QuickFix: Saucy Nuggets from the Jets' win over the Raiders
We're going to continue today's analysis with some things you might not have noticed from yesterday's win over Oakland:
Before we start, though, we already included plenty of analysis in our postgame takeaways which you can read here (via SNY).
Darn Efficient
Sam Darnold's performance yesterday was excellent. He was getting rid of the ball early, making plays on the move and extremely efficient with the ball.
How efficient you may ask? Well, right up until the 2:00 mark at the end of the third quarter, he had thrown just five incompletions on his 23 pass attempts.
Furthermore, three of those were deliberate throw aways, two as he rolled away from pressure and one as he dirted the ball at the feet of Le'Veon Bell.
The other two? A drop by Bilal Powell on a dump-off underneath (which was actually ruled complete initially) and another safe throw as he rolled out in the red zone and threw low in front of Jamison Crowder where there was no danger of a turnover.
Darnold got away with the only two bad decisions he had up to that point. One of those came on 3rd-and-2 when he eschewed the easy first down as he stepped up and instead lofted a touch pass over the top to Robby Anderson. Kudos to Darnold for backing himself there and it was a bigger gain than he'd have had by running, but it's likely Adam Gase would rather he take the easy first down yardage there.
The other was a rare example of him being too slow to process. He's eyeing the wheel route to Bell, which is well-covered, and doesn't see Jamison Crowder wide open for an easy first down and probable touchdown until a beat too late.
Ultimately, Darnold was bailed out by the roughing the passer call and the Jets scored the go-ahead touchdown anyway. Against better teams, Darnold has to exploit those opportunities though.
Considering the momentum he ended last season with, it will be extremely interesting to see how Darnold follows up this solid performance.
My idea of Shell
Another week, another beastly run blocking performance by Jets' back-up tackle Brandon Shell. We're increasingly convinced he shouldn't remain as a back-up though, especially after this latest performance.
Both starters were questionable with ankle injuries before the game - with Chuma Edoga also dealing with a knee issue - but were named as the starters despite having been limited in practice during the week.
Initially, Kelvin Beachum went down with a very painful looking ankle injury after getting rolled up on in his own end zone. After Beachum left the field under his own power, Shell replaced him at left tackle.
Edoga then suffered his own ankle injury on the first play of the second quarter. While this looked more innocuous on TV, the after-effects looked worse than for Beachum as the rookie was unable to put any weight on his left ankle.
Beachum was able to return, otherwise the Jets would have been forced to give Conor McDermott his first offensive snaps of the season. McDermott has only played 24 offensive snaps in his entire career so far.
The pass protection was excellent with Shell in the game as the Jets held the Raiders to just one sack and no other quarterback hits. Tom Compton was the guilty party on that sack. However, it's in the running game where he continues to show good progress.
Shell had a handful of impact blocks, including a key one on Darnold's keeper for a touchdown, and didn't have any negatives until late in the fourth quarter.
Here's another example of him driving his man well off the line and to the ground to set up a first down:
We'll see what happens with Shell over the rest of the season and beyond but the Jets have to be rethinking his importance, surely.
As for Edoga's chances of keeping his job, that decision may be out of his hands if the injury is as bad as it looks. It will be fascinating to see what the Jets do if he is healthy enough to return before the season is over, though.
Much more analysis to come later today and over the next few days. Please let us know who you'd like to see us feature in more detail in 3-on-D and 3-on-O.