Seattle Seahawks Week 13 scouting report versus New York Jets

How do you spell delusional? Consider a franchise that banked its long-term future on an over-the-hill quarterback and then mortgaged itself by bringing in a slate of older veterans in support of that signal caller. With all that experienced talent, they fancied themselves a serious Super Bowl contender. Then, by the midpoint of the season, they had fired both their head coach and general manager. Yes, in 2024, we spell delusional J-E-T-S.

In a season with disappointed fan bases from Dallas to San Francisco – Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago – none are as disillusioned as the team from MetLife Stadium. Well, with the possible exception of the other team from MetLife Stadium. But, to be honest, nobody gave the New York Giants much of a chance this season. The Jets, on the other hand, were a sexy pick for the Lombardi Trophy. Now, it appears they will have to blow up the roster and start from scratch in 2025.

The Jets may be in worse long-term shape than the other teams mentioned above, but for one game in 2024, they remain dangerous. That’s what the resurgent Seattle Seahawks will have to remember when they travel to MetLife this Sunday.

What Seattle Seahawks fans should know about the New York Jets ahead of Week 13

New York has dropped six of their last seven games, but their one win during that stretch came against the AFC South-leading Houston Texans on Halloween. Seattle has come out of their bye week with newfound focus and discipline and has won two crucial NFC West games to take the lead in the tight division. They can’t afford a letdown against a struggling team.

Let’s take a quick look at the New York Jet squad they will face on Sunday.

Last season

We all know what happened in 2023. The Jets already had a quality young defense. But they did not have a quarterback. Management’s decision was to go after future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Rodgers and reel in a couple of championships. Then, just four plays into the new season, Rodgers tore his Achilles and was lost for the year. The Jets turned to their struggling young QB Zach Wilson – the number two overall pick in the 2021 draft – and though he didn’t exactly light things up, the team sat at 4-3 after their bye week.

They were mostly able to stay in games due to that defense. But something happened in the middle of the season. In a Week 9 game against the Chargers in front of a national Monday night audience, the wheels came off. Wilson was sacked eight times. The Jets fumbled four times, losing three of them. They committed twice as many penalties as Los Angeles and gave up a punt return for a touchdown. The Jets defense only allowed 3.5 per play – a number that usually guarantees victory – and were nonetheless humiliated 27-6.

That began a five-game losing streak that effectively ended the Jets' season and saw a gradual diminishment in that once-formidable defense. General manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh began identifying the areas of the roster that needed upgrading while awaiting the return of their star quarterback for the 2024 season.

Jets offseason

Douglas hit the off-season running. He signed three veteran offensive linemen – tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses, and guard John Simpson. He beefed up his defensive line with veteran Javon Kinlaw and Leki Fotu. He traded for disgruntled pass-rushing sensation Hasson Reddick to replace the departed Bryce Huff and brought in receiver Mike Williams to give Rodgers more downfield options.

In the draft, he nabbed the talented young left tackle – Olu Fashanu – in the first round. The idea was that Fashanu could watch Smith and Moses for a year and then take over. He grabbed run-after-catch receiver Malachi Corley in the third round (the Jets had traded their second-rounder in the Rodgers deal), and bruising runner Braelon Allen in the fourth.

Many of Douglas’ picks were developmental in nature. Young players who didn’t have a ton of top-level experience but offered high ceilings if given time to grow. That made sense given the strategy of signing veterans through free agency.

Jets season so far

So how has it worked out? After a tough opening loss to the 49ers, New York beat up on a couple of cellar dwellers in Tennessee and New England to stand at 2-1. Then they lost consecutive games to Denver and Minnesota, and owner Woody Johnson, who has seemed to take on a more intrusive role in the team’s day-to-day operations, made the rather impulsive decision to fire Saleh.

Saleh is a highly-respected defensive mind who had his defense playing reasonably well. In the Weeks 4 and 5 losses, the Jets surrendered just 33 combined points to teams that both average better than 20 points per game.

The common wisdom was that Johnson acted on behalf of his star quarterback, but the reality with the Jets is very hard to decipher from the outside. Whatever is going on, it has been a spectacular failure. Under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich, that defense has taken several steps backwards. Before Saleh’s firing, they were surrendering a mere 17 points per game.

Since his dismissal, that number has ballooned to 26 points per game. And despite trading for Rodgers’ former star receiver Davante Adams, the offense has shown no improvement. Rodgers' overall numbers are no better – and in some cases worse – than those of the reviled Zach Wilson in 2023.

New York still has a great deal of talent – on paper. Adams joined the very dangerous wideout Garrett Wilson to form what should be a quality receiving corps. Running back Breece Hall can run and catch, and the rookie Allen provides some strong power running in relief.

But Allen has cooled off after a good start to the season, and both veteran tackles have been in and out of the lineup, forcing the rookie Fashanu to step in. He has shown promise but is still very much a work in progress. Another rookie, Corley, has shown little at receiver and Rodgers seemed to never get in sync with free agent Williams. He was dealt to Pittsburgh after the Jets acquired Davante Adams.

None of the stars – Hall, Wilson, Adams – have played at a consistently high level. But the real culprit for anyone who has watched the Jets this season is the man under center. Aaron Rodgers – among the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the NFL – is a shell of his former self. Do you know the last time Rodgers threw for more than 300 yards in a game? That would be in December...of 2021.

Garrett Wilson should be among the league’s best downfield threats. Through eleven games this season, he is averaging just 10.5 yards per reception – the lowest of his three-year career. His longest reception this season has been 35 yards.

Rodgers has just two passes that have gone for more than 50 yards this season. The longest was a dump off to Breece Hall which the running back turned into a 57-yard pickup. The other was a miracle first half Hail Mary to Allen Lazard, who, by the way, is currently languishing on the injured reserve list. With no legitimate downfield threat, opposing defenses have been able to gang up on Hall and Allen, both of whom are hovering around a pedestrian four yards per carry.

On defense, the Jets have regressed significantly. The Reddick experiment has proven disastrous. The Jets lost talented young defensive end Bryce Huff in free agency and opted to trade another quality young end – John Franklin-Myers – after acquiring Reddick. Reddick arrived disgruntled, holding out for a new contract, and has done very little to justify his lofty status since rejoining the team. Newly acquired linemen Kinlaw, Fotu, and Jermaine Johnson have been ineffective, injured, or both.

New York still has plenty of defensive talent. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is a dynamic interior presence and edge rusher Will McDonald IV got off to a very good start before slowing down after the Saleh firing. Cornerbacks Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed should form one of the best backfield tandems in the league. When healthy – which has not been often of late – middle linebacker C.J. Mosley remains a force at 32.

The Jets blitz a lot and generate pressure. But so far, that pressure has not resulted in the type of big-play defense many expected. Despite posting very respectable numbers across the board in yards-per-play-allowed, New York is among the worst teams in the league at taking the ball away from opponents. They have just two interceptions on the year, both courtesy of Brandin Echols. The defense is still good but has not been able to make up for a below-average offense.

Special Teams have been average as well. Anders Carlson has taken over placekicking duties from the injured Greg Zuerlein. The veteran Zuerlein had been struggling through his worst year before hitting the IR, so perhaps the younger, unproven Carlson could provide a boost.

The Jets may have been delusional entering this season, and they clearly appear to be preparing to do a franchise-wide overhaul beginning this offseason, but they do have talented players and Seattle needs to guard against looking ahead to the all-important rematch with Arizona in Week 14 if they are to maintain their lead in the NFC West.

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