Jets see Positives on Both Sides of Ball in Dominant 27-0 Victory Over Panthers

The New York Jets had plenty of things they wanted to get a look at in tonight’s game against the Carolina Panthers and they had to be happy with much of what transpired.

– First and foremost has to be the performance of the defensive line.  This group lived up to the hype tonight, putting every Carolina blocking unit in a blender.  Panthers QB’s were under duress from the word go.  The dominance did not go unnoticed.

• Quarterback Zach Wilson was clean on the short passes which has been an achilles heel in year’s past, while also showing on several plays the willingness to hang in the pocket and make a throw with pressure in his face.   If that keeps up, those are two major developments for the young QB.  Through two pre-season games Wilson is 17-25 for 188 yards and a TD pass.
• It’s time to wish Dalvin Cook well in all of his future endeavors.  Michael Carter looked as good as he has since his rookie season while newcomer Izzy Abanikanda showed off a fantastic spin move on a 27-yard run while catching all 3 of his targets for 31 yards in the first half.  UDFA Travis Dye also picked up 57 all purpose yards while showing good feet and vision.

• Mekhi Becton didn’t start, but did see his snap count go from just seven last week to 27 today. What looked to be a miscommunication led to a sack that was on Becton but pre-season hiccups aren’t exactly something new.  Becton looked very good for a guy who just sat for two seasons due to injury.  As the days go on, Becton appears to be getting better and better.
• A second consecutive strong showing from rookie center Joe Tippmann.  How long before that kid steals the starting job?
• Kenny Yeboah caught Zach Wilson’s only TD pass on a 2 yard bootleg while Jeremy Ruckert flashed as a receiver.  The Jets are going to have some decisions to make at tight end.  Undrafted free agent EJ Jenkins also scored on a short TD before rookie Zach Kuntz closed out the offenses big day with the third TD of the day for Jets TE’s.

• Zaire Barnes appeared to clean things up a bit as he led the team with seven tackles just a week after having several missed opportunities in his debut.
• Special teams are no longer a liability.  Greg Zuerlein was a perfect 2-2 on field goals while Thomas Morstead averaged 47.7 yards per punt with one dropped inside the 5 yard line.