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What better way than to go into a Monday Night Football game on your home turf against a Super Bowl contender than off the heels of a 34-0 beat down just a weak earlier?
While not exactly ideal, that's the situation the New York Jets (2-2) find themselves in as the NFL season reaches Week 5, playing their first prime time game of the season against the unbeaten Houston Texans on Monday. If the San Francisco 49ers were a bad matchup for the Jets just a week ago, and waltzed into MetLife Stadium and drubbed the Jets, then what exactly can we expect from the Texans (4-0) on Monday. It's shaping up to be another forgettable night for the Green and White.
Already without their best defensive player Darrelle Revis, the Jets will likely be without Santonio Holmes, their enigmatic but most talented offensive player, as he left last Sunday's tilt with the Niners with a foot injury. The Jets are dangerously thin on offensive with Holmes, so without him, there isn't much for embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez to work with.
Through four games, the Jets offense has proved to be among the league's worst. They cannot run the ball with any consistency, the offensive line has been shaky at best, and Sanchez has followed up a stellar Week 1 with three simply horrible games. The Texans are one of the league's best overall sides. They'll present even bigger challenges to the Jets than the Niners did last week. Matt Schaub is better than Alex Smith, Arian Foster is more dynamic than Frank Gore or Kendall Hunter, and the Niners have nobody who's even close to being as dangerous downfield as Andre Johnson. Defensively, Houston is just as stout and solid at San Francisco, so how exactly are the Jets going to avoid another embarrassment?
It probably starts and ends with Sanchez. Quite simply, time is running out on Sanchez and quickly, and he has no other choice than to start picking up his play immediately. Playing well against Houston's defense is a tough task, btu the expectations are through the floor at the current moment. Can it get any worse?
If it does on Monday night, the Jets may not be able to recover the rest of the season.
New York Jets (2-2) vs. Houston Texans (4-0) - MetLife Stadium
Kickoff: 8:30 PM ET
TV: ESPN
Radio: 98.7 FM ESPN
Odds: Texans -7.5 (BetUS)