In an inter-conference battle, the Seattle Seahawks (2-1) travel across the country to battle the banged-up New York Jets (1-2) Sunday afternoon. Kickoff from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey is at 1 pm ET. Regional television coverage for the game is provided by FOX. According to the current odds, Seattle is a narrow 2 point favorite with the over/under set at 40 points in this contest.
Seattle bounced back from a pair of atrocious offensive performances with a 37-18 home win over the 49ers last week. New York, despite 10 days to prepare, took a 24-3 beating on the road to the Chiefs last week. The teams meet for the 19th time in history in this contest. Seattle holds a 10-8 advantage in the series but the Jets took eight of the last 11 matchups. Seattle won the last two, including a 28-7 home win on November 11, 2012 in the most recent meeting. New York’s last win was a 37-14 home win on December 19, 2004.
Seattle is riding the Legion of Boom defense right now as the offense is banged up. Thomas Rawls is out with a leg injury so Christine Michael is the lead back. Russell Wilson is dealing with a sprained ankle and a MCL sprain that he suffered last week. The Seahawks average 256.7 yards per game through the air this season. The Seahawks have 110 passing attempts against 87 rushing attempts this season. That’s not the way Seattle likes to operate. Seattle is averaging just 17.3 points per game. The Jets are stingy against the run, holding opponents to 71.7 yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry on the ground.
Seattle’s best success may be in the passing game. The Jets allow a 71.3 percent completion rate, 284 yards a game and a 108.1 passer rating to opposing QBs this season. We aren’t talking a Murderer’s Row of QBs that the Jets have faced either. Andy Dalton, Tyrod Taylor and Alex Smith all carved up the Jets’ vaunted pass defense even with Darrelle Revis on one side. We’ll see if Wilson takes advantage of those situations and throws on the Jets.
New York put together a solid defensive performance last week but the offense failed to deliver. Ryan Fitzpatrick tossed six interceptions, two of which the Chiefs returned for touchdowns. The Jets have turned the ball over 10 times this season already and sport a league worst -8 in the giveaway/takeaway ratio. New York averages 379.3 yards per game offensively this season and 20.7 points per game. The Jets contend with a Seahawks defense that allows only 250.3 yards and 12.3 points per game this season. The Seahawks forced only one turnover so far this year but they have eight sacks. New York has averaged 130.7 yards per game on the ground and 4.5 yards per carry. Seattle’s defense allows only 87.7 yards a game on the ground and 3.5 yards per carry.
The Jets are banged up at the receiver position. Eric Decker is out with a partially torn rotator cuff and is week to week. Jalin Marshall is out with a torn labrum in his shoulder and Brandon Marshall is battling a sprained knee. We saw Fitzpatrick think that the Chiefs were his receivers last week. The Jets signed Jeremy Ross as a receiver this week. For now, Quincy Enunwa moves to the #2 role across from Brandon Marshall while rookie Robby Anderson gets first crack at the #3 WR spot.
Both teams have injuries at skill positions. The Seahawks were so thin at running back, they went out and picked C.J. Spiller off the scrap heap this week. Both teams are tough on defense and can control the game from that side of the ball. The Jets can’t keep turning the ball over like they have this season. That -8 number in the giveaway/takeaway ratio is glaring. While Fitzpatrick won’t throw six picks again (we hope), it’s tough to like the Jets. The Legion of Boom makes it a long day for Jets’ fans and Wilson makes the plays for Seattle to get the win. Check here for the rundown on all the week’s action!
The Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after scoring more than 30 points in their previous game. Seattle is also 18-6-2 ATS in their last 26 games after accumulating more than 250 yards passing in their previous game. New York is 6-13-3 ATS in their last 22 games after allowing less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game. The Jets are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in Week 4.