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Considering the Baltimore Ravens barely got by the Cleveland Browns who played two rookie quarterbacks not picked in the first or second round, we can’t assume the Jets will be blown out in his game, even though they are 13.5-point underdogs.
Tyrod Taylor is better than Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. At this point, you could argue Taylor is significantly better. than those cats. Talking about now, not later, but right now.
Taylor is also better than J.J. McCarthy. Once again, talking about right now, not down the road.
Two weeks ago, the Ravens barely beat the Minnesota Vikings with the incredibly raw McCarthy under center. Last week, the same, facing Gabriel/Sanders.
I’m not predicting a Jets upset, and I will tell you why in a minute, but just saying that if the Gabriel/Sanders-led Browns and the McCarthy-led Vikings can hang with the Ravens, why can’t the Taylor-led Jets?
It should be pointed out that the Ravens-Vikings and Ravens-Browns games were road games for Baltimore, and they are home this week, where they have a great home-field advantage. You can’t leave that out.
And it’s certainly a challenge for road teams playing at raucous M&T Bank Stadium, especially on offense, but this isn’t Taylor’s first rodeo on the road in a loud stadium.
Also, people around the NFL often say, “Bad offensive lines don’t travel well.”
Well, after a rollercoaster ride over the first half of the season, the Jets’ offensive line has settled in nicely over the last couple of games and is playing a lot better, a lot more cohesively.
This is an uber-talented line, loaded with high picks, that is now playing much better after some growing pains as a unit.
And remember, the Ravens’ pass rush isn’t as daunting as it was last year with the injury to one of the best defensive tackles in the league Nnamdi Madubuike, and the trade of edge-rusher Odafe Oweh (10 sacks in 2024) to the Los Angeles Chargers to provide much-needed safety help (Alohi Gilman).
So I think the Ravens will face a better offense than in their last two close wins, but here is why I can’t go down the road of predicting a Jets upset win.
The Ravens and Vikings have much better defenses than the Jets, and that kept those teams in the game, even with green quarterbacks.
This Jets defense has issues, some of which can’t be fixed until the offseason.
For instance, their tight end coverage has been poor all year, and now they are facing the dangerous tight end duo of Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
Their tight end coverage by linebackers needs some work, and this is one of the contributing factors to the team having no picks on the season. They never seem to see things before they happen and jump routes.
Another contributing factor is the safety play has been pedestrian, and the fact that the Jets’ pass defense is not great at zone coverage, with guys too often not doing a great on on “pass-off’ blocks, meaning when a defender passes off a coverage assignment to another player when they leave that particular player’s area, has been a problematic all season.
The Ravens have so many weapons in their passing game, at wide receiver, tight end and even running back, and a top-shelf play-caller in Todd Monken, who is as creative as they come, with time to throw, Lamar Jackson is going to find guys to throw to on Sunday.
And then you throw in the fact that the Jets have issues stopping the run, and they are facing one of the best backs in the league, Derrick Henry, that is another reason it’s hard to pick the Jets in this game.
The Jets’ defensive tackle landscape isn’t ideal. Why do you think they just signed former KC Chief and New Orleans Saint Khalen (pronounced “Colin”) Sanders? Like many of his recent predecessors at defensive tackle with the Jets, new addition Mazi Smith is struggling to get off blocks.
So while the Jets offense should get a spark from Tyrod Taylor at QB, it’s going to be hard for the Jets defense, as it’s currently constructed, to stop this high-powered Ravens offense.
November 19, 2025
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