Over the course of today, we’ll be breaking down the performance of every player that took the field in the Jets’ preseason game against the Commanders. We’ll now move on to look at offense and will cover the special teams later on.
Quarterbacks – Peasley does it
Tyrod Taylor got the start but the offense sputtered with him in there, gaining just six yards in the first quarter. He made one nice play to escape the pocket and find the back for a first down, but a penalty negated that one.
Undrafted rookie Andrew Peasley acquitted himself well in his first game action, going 8-for-11 for 73 yards and a perfectly placed touchdown throw with good touch. He also hit the running back in stride underneath to enable him to convert on third and long and completed a quick slant nicely on 3rd-and-short, but he made a bad read to keep the ball on another 3rd-and-short when the Jets ran a read option.
Recent pickup Adrian Martinez did an excellent job with the third team, showing off his best talent which is his quickness and ability to make plays with his legs.
He also connected on two beautiful deep balls, although a few other downfield throws were slightly off target.
Running Backs – Seeking Valladay-tion
Rookies Braelon Allen and Isaiah Davis both did well in their first game action. Allen had 54 yards on six carries including first down bursts up the middle and to the edge on which he trucked a defensive back to get extra yards at the end of the run. He also had a first down catch negated by a penalty but did give up a pressure in blitz pickup.
Davis slipped a few times otherwise he might have had more yards, but his 24-yard catch and run to set up the first touchdown showcased his burst and he broke the first tackle on two other plays.
Israel Abanikanda officially only had 17 yards on six carries with a long of six. However, he showed nice burst up the middle and trucked the safety on a 12-yard run that was negated by a hold that didn’t really affect the run. He also had a short yardage touchdown and an eight-yard catch.
Xazavian Valladay only had 11 yards on eight carries, but he did pick up a first down on a short yardage conversion.
The newest Jet, Deon Jackson got into the game briefly and had a six-yard carry and a run stuffed near the line.
Offensive Line – Kohl Refinery
In his first game action, first round pick Olu Fashanu looked good blocking on the move, driving his man off his spot and in pass protection where he wasn’t beaten.
In terms of negatives, he had a false start, a play where he let his man get off the block to make the stop at the second level and this play where he allowed his man to penetrate and blow it up.
So, there’s definitely a few things to work on, but on the whole an encouraging debut from the rookie.
Max Mitchell made the start at the other tackle spot and stayed in with Fashanu when they rotated out the first string interior guys. He had a good downhill block on Allen’s burst up the middle.
The starters inside were Wes Schweitzer at right guard, Xavier Newman at left guard and Joe Tippmann at center. There were no bad snaps from Tippmann who drove his man back off the line once.
Schweitzer had one play where he missed a cut block and another where he picked up a stunt but the quarterback was flushed into a coverage sack.
Newman, who moved to right guard when the Jets made a couple of changes, had an impressive game. He had a handful of good run blocks of a nice variety, showing strength and moving well. He did have an illegal man downfield penalty and got stood up once though.
Chris Glaser was the second center into the game and Kohl Levao got in at left guard. Again both had some positive moments with Glaser impressing on a reach block and climbing to the second level and Levao sealing his man off on one play and driving his man off the line on another.
Glaser had a few plays later on where his man got off his block and in on a play while Levao allowed a pressure and missed a block at the second level.
Carter Warren got into the game at right tackle and had a rough sequence where he got beaten inside for a pressure and then false started on the next snap. He made up for that though with a huge pancake block on the move, also taking out his own teammate. He had one other good kick-out block on the move.
Austin Deculus started off at left tackle but then moved to the right when Obinna Eze came into the game at left tackle late in the game. Deculus drove his man off the line a few times and had a good block to create the hole for Abanikanda’s touchdown run. He worked really well on double teams with Willie Tyler who got into the game late at the right guard position. Deculus did have a few negative plays including a holding penalty though.
Tyler did well in the running game, making a good reach block and sealing a man off in addition to his effective combo blocks with Deculus. He had one play where he didn’t sustain the block.
Eze had a good downhill block on a short yardage conversion but did allow his man to pressure the quarterback on three occasions, although none of these were immediate pressure.
Finally, undrafted rookie Brady Latham, who did not play center in college, has been practicing for the role in camp and got into the game there late. He allowed an interior pressure, failed to sustain his block once and allowed penetration on one run but did drive and seal his man off once.
Wide Receivers – Let’s Go Brandon!
Recent signing Brandon Smith was one of the big winners from this game as he caught two deep balls from Martinez for 70 yards. He got a good release and made a diving catch on the first one and found an open area and made a catch with the defensive back draped all over him as the play was extended on the other.
He also made one good run block, while failing to sustain his block on another running play.
The fans were eager to see third round pick Malachi Corley and he made a few plays as he ended up with four catches. His best play saw him scoop up a deflected pass that wasn’t even intended for him and turn it upfield for a nice gain. However, he also got open on 3rd-and-short for a quick pass over the middle and drove forwards for a few extra yards on a pass underneath. He had a diving attempt at a wide throw that was just beyond his reach.
Jason Brownlee made a nice play to get open and keep his feet inbounds for the Jets’ first touchdown. His only other target was essentially a jump ball into traffic but he couldn’t come up with that one.
Undrafted rookie Tyler Harrell was wide open on a crosser for 19, although it looked like he almost dropped it before turning it upfield.
Recent signing Isaiah Winstead almost came up with a downfield catch but couldn’t haul in a juggling effort over the defensive back near the sideline. He also badly whiffed on a block on one play.
Lance McCutcheon had a disappointing game. He was targeted downfield three times but couldn’t come up with any of them despite getting a hand on all three, although you probably wouldn’t call any of them a drop. He had two missed blocks on the last series too.
Irv Charles only played six snaps and wasn’t targeted.
Tight Ends – Sefcik Shock
The Jets’ tight ends didn’t produce much with Anthony Firkser being the only one to put up any receiving yards on a nine-yard pass to the outside. Undrafted rookie Lincoln Sefcik did also catch a pass on third down but it lost yardage.
Zack Kuntz didn’t catch a pass, but the one time he was targeted still ended up as a first down as he dropped it and Corley picked it up and ran past the marker before it hit the ground.
As blockers, all three had mixed results. Firkser had a good block on the Abanikanda touchdown, Sefcik blocked his man to the ground on the edge and Kuntz pulled across the formation for this cut block.
Each of them had at least one negative play where their man stuffed a run though, as Kuntz and Sefcik in particular struggled to sustain their blocks.
Kenny Yeboah played briefly but the most notable thing about his performance was that he lined up at fullback a few times.
We’ll be back with more on the special teams later…