Jets 20-17 Washington

Edition #675

Good morning! ☕

It was nice to see some actual football over the weekend, and while pre-season results really don’t matter I’d rather be winning than losing football games.

As expected the vast majority of Jets starters sat out the game, Joe Tippmann was the only offensive player to see action (7 snaps) which is probably related to those snap issues, we didn’t see any issues on Saturday.

Will McDonald saw some action on the defensive side of the ball, but unlike Washington the Jets kept their starters out of the game.

🟢 Braelon Allen spoke to the media after the game and he was happy with his performance - "I felt like I ran the ball hard and was decisive," Allen said. "That's been my biggest point of emphasis since I got here. No matter what decision I make, make it at 100 percent. I feel like I did that, but other than that, just try to improve in every single way."

⚪ Davis wasn’t quite as pleased with his performance saying "Everything went pretty well," Davis said. "I wish I had stayed up on my feet a little bit more, it was my first time playing on turf in a little while and first time being on the field. I think it's just going to get better and better."

🟢 Joe Tippmann who watched the majority of the game from the sideline was impressed with what he saw from the rookie runners: "That was awesome. Seeing them be able to cut it loose, they're some very hard running running backs. To see them have the success they did, it was a great feeling and I was hyping them up on the sidelines."

⚪ Will McDonald didn’t fill the stat sheet with his 12 reps but I thought he looked pretty good out there - "I felt like it was pretty good," McDonald said of his preseason debut. "I came out expecting to make an impact from the first play to my last play. I definitely feel like I made an impact. I'm just out there playing ball and having fun."

🟢 Tyrod Taylor has been left impressed with Jason Brownlee who scored the Jets only receiving touchdown - "Obviously he's had more reps with me than any other guy, so I get a chance to see him and throw to him every day," Taylor said. "He's made a ton of plays. He has a very wide catch radius. I don't really think there's nothing that he can't do, it's just about him having an opportunity to go out there and do it and consistently do it."

⚪ Joe Tippmann believes he’s now in a good place after some early camp snapping issues: "I felt good now, Just some growing pains. I'm getting there, it's just that I started picking up the bigger load at the beginning of camp compared to last year. I think they've [the snaps] have gotten a lot better, I've been able to hold them down now and get them back [to the quarterback]. That came from a lot of hard work with the quarterbacks, the coaches and in the O-line room."

🟢 Unfortunately Jimmy Ciarlo was injured in the game against the Commanders, and being the cut-throat business it is, he was waived just hours later with the Jets signing TE Neal Johnson who was cut by the Rams last week. It’s a massive shame for Ciarlo who I had potentially making the roster. Hopefully he’s either back with us soon or he catches on elsewhere.

Although it’s still early in the pre-season, a few players really staked their claim for either more playing time, or a place on the roster in general.

It’s important to not read too much into these performances but these games are designed to help separate some of these depth pieces and for me a few players grabbed my attention.

Braelon Allen

I know we have Aaron Rodgers, but I can’t tell you how excited I am for this running game. Not only do we have Breece who for my money is one of the best RBs in football, but Allen showed both his power and vision on Saturday. The rookie RB had 6 carries for 54 yards which is good for 9 yards per carry. Last year the Jets had to rely on Breece to get anything on the ground, this year things will be different.

Jarrick Bernard-Converse

I was really impressed with JBC, the second year man was targeted 6 times and gave up just one catch. That was a 42-yard strike to Dyami Brown, but he had super close coverage on him and the receiver just went up and made a great contested catch, sometimes you just have to give credit to the receiver, it was great coverage by JBC. Outside of that he was locked in. His coverage downfield was good, his reactions and physicality up at the line was good. What a great first game in the pros at his natural position of outside corner.

Leonard Taylor III

In the preview last week I said that I hadn’t really heard much about Leonard Taylor III in camp so far, and he duly went out there and made a couple of statement plays. One was in the run game, but the marquee one that people will remember is the sack where he got up-field in a hurry. Earlier this pre-season we looked at Taylor and how he wasn’t put in the best position at Miami to make these kinds of plays. He’s got plenty of opportunities to make this team with the depth on the interior. Also got a lot of time for the mimicking of the Quinnen Williams celebration.

Backup Quarterbacks

Martinez made the splashier plays, but personally I thought both Andrew Peasley and Martinez made some good plays out there. Martinez showed off his wheels while I thought Peasley showed off his quarterbacking. Peasley completed 72.7% of his passes including the touchdown to Brownlee (below) and Martinez showcased an incredible arm. This QB competition may be one of the more interesting battles in a team that’s largely set with its starters. At the end of the pre-season one of these guys will be winning by Brett Ratcliff award for Pre-Season QB star.

Here is one of the stellar plays from Martinez, he had a few.

Stat-Zone

• The Jets had two drops on the day, one from rookie Malachi Corley and the other from Lance McCutcheon.

• Brandon Smith not only had that big completion, but he also came down with both of his contested catches. Good start for Brandon.

• Isaiah Davis showcased his pass-catching ability out of the backfield, coming down with all 4 targets for 33 yards.

• None of the Jets offensive lineman allowed more than one pressure. There was just one sack which came against Tyrod Taylor.

• Bruce Hector led the Jets defense with 4 pressures, although I didn’t think he looked that sharp personally.

• Takk McKinley was the only other Jet to register more than one pressure on the day.

• There were no interceptions from either team but there were two pass break-ups for the Jets. One from JBC and one from Codrington.

The 49ers started their pre-season with a 17-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans. Like the Jets, San Francisco held out the vast majority of their starters.

The 49ers have also decided to cancel their practices with the Saints later this week. It was mutually agreed to cancel both Thursday and Friday sessions. The decision was made as injuries continue to mount for San Francisco who lost corner Ambry Thomas to a broken forearm.

San Francisco are hopeful of getting rookie Ricky Pearsall (shoulder) back this week, and there is renewed hope in the Bay that Brandon Aiyuk will sign a long-term deal to stay in San Francisco. There is also some hope that Trent Williams will be ending his holdout soon, personally I hope it ends on September 10th.