Three weeks into the season, the New York Jets sit at 2-1, with another favorable home matchup with the Denver Broncos on tap where they are seven-point favorites.
It certainly has not been the smoothest path, with Week 1 showing plenty of rust in the primetime loss to San Francisco, but from there the team has begun to play complementary football and the results have followed in their wins over Tennessee and New England.
For a team that has lacked an explosive offense since at least the 2015 season, seeing Aaron Rodgers get into a groove and lead consecutive scoring drives weekly is truly jarring. Mind you, this is a franchise that has rotated through the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bryce Petty, Luke Falk, Trevor Siemian, Joe Flacco, Zach Wilson and Tim Boyle in recent years.
Rodgers has never been known to have his best performances in September, boasting a career record of 35-17-1 in the first month.
This seems to continue being the case, as although he has already demonstrated great rapport with former Green Bay Packers WR Allen Lazard, things have not been as smooth with the team’s perpetual star WR Garrett Wilson. While the reports that surfaced over the summer that the two do not see eye-to-eye are in no way true, these first three games have shown just how detail-oriented Rodgers can be, and how important it is for both of them to be in sync to deliver on the complex structure Rodgers plays with.
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Garrett Wilson has 15 receptions on 26 targets (58% catch rate), and he remains the unequivocal top option in the passing attack with his 29% target share. As the season goes on, it is hard to envision Wilson not having multiple monster weeks as their connection grows stronger and defenses elect to prioritize other parts of this dangerous offense, such as the ground game of Breece Hall and Braelon Allen.
In Week 4, Wilson will have yet another difficult matchup with All-Pro Pat Surtain II, who is coming off shutting down future Hall of Fame WR Mike Evans. Wilson and Surtain have seen each other on multiple occasions in the past, with Wilson coming away with seven receptions for 78 yards total. The Jets have been successful so far in their victories in minimizing turnovers, which may incline them to keep the ball away from Surtain for the most part, but Garrett Wilson‘s best skill is his route running and ability to create separation.
Expect a healthy dose of targets to the Ohio State product in this marquee matchup, and for the team to head into their trip across the pond to London to face former savior of the franchise and current Minnesota Vikings QB Sam Darnold with a 3-1 record, which would be their best since 2015.
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