Seeking to rebound from their prime-time loss in New England, the 2-8 New York Jets will travel to Baltimore for a road contest with the red-hot Ravens (5-5), winners of four straight.
While the Jets’ playoff hopes are all but dashed (although, who knows what could happen if they run the table and go 9-8?), Aaron Glenn’s squad is looking to build as much positive momentum as it can before the conclusion of the rookie head coach’s first season. A mammoth road upset over the Ravens would do wonders for Glenn’s push to change the Jets’ culture.
Whether you’re rooting for a New York Jets win, an advancement in the tanking journey, or find yourself completely indifferent, here are five things to watch out for on this final Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Jets WRs Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie
While the Jets’ decision to bench Justin Fields for Tyrod Taylor was primarily motivated by Glenn’s belief that it improves the team’s chances of winning games, it also provides long-term benefits to the rebuilding franchise.
The Jets have a plethora of young receivers who require evaluation before the offseason, namely two former second-round picks whom they traded for in recent weeks: Adonai Mitchell and John Metchie.
Both players have strong reputations when it comes to creating separation, but need work at the catch point. That’s why it’s integral for the Jets to pepper them with as many targets as possible. They need to see where these guys stand in their development as pass catchers before making decisions on their futures in the offseason.
If Fields stayed at quarterback, the Jets’ receivers would never get the chance to be fairly evaluated. The Jets rarely attempted passes with Fields under center, and when they did, he usually threw the ball shallow, scrambled, or got sacked. Intermediate-to-deep shots were extremely uncommon, giving the Jets few chances to evaluate their receivers’ ability to secure downfield passes.
With Taylor under center this season, offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand has been much more comfortable calling pass plays. In addition to the higher pass volume, Taylor has been more aggressive than Fields when it comes to pushing the ball downfield.
Mitchell and Metchie should get plenty of snaps and targets in Baltimore. Jets fans should pay particular attention to their performances at the catch point. The Jets know that both players have excellent speed and can get open — Engstrand was giddy when speaking about Mitchell’s separation this week — but what the team still wants to learn is whether they can be relied upon to secure the ball consistently.
All but one spot is vacant on the Jets’ 2026 wide receiver depth chart. The Jets can begin filling those holes right now if Mitchell and/or Metchie catch fire.
Jets TE Mason Taylor vs. Ravens S Kyle Hamilton
Second-round rookie Mason Taylor has been quietly flashing the capability to become one of the league’s top tight ends. It doesn’t show in his box score stats, as no receiver in this offense can put up big numbers with Fields at quarterback, but Taylor is thriving at elements within his control.
Taylor ranks second among tight ends with 10 contested catches, and he’s done it on just 12 contested targets, giving him an 83% contested-catch rate. He’s dropped just two passes on 48 total targets and is tied for 16th among tight ends with 18 receiving first downs despite playing on a team that ranks last in passing first downs.
If Taylor enjoys another successful outing against the Ravens, he will take a big step toward establishing himself as a future top-flight tight end for the Jets. That’s because the Ravens will go down as Taylor’s toughest challenge of the season.
Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton is arguably the best safety in the league, as Engstrand discussed this week. Hamilton gets his fingerprints on the game in all areas, but in 2025, his most significant impact has come in coverage, where his 87.3 coverage grade at Pro Football Focus leads safeties by a wide margin.
Hamilton has been an absolute stalwart in man coverage. Across 118 man-coverage snaps, Hamilton has yielded just four catches for 42 yards, a paltry 0.36 yards per cover snap.
Meanwhile, Taylor has yet to generate much production against man coverage. Taylor has 26 receptions for 254 yards against zone (16th-most yards among TE), but only eight receptions for 22 yards against man. That isn’t entirely his fault, of course (Fields isn’t one to thread the needle against man coverage), but it certainly makes his matchup against the stingy Hamilton a daunting one for New York.
Tyrod Taylor isn’t a surgeon when it comes to accuracy, either, but he will probably take more shots to Mason Taylor in one-on-one situations than Fields did, especially with Garrett Wilson out. If Mason can manage a couple of big plays against Hamilton’s coverage, Jets fans will be able to go to sleep tonight knowing they have a damn good tight end for the long haul.
