WASHINGTON (4-10) at NEW YORK JETS (5-9)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS
OPENING LINE: Jets by 3, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Commanders 5-8-1; Jets 5-8-1.
SERIES RECORD: Commanders lead 8-4.
LAST MEETING: Jets beat Commanders 34-17 on Nov. 17, 2019, at Washington.
LAST WEEK: Commanders lost to Rams 28-20; Jets lost to Dolphins 30-0.
COMMANDERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (24), PASS (12), SCORING (23)
COMMANDERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (21), PASS (32), SCORING (32)
JETS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (30), PASS (30), SCORING (30)
JETS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (27), PASS (2), SCORING (11)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Commanders minus-9; Jets minus-9.
COMMANDERS PLAYER TO WATCH: S Kamren Curl. A pending free agent who before the season appeared in line for a lucrative new deal, Curl has struggled recently in coverage. Even with the Jets offense struggling, Trevor Siemian — starting in place of Zach Wilson — might be able to find gaps in Washington’s secondary.
JETS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Garrett Wilson. Despite instability at the quarterback position following Aaron Rodgers’ torn left Achilles tendon, Wilson has been having a solid second season after being the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has 79 catches for 882 yards and three touchdowns, setting the franchise marks for receptions and yards receiving in a player’s first two seasons.
KEY MATCHUP: Commanders’ 32nd-ranked defense vs. Jets’ 32nd-ranked offense. It’s the worst against the worst: a defense that can’t stop anyone and has allowed a league-high 387 points and an offense that can’t get into the end zone consistently and has scored an NFL-low 13 touchdowns. Siemian will start at quarterback with Wilson not recovered from a concussion suffered last Sunday at Miami.
KEY INJURIES: Washington RB Brian Robinson Jr. will miss a second consecutive game because of a hamstring injury. … The Commanders will be without two starting offensive linemen: LT Charles Leno (calf) and C Tyler Larsen (knee). Cornelius Lucas is set to play in place of Leno and Nick Gates in place of Larsen. … Jets QB Aaron Rodgers was activated from IR while recovering from a torn left Achilles tendon, but will not play this season. … QB Zach Wilson remained in the concussion protocol as of Friday afternoon. … DL John Franklin-Myers (hip) didn’t practice all week, but wasn’t ruled out for the game. … OLs Max Mitchell (neck) and Carter Warren (hip) missed last week’s game, but were full practice participants this week and will play.
SERIES NOTES: The Jets have a three-game winning streak against the Commanders. … The Commanders are 4-1 on the road against the Jets. … Washington won the first four meetings between the teams. … The first time the franchises met was in 1972, when Billy Kilmer threw three touchdown passes and Chris Hanburger returned one of Joe Namath’s three interceptions for a TD in Washington’s 35-17 victory. … The Jets’ first win in the series came in 1993, when Cary Blanchard’s 45-yard field goal in the opening quarter accounted for the only score.
STATS AND STUFF: The Commanders are 7-3 in games played on Christmas Eve, including a playoff win over Green Bay in 1972. … The Jets are 1-6 on Dec. 24, with their only win coming in their first game played on Christmas Eve when they beat the Chargers 42-31 in 1967. … QB Sam Howell is expected to start for the Commanders after getting pulled in the second half at Los Angeles. … Howell has 19 touchdowns and a league-leading 15 interceptions. … Howell has been sacked a league-leading 59 times, eight more than Carolina’s Bryce Young. … Jacoby Brissett was 8 of 10 for 124 yards and two TDs in relief of Howell against the Rams. … Rookie RB Chris Rodriguez Jr. led Washington with 10 carries in Robinson’s absence. … WR Terry McLaurin is 65 yards away from joining Mike Evans, A.J. Green, DK Metcalf and Randy Moss as the only players with 50-plus catches and 900-plus yards receiving in each of his first five NFL seasons. … WR Curtis Samuel is coming off his first two-TD game. … DT Jonathan Allen needs one sack to tie Brian Orakpo for sixth on the franchise list with 40. … Curl has a career-high 102 tackles. … The Jets were eliminated from playoff contention last Sunday, extending the NFL’s longest active drought to 13 consecutive seasons. … New York had just 103 total yards of yards at Miami, tied for the fourth-lowest output in franchise history. … It will be Siemian’s second start for the Jets, but the first since the 2019 season in his first stint in New York. … The Jets have used 11 starting offensive line combinations in 14 games and have had a different starting lineup in 10 consecutive games. … New York ranks last in the NFL in third down conversion rate (26%) and red zone scoring rate (34.5%). … RB Breece Hall hasn’t rushed for more than 50 yards in nine straight games since having a career-high 177 in Week 5 at Denver. … LB Quincy Williams has single-season career bests in tackles (116), tackles for loss (13), quarterback pressures (10) and passes defensed (eight). … At Miami, CB Sauce Gardner had the second game of his career with at least 20 coverage snaps and no targets as the nearest defender. … The Jets haven’t allowed 300 yards passing in 32 consecutive games.
FANTASY TIP: It seems like a bad idea relying on any Jets offensive player, especially in the fantasy playoffs, but TE Tyler Conklin could help in a pinch. Conklin has become a regular contributor in New York’s offense with at least four catches in three of the past four games with 27 targets during that span. He doesn’t have a touchdown yet, but he could be in line for a breakthrough against Washington’s porous defense.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
