ALL ON THE LINE

Give Jets’ offensive front credit for win over Jags

The big nasties deserved the game ball for Sunday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When an offense runs for 269 like the Jets did — not counting the Braden Mann fake field goal run for four yards — that’s a testament to the offensive line.

Without that offensive line domination, Gang Green probably would not have snagged their fourth win of the season. During the Week 16 matchup the unit consistently made like Moses parting the Red Sea, allowing Michael Carter and company to run wild. Carter finished with 118 yards on 16 carries and Tevin Coleman ran for 57.

The offensive line also aided in Zach Wilson’s 52-yard touchdown run. The Jaguars sent pressure and the Jets’ unit blocked it well, which allowed Wilson to eventually scramble and turn into “Zach Vick.”

And that impressed Robert Saleh, who watched the game from a hotel room while isolating with COVID-19

“The amount of aggression. The way the new line of scrimmage was being created,” Saleh said Monday. “Just all of it was pretty damn impressive.”

What’s more eye-popping was that Jets running backs averaged 2.1 yards before contact, which was fifth most in the NFL for Week 16, according to Next Gen Stats. Credit that to the Jets’ offensive line moving the Jags’ defensive lineman. And 20% of the Jets’ runs were over 10 yards, which was second most in the NFL for the week.

Against a loaded box with eight defenders, the running backs put up 71 yards. That’s a combination of Carter and Coleman making defenders miss, and the offensive line creating holes against those looks, as well — the running backs ran for four yards before contact, which was also second most for the week.

“They were moving people out the way,” Carter said postgame. “Between the offensive line and receivers blocking we didn’t really have to do all that much, we just had to make our guys miss at the second level.”

And the offensive line was able to accomplish all that without multiple starters. COVID-19 sidelined Alijah

Vera-Tucker and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and center Connor McGovern suffered an MCL injury in the fourth quarter.

So backup linemen Greg Van Roten, Dan Feeney and Isaiah Williams played plenty.

But it was not a problem for the Jets. “That’s what we were looking for, was to establish it, to show the dominance up front, running backs hitting it hard, they did an awesome job.” Wilson said postgame. “And we just kept going to it, that’s where games are won, especially this point in the year. And the guys were grinding… of course the O-line upfront.”

GOODBYE MEKHI?

With two games remaining on the season, it doesn’t seem likely Jets franchise left tackle Mekhi Becton will return.

“Barring a miracle, but right now he’s probably not going to be here this week,” Saleh said. “Barring anything changing, we’re not ruling him out, but something’s going to have to change.”

Becton injured his knee in Week 1 against the Panthers in a 14-19 loss. The former No. 11 overall pick dislocated a kneecap and suffered MCL and cartilage damage.

It was initially thought to be a season-ending injury, but he opted for surgery in mid-September to try to prevent that. The timetable for return post surgery was thought to be four to eight weeks, according to Saleh.

Around the eight-week mark, however, when the Jets were preparing for the Bills, Becton still wasn’t healthy enough. Every couple of weeks Saleh gave a “no update” update.

That looks to continue to the end of the season.

“He is a very big man. Everyone heals a little bit differently,” Saleh said. “I know he had a little bit of a cleanup in there and it didn’t go the way everyone was expecting, but it didn’t mean that there were setbacks or anything. He’s still working, he’s still putting in the effort. We’ll get him back, if something doesn’t change — obviously where we’re able to get him back for next week, if we work off the assumption where he won’t be back — I know he’ll be back for 2022. He’ll be ready to roll. It’s not that there was a setback, it’s not that anyone has been lazy, it’s none of that, it’s just a matter of everyone’s body heals differently.”