The Jets and Browns meet tonight on Thursday Night Football for their 25th all-time meeting in the regular season. While both teams roster first round rookie quarterbacks, only one will start in tonight’s game.
That’s the No. 3 overall pick, Sam Darnold. After throwing a pick-six on his first NFL pass, Darnold has looked pretty good through two weeks.
Darnold became the youngest player in NFL history (21 years, 103 days old) to throw for at least 300 yards in a game, when he passed for 334 yards and one touchdown in the Jets’ Week 2 loss to the Dolphins.
The Jets and Browns were two of the NFL’s worst teams last year, but in Week 1 both looked relatively good. The Jets trampled over the Lions, while the Browns tied with the Steelers. Then in Week 2, the Jets lost to the Dolphins while the Browns’ (now-cut) kicker cost them a win over the Saints.
Tonight’s matchup is another Thursday night game that will only be broadcast on NFL Network, and while it would be easy to write these teams off, the game might actually be fun to watch!
Why? Here are five reasons to watch the Jets take on the Browns on Thursday Night Football.
1. Even though the Browns are 0-1-1, they really haven’t looked bad.
The Browns forced two fumbles in their loss to the Saints and sacked Drew Brees three times. In Week 1, the Cleveland defense secured three interceptions and three forced fumbles while notching four sacks against the Steelers. The last time the Browns forced multiple fumbles in three consecutive games was in 2003. A big part of that equation is 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick, Myles Garrett. He has two sacks and seven tackles through two weeks and has looked like a force to be reckoned with. If you pay attention to only one thing tonight, it should be Garrett.
The Browns defense will look to continue forcing turnovers and getting the ball back into the hands of their offense.
Speaking of which, while the running game has yet to take off, rookie receiver Antonio Callaway is coming on strong in the passing game as defenses double-team Jarvis Landry. Even being double-teamed, the former Dolphins receiver has 175 yards on 12 catches through two weeks. Callaway and Landry will need to continue stepping up now that Josh Gordon was traded away to the Patriots. Landry is dealing with a knee injury, but if Hard Knocks taught us anything, it’s that he will attempt to play through it as much as possible.
2. The Sam Darnold era in New York is just getting underway.
It’s only Week 3 and this is already the Jets’ second primetime game and another big stage on which Darnold will attempt to shine. After throwing a pick six on his first pass, Darnold had a strong season opener, going 16 of 21 for 198 yards, two touchdowns, and the aforementioned interception against the Lions. His 116.8 passer rating was nothing to laugh about, especially in a debut game. In Week 2 his rating was lower thanks to two interceptions (74.6) but it was still a decent showing for the quarterback, other than an end to the first half that everyone in New York would rather forget.
Darnold’s connection with Quincy Enunwa will be something to watch for in this game. Enunwa has been targeted 21 times through two weeks and has 155 yards and one touchdown on 13 catches. The Sam Darnold era is just getting going in New York and it’s exciting to watch the rookie’s career take off.
3. Tyrod Taylor’s safe play could lead the Browns to their first win since Dec. 24, 2016.
It’s been 635 days since the Browns’ last win.
Since Hue Jackson took over as head of the Browns in 2016, he’s never won a Sunday game. He’s only won one game, and it was a Saturday Christmas Eve win over the Chargers. It would be relatively fitting if his second win came on a Thursday and he remained winless with the Browns on Sundays.
With that said, if the Browns win, you are not going to want to miss it. Tyrod Taylor is one of the most conservative quarterbacks in the league, and by completing the game without multiple interceptions, Taylor will continue his current active streak of 44 games with no more than one interception. The mark is an all-time NFL record. Taylor is of one of only two quarterbacks since 2015 to accrue at least 8,000 passing yards and 1,500 rushing yards.
He’ll run, he’ll throw, and he’ll look to protect the football. He’s certainly not the most exciting quarterback to watch, but if he leads the Browns to a win in Cleveland, it’s going to be worth watching.
4. Terrelle Pryor and Isaiah Crowell make their returns to Cleveland.
Jets running back Isaiah Crowell spent the first four years of his career with the Browns (2014-17) and Jets wide receiver Terrelle Pryor spent 2015-16 with the Browns, leading the team in receiving in 2016 with 77 catches for 1,007 yards and four touchdowns.
Now, Crowell leads the Jets in rushing through two weeks with 157 yards and Pryor ranks second on the team in receiving yards with 133. They’ll surely want to put on a show against their former team.
Additionally, Jets defensive back Buster Skrine was a fifth-round pick by the Browns in 2011 and spent four years with the club. Skrine leads the Jets in tackles with 14 this season. Jets backup quarterback Josh McCown was with the Browns from 2015-16. He set the Browns single-game passing record with 457 passing yards on Oct. 11, 2015. The Browns actually won three games that year, which is more than they’ve won since Hue Jackson took over as head coach in 2016.
5. Browns fans are actually confident heading into this game. When’s the last time you could say that?
This year, SB Nation is surveying fans across the league on a weekly basis to gauge their thoughts on their favorite NFL team. (You can check out all of the FanPulse survey results here.) Heading into tonight’s game, Browns fans are actually pretty confident they will beat the Jets.
The Browns are 3-point favorites over Jets, per Bovada. And while Jets fans believe their team will win this game, the Browns fans we surveyed were even more confident than their counterparts in New York
Gang Green Nation FanPulse: Jets will win by 4 points
Dawgs By Nature FanPulse: Browns will win by 7 points
Here are a few reasons Jets fans are hopeful from Gang Green Nation’s Michael Nania.
Trumaine Johnson had a rocky Week 1 but bounced back to lock down Kenny Stills and the Dolphins’ vertical attack last week. You can take him inside with speedy receivers, but he is tough to beat over the top or in the red zone. Jamal Adams looks to be making the strides he needed to make and has played like a Pro Bowler so far. He was already a great run defender and has shown tremendously improved coverage instincts and ball-contesting ability. Morris Claiborne is a wild card; he had a great Week 1 but pretty bad Week 2.
As for Browns fans, Chris Pokorny of Dawgs By Nature knows it’s hard to be too hopeful about a team that’s gone 1-32-1 in its last 34 games, but he still has a way of looking at the bright side of things.
When you lose as much as Cleveland has, you learn not to really think about win-loss potential. The Browns forced a tie in their division, and lost to an NFC team. They haven’t lost a division game yet, or a conference game yet, if I am thinking about Wild Card spots down the road. That’s how I see this week’s game: two up-and-coming teams in the AFC, with Cleveland having the home-field advantage and trying to make amends for not “winning” the past two games with a new kicker and hopefully some improved chemistry on offense.
Read Again Brow https://www.sbnation.com/2018/9/20/17877422/5-reasons-to-watch-the-jets-take-on-the-browns-on-thursday-night-football
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