Jets’ sputtering pass offense takes on Chargers’ struggling pass defense
Zach Wilson and the New York Jets’ passing game are having a tough time being effective this season.
The Los Angeles Chargers’ defense is struggling to keep teams from beating them through the air.
So, something’s got to give Monday night when the two square off at MetLife Stadium, right?
“I know I keep saying it’s close,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said, “but I’m like you and everybody else, hopefully that ‘close’ triggers sooner rather than later.”
The Jets rank 31st — or secondto-last — in the NFL in passing while averaging 164.3 yards per game. Wilson had 240 yards passing in the 13-10 overtime win over the Giants last Sunday and has thrown for at least 186 yards in each of his last four games. But he also has just two touchdown passes in that span as New York has been unable to consistently move the football.
“Close is never good,” offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said. “For me, everything is just continually grinding and trying to figure out what you can do better. It starts with me . ... We never want to be close. I don’t want to be close, I want to be there . ... We have to get better, and fast.”
Perhaps the biggest culprit is the Jets’ inability to get the job done on third down. They rank last in the NFL with a 23% conversion rate and have too many third-and-long situations hijacking drives.
“Yeah, not great,” Wilson said. “We need to be better there . ... To be a great offense, you have to be great on third down.”
Meanwhile, the Chargers rank last in the league in passing defense, allowing an average of 297.4 yards per game.
That number is a bit bloated by huge games by Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa (466 yards, Week 1) and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (424, Week 7), but Los Angeles has not allowed less than 230 yards passing in any game this season — and that includes Tyson Bagent throwing for 232 last Sunday night in the Chargers’ 3013 win over the Bears.
Bagent had a 41-yard completion on the game’s first play, then Los Angeles mostly held him in check while also limiting Chicago to just 73 yards rushing.
“We had the one play, the first play of the game and then after that, we kept the football in front of us,” Chargers coach Brandon Staley said. “We need to build off of it. I think the story for us this season is that when we stop the run like that, it helps our whole defense out.”
BREEZY BREECE
Los Angeles’ run defense has been stout, ranking sixth overall. And it will have its hands full Monday night with Breece Hall.
The second-year running back