It's a pivotal week for the LA Chargers as they head to MetLife to take on the 4-3 New York Jets in Week 9.
It's set to be one of the biggest tests for the Chargers' offense to date as the Jets possess one of the league's top defenses, maybe even the best. And as we saw with the Cowboys and Chiefs games, the Chargers have struggled on the offensive side of the ball when matched up with quality defensive units.
That Jets defense is daunting. This game could go sideways really quickly if the offensive game plan is not completely buttoned up. But here are five reasons the Bolts should come away with the victory in this one on Monday night....
1. The Jets have a poor offensive line
Coming into the year, we all knew the Jets O-line was going to be the major question mark. Could the O-line protect the old man Aaron Rodgers? And the answer to that quickly turned out to be a resounding "NO."
The Jets have already allowed 24 sacks, 36 hurries, 28 hits on the quarterback, 88 pressures, and a pressure rate of 34.1%, which is the worst in the league. Zach Wilson does hold the ball a lot, but the rate at which he's under this kind of pressure also has a lot to do with the play of his protection- there's no way it doesn't.
The numbers speak for themselves. Pass rushes can disturb the pocket against Wilson and force him into mistakes. That's been the recipe to foil him ever since he came into the league.
We've got 23 sacks already from the likes of Khalil Mack, Tuli Tuipulotu, Morgan Fox, Sebastian Joseph-Day, and even Joey Bosa who's starting to look like himself again the last few games.
This has unquestionably been a major bright spot in the Chargers defense this season. Zach Wilson has gotten sacked 13 times in the last three games. There is no reason the Chargers pass rush shouldn't be able to give this kid a rough time.