It is Halloween, and for the Jets to lasso Houston at MetLife Stadium within the NFL’s first recreation of Week 9, they have to placed on the costume — and extra essential, undertake the assumption of — a 6-2 crew that the Texans are and never the 2-6 crew that the Jets are.
“Simply smile, present up, belief, imagine, and root us on as onerous as you possibly can. We’d like that noise,” QB Aaron Rodgers advised Inexperienced & White followers this week after declaring that he felt “actually good” heading into this quick week. “We’re making an attempt to rectify this as shortly as potential. I do know it has been irritating for everyone, however nonetheless a whole lot of season left.”
One of many essential costume dramas on this recreation between considerably banged-up combatants would be the quarterbacks, Rodgers vs. second-year signal-caller C.J. Stroud. Rodgers, 40 and shortly to show 41, might be going through the second-youngest QB when it comes to age hole in Stroud (17 years, 305 days) after beginning in opposition to the youngest final Sunday within the Patriots’ Drake Maye (18 years, 271 days), though he completed in opposition to the extra senior Jacoby Brissett, who acquired the 25-22 win in aid and despatched A-Rod and the Jets to their fifth straight loss.
For the Jets to show their airship round Thursday night time, they’re going to should be the better-dressed crew when it comes to hospital affected person get-ups. They are going to be taking part in with out WR Allen Lazard, DL Leki Fotu and Okay Greg Zuerlein, all of whom have been positioned on Injured Reserve. LB and defensive captain C.J. Mosley, G Alijah Vera-Tucker and safeties Tony Adams and Ashtyn Davis are all out with accidents.
However the Jets have some fascinating additions to the roster that everybody is aware of about. WR Davante Adams might be taking part in his third recreation sporting his new shade of inexperienced after beginning his profession with Rodgers and the inexperienced and gold Packers. And edge Haason Reddick, who started his season with 26 defensive snaps at New England, will search to kick it up one other notch and get after Stroud within the Texans’ pocket.
Talking of kicking it up, younger however well-traveled Riley Patterson will exchange Zuerlein because the Jets’ kicker. In two stints with Detroit plus a season with Jacksonville and two video games with Cleveland final 12 months, Patterson has transformed 88.1% of his discipline objective makes an attempt, together with 19 of 25 from 40-plus yards.