The Jets could take a few notes on how to be a competitive football team despite having nothing to play for when they visit the New Orleans Saints in Week 16 on Sunday afternoon.
Gang Green has been non-competitive in their last two games, sinking to 3-11 on the season, while the 4-10 Saints have upset a pair of their NFC South rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.
First-year head coach Aaron Glenn has three more games to figure out what parts of an ineffective roster should stick around next season. In the meantime, here’s what to keep an eye on this Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Defensive changes
The Jets dismissed defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Monday after his unit was thrashed by the Jacksonville Jaguars for 48 points, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence went off for six total touchdowns.
As the only defense in the NFL without an interception this season, the Jets rank 30th in points allowed, with the last two weeks featuring a whopping 81 points being dropped on their heads.
Cornerbacks coach Chris Harris has been elevated to interim defensive coordinator, where the belief is that he will have an opportunity to secure the permanent role should legitimate improvements be made.
Sunday provides an advantageous matchup against a Saints team that, despite coming off two straight wins, has scored more than 24 points just once this season, and that came on Oct. 5 against the lowly Giants.
Who is under center?
Justin Fields was benched and is dealing with a knee injury. His backup, Tyrod Taylor, has missed the majority of the last two games due to a groin issue.
It forced Glenn to start undrafted rookie Brady Cook in Week 15 against the Jaguars, and while he looked competent at times, he simply did not add enough to make any sort of difference.
Adrian Martinez, who spent the preseason with the Jets before getting cut, was brought in as a temporary backup, but he was released on Monday, meaning one of Taylor or Fields is back healthy. The problem is, as of Wednesday afternoon, we don’t know who it is.
While Cook threw his first career touchdown and completed each of his first six passes down in Jacksonville, he was also picked off three times.
“I thought Brady did some good things, especially the way he started the game,” Glenn said. “He was 6-for-6 with a touchdown, and then he made some rookie mistakes, like you would expect any rookie to make. I see that he’s going to get better.”
