The Jets continued their improbable winning streak on Sunday with a 27-10 victory against the Packers in Green Bay.
Gang Green’s entire roster seemed to step up their play from the beginning on the season, with the defense leading a dominating performance against the Aaron Rodgers-led Packers, and the Jets offense moving the ball with relative ease in the second half to pull away.
They have now emerged victorious in three-straight games, the move to a 4–2 record on the young season.
Now, we’ll look at who performed well, and who struggled with another edition of Studs and Duds.
Like each week, this column will only look at the performance in the most recent game, identifying who stepped up and who struggled — and what fans can expect from the New York roster in the weeks to come.
Duds
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first, and look at the duds of this week.
The offense in the first half
This was shaping up to be an ugly performance by Gang Green’s offense, until they turned on the jets (pun intended) in the second half of the game.
While they finished the game with 27 points, they saw just three points in the first half. They punted five times, made a field goal, and missed another field goal in their final first-half drive.
Luckily the defense stepped up and limited the Packers to also just three points, but the first-half lack of production is a concern. If they want to keep up their recent winning streak, they need to get going earlier than that.
Elijah Moore
A second-round rookie in the 2021 NFL Draft, Moore developed solid chemistry with quarterback Zach Willson in their shared rookie season. That has not translated into success this year.
Despite being on the field for most 58% of Jets offensive snaps, Moore was not targeted on a single pass through the duration of the contest. That comes after a Week 5 Jets victory, when Moore caught just one pass on six targets.
Wilson finished the game with just 18 passing attempts (and 10 completions), so there wasn’t much volume to go around — as no receiver caught more than two passes. But to be completely iced out of the game is not the best look for the young wide receiver.
Hopefully for Jets fans, Moore can work himself back into the passing game as Wilson continues to adjust to being back (he returned in Week 4 from injury). But this week, Moore is solidly in the “Dubs” category.
The lack of plays for Braxton Berrios
Braxton Berrios touched the ball just twice in the game, once on a six yard reception (on his only target of the game), and once on an end-around run that saw him run 20 yards through traffic and into the end zone in the third quarter.
Braxton Berrios on the end around for the TD! @HNYNUT_BERRIOS
The @nyjets lead 10-3.
📺: #NYJvsGB on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/EIJdhy1M03 pic.twitter.com/WvRcN97nH0— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
He’s been targeted in the passing game just 10 times this season, while adding another five runs. He also threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in Week 4.
He’s clearly an explosive athlete with great route-running ability and superb field vision — so the lack of plays designed for him is a bit confounding, and is a dub for this week.
Studs
Now, let’s talk about the good news.
Quincy Williams and C.J. Mosley
The pair of defensive end Quincy Williams and linebacker C.J. Mosley again led the charge up front for the Jets defense, and combined for 25 total tackles.
That duo was ferocious against the Packers offensive line, and was bringing pressure against Aaron Rodgers all afternoon long.
Meanwhile, they were also integral in limiting Green Bay to just 60 yards on the ground, and coming up with huge third-down stops that sent the Packers back to their bench.
These two are become on the best one-two punches in the trenches, and more-than earned the ranks of “Stud” this week.
Breece Hall
Rookie running back Breece Hall had another solid performance this week. After struggling earlier in the season, Hall had a breakout game against the Dolphins in Week 5, when he recorded 197 total yards and a touchdown.
This week, Hall 116 rushing yards and a score over 20 rushing attempts, and caught two passes for five yards.The game marked the second time this year that the Jets recorded over 100 rushing yards, and that was largely due to Hall.
The highlight of his game came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when he broke a 10-10 tie with a 34 rush into the end zone, while fending off traffic from all sides.
Breece Hall going, going, gone! @BreeceH
📺: #NYJvsGB on FOX
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/EIJdhy1M03 pic.twitter.com/j8QfzNBJJZ— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2022
That play was initially designed to be a trick play, with Hall supposed to lateral the ball, but saw an opening and took it to the house.
Hall is shaping up to be an every-down stud, and this week was just another example of that.
Sauce Gardner
It usually takes a while for rookie cornerbacks to adjust to the pace of play in the NFL, but Sauce Gardner is defying all those expectations through his first six professional games.
He managed to break up a play against Packers wide receiver Allen Lazard, after the pass catcher had already placed the ball in his hands — but Gardner came from behind and swapped it out, saving a potentially huge play.
What a play by Sauce Gardner 🔒 (via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/YHofcxCHrX
— NFL Rookie Watch (@NFLRookieWatxh) October 16, 2022
That was one of his two pass breakups of the contest.
In total, across 45 defensive snaps, Gardner saw six targets and allowed just one reception for eight yards.
So far this season, opposing quarterbacks have seen just a 54.2 passer rating when targeting a wide receiver that Gardner was covering.
He’s a “Stud” this week, and he’s shaping up to be an All-Pro level defender in the NFL.
