An inside look at the Jets-Cardinals Week 10 matchup Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.:
Marquee matchup
Cardinals RB James Conner vs. Jets front seven
The Cardinals rushed for 213 yards last week in their win over the Bears with James Conner leading the way with 107 yards on 18 carries.
Arizona has the No. 7 rushing attack in the NFL, averaging 149 yards per game.
Stopping the run has been a weakness of the Jets all season, dating back to Week 1 against the 49ers.
They are allowing 132 yards per game on the ground, which is 21st in the NFL.
The Jets did a special presentation this week on tackling Conner, knowing he could take over the game.’
“If you stop the run early against Arizona, they do not care. They’re committed to it,” interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “They’re going to keep handing [Conner} the ball. With a guy like that, that is so tough and is so physical, you give him enough carries, he starts to wear defenses down. You’re starting to see that this year. He is an absolute problem. He’s a guy you’ve got to stop early and often.
“If you don’t stop him, you don’t stop the Cardinals.”
Costello’s call
The Jets are confident coming off their victory over the Texans, but this feels like a bad matchup.
The Cardinals are a running team, and the Jets struggle to stop the run.
I think this one will be a shootout and Kyler Murray will prevail.
Cardinals 31, Jets 28
Four downs
Rodgers revival: The Jets finally saw the version of Aaron Rogers they were hoping for in the second half of last week’s game.
He went 15-of-18 for 179 yards and three touchdowns to rally for a win over Houston.
This came after a terrible first half when he was 7-of-14 for 32 yards and no touchdowns.
Rodgers is getting healthy, and it’s showing.
He practiced on Wednesday of this week after sitting out Wednesday practices for the prior month as he dealt with knee, hamstring and ankle injuries.
A healthy Rodgers is more mobile than he has been and that will help against a weak Cardinals defense.
“Probably the best I’ve played,” Rodgers said of the Texans game. “I felt good about my play. Obviously, couldn’t go anywhere but up in the second half. When we’re all on the same page, which we were so many times, I’ve been saying that same thing almost every single week, ‘What’s the issue?’ Well, 10 guys are on the same page and one guy isn’t. Second half of that game we had a lot of guys on the same page the entire time.”
Containing Kyler: The Jets have not done well containing quarterback scrambles lately.
Drake Maye ran for a touchdown against for the Patriots and his replacement, Jacoby Brissett, picked up a crucial third down late in the game with a run.
Last week, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud ran for 59 yards. Here comes Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, who is one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL.
He has 250 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns this season.
He has also thrown for 11 touchdowns.
The Jets enter this game, knowing they cannot let Murray escape the pocket.
“You’ve got to collapse the pocket from the outside in on him,” defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw said. “Just have a plan to make him step up into the B gap [between the guard and tackle] and just have a great rush plan for him. I think the objective is to collapse the outside in.”
Dazzling duo: Davante Adams landed on the Jets three weeks ago, but his impact was not truly felt until last week when he scored a touchdown and opened things up for fellow receiver Garrett Wilson, who had nine catches for 90 yards and two spectacular touchdowns.
“It’s hard to double both guys,” Rodgers said, “but if you do, that’s opportunities for everyone else — in the middle or on the outside. So we need our tight ends to step up, we need our young receivers to step up. We’ve obviously used both our backs and some of that personnel with them on the field at the same time, so we’ll keep mixing things up with that. But yeah, those guys are dynamic players, and it’s pick-your-poison.”
Budda ball: The Cardinals defense has had its struggles this year, but its leader is one of the most underrated players in the NFL.
Safety Budda Baker has 91 tackles this season, including 58 solo.
He is all over the field for Arizona.
“He’s got to be one of the best defensive players at any position at all three levels,” Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “His instinct is unmatched. The intensity and play to play he plays so hard. He’s physical. He’s got a different sort of energy. He’s one of those force multipliers where you can see him elevating those around him. He’s a problem and offensively we’re going to have to account for this guy every snap.”