said. “He’ll damage you a lot. I have a little history of playing against him. I know what he’s capable of, and you just can’t let him get going. If he gets going, he’s the best in the league.”
ALL WRONG
The Browns were supposed to beat the Jets last year, at least in their eyes and the eyes of their fans. The Jets had gone winless through seven games before beating the Bengals and then having a bye week. The Browns were 2-6 but saw an opportunity.
Then their special teams stepped on the field.
The Browns led 7-0 before a 99-yard kickoff return by Kene Nwangwu. On Cleveland’s next possession, Williams took the punt return 74 yards for a touchdown and 14-7 lead. The two kick return touchdowns within 36 seconds led to a 27-20 Jets win. The fallout lasted for months, as coach Kevin Stefanski was fired at the end of the season and special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone was allowed to leave, being hired by the Rams.
Byron Storer was hired to replace Ventrone in his first time as coordinator. The changes have been noticeable. Cleveland’s coverage units have been strong, punter Corey Bojorquez has been much better and the huge gaffes have been absent. The Browns still commit too many penalties and lack consistent explosiveness in the return game, but things have solidified.
“When I took this job, looking at the things that we need to focus on the most, that’s how you build your install and make sure that you’re addressing some of the issues that occurred last year so that they don’t reoccur this year,” Storer said. “I just think that we’re ready to handle this situation. We’re prepared. It’s going to be a challenge. They’re a good unit, and it’s an opportunity for us to go out there just like any other week and execute.”
“Our coverage has been elite,” coach Todd Monken said.
Then there’s Andrew Szmyt, who’s made 22 straight field goals, including the 56-yard winner Oct. 1 vs. the Steelers. He’s removed one area of anxiety for coaches and fans.
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AVOID THE TRAP
Grant Delpit had the right answer to the question.
“Trap game? No. I don’t even know what that is, honestly,” he said. “You might have to define that term.”
Definition: A game that could be overlooked because it falls between “more meaningful” games, usually against a “lesser” opponent.
“They 1-3? I ain’t even know,” Delpit said. “Nah, listen, we’re not in any position to be calling games trap games. This is the fifth game of the year. So we still got a lot to figure out. Glad that we’ve been able to find a way to win games in the end and not beat ourself when it counts, but it’s been pretty sloppy. So we’ve got a lot to clean up.”
Bringing up the possibility of a “trap game” is valid. The Browns beat the Steelers in primetime in their most recent game for a third straight victory. They host the Ravens next Sunday in what could be a battle for first place in the AFC North. The Jets have lost three straight. If the Browns are going to overlook someone on the schedule, this would be a strong candidate.
Monken obviously considered the mindset of his young team. One of his talking points during the week was motivation.
“We all have to find our ways to be motivated of what we want out of careers, out of relationships, what we want. And we decide that on an everyday basis,” he said. “You try to tell the guys: ‘How would you prep this week if you were playing the Super Bowl on Sunday? How would it be if it was the last game you ever played? What if it was the only time your grandma or grandpa got a chance to see you play?’ And we all have to find those tools that motivate us. That motivation isn’t easy. It’s easy to settle. And so that has been a message for our guys in terms of what motivates you each and every day to be the best player you can be.”
The players have conveyed the message to each other not to sleep on the Jets.
“One of the things I’ve been telling our guys is two more plays going their way, they have a winning record,” Verse said. “That’s a very good football team across the board. They got a lot of talent. This isn’t like college football where you play a bad team that hasn’t won anything. This is the league. Everybody’s good. That 1-3 record could be 7-3 in a couple of weeks.”
The Browns were a slight underdog despite the records.
“It’s been a lot of disrespect towards the Browns for a long time,” Ward said. “We kind of keep everything internal. We got our own motivation and we looking to go in and be 1-0 this week and that’s our main goal.”
NUMBERS GAME
1
Jets interception in the last 21 games. It came last week in a loss to the Bears.
32
Offensive plays run by the Jets in the 23-12 loss to the Bears, who had 93 offensive snaps.
118.3
Fourth-quarter passer rating for Deshaun Watson, which ranks fifth in the NFL. He’s led three straight winning drives in the fourth quarter.
THE PICK
The young Browns may be overconfident. The Jets should be desperate after losing three straight. Jets 22, Browns 20.