Jets CB Jarvis Brownlee vs. Ravens’ slot weapons
Jarvis Brownlee burst onto the scene after coming to New York from Tennessee in a mid-season trade. The 2024 seventh-round pick won Jets fans over with his tenacity around the line of scrimmage and physicality in coverage.
Recently, though, Brownlee has shown the warts that prompted Tennessee to dump him for a measly pick swap. Over the Jets’ last two games, Brownlee has racked up a hair-pulling total of six penalties along with 125 yards allowed in coverage.
The Jets traded away veteran slot corner Michael Carter II partially because they believed in Brownlee to fill his shoes for the long haul. That belief will fade fast if Brownlee doesn’t pull out of this slump sooner than later.
Baltimore will yield a monumental test for Brownlee as he looks to escape from his slump. Lamar Jackson has been lethal this season when targeting players who lined up in the slot, completing 37 of 54 passes for 486 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. Jackson is producing 0.52 EPA per attempt when targeting players who lined up in the slot, ranking third-best in the NFL.
While wide receiver Zay Flowers averages 11.5 routes per game out of the slot, Baltimore’s top slot weapon is actually tight end Mark Andrews, who averages 15.6 routes per game out of the slot (representing 65% of Andrews’ routes). Their No. 2 tight end, Isaiah Likely, is also a slot mainstay, running 66% of his routes from the slot.
Brownlee will have his hands full today with Flowers and the Ravens’ tight ends. If he can rise to the challenge, it would be a rousing response to his recent woes, putting him back on track to nail down the Jets’ long-term slot role.
Around the NFL: Draft-order implications
Here is a look at the projected 2026 NFL draft order entering Week 12’s Sunday games.
- Tennessee Titans (1-9, .574 SOS)
- New York Giants (2-9, .543 SOS)
- Cleveland Browns (2-8, .480 SOS)
- New Orleans Saints (2-8, .492 SOS)
- New York Jets (2-8, .520 SOS)
- Las Vegas Raiders (2-8, .553 SOS)
- Washington Commanders (3-8, .511 SOS)
- Los Angeles Rams, via Atlanta (3-7, .508 SOS)
- Cincinnati Bengals (3-7, .514 SOS)
- Arizona Cardinals (3-7, .552 SOS)
All four of the teams slotted ahead of New York will play this afternoon.
- 1 p.m. EST: Titans (+13) vs. Seahawks
- 1 p.m. EST: Giants (+13.5) at Lions
- 4:05 p.m. EST: Browns (+3.5) at Raiders
- 4:25 p.m. EST: Saints (-1.5) vs. Falcons
The Jets can leapfrog any of these teams in the draft order with a loss plus a win by the rival team. That means it is technically possible for the Jets to come out of today with the first overall pick, although it is unlikely that two multi-touchdown underdogs pull off victories.
If the Jets win, the lowest they can drop is ninth. The Raiders, Commanders, Rams (via Falcons), and Bengals can all jump the Jets with a loss and a New York win (based on current strength-of-schedule tiebreakers, which are subject to change). The Cardinals’ strength of schedule, though, is currently too much stronger than the Jets’ for them to overtake the tiebreaker in a matter of one week.
Around the NFL: Incoming draft pick implications
With a massive haul of future picks coming in from two different cities, the Jets have new rivals to root against.
By way of the Sauce Gardner trade, New York owns Indianapolis’ 2026 and 2027 first-round picks. For that reason, every Colts loss is beneficial for the Jets’ future. Indianapolis (8-2) is visiting Kansas City (5-5) this afternoon (1 p.m. EST) as a 3.5-point underdog.
Through the Quinnen Williams trade, the Jets own Dallas’ 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 first-round pick (the better of Dallas and Green Bay’s picks). The latter is more important, and those implications won’t come into play until next season, but the Jets would still love to gain every slot they can in the second round of the 2026 draft.
Dallas’ second-round pick is currently slated to land at 45th overall (13th in the round). The 4-5-1 Cowboys are hosting the Eagles at 4:25 p.m. EST as three-point underdogs.
If the Jets end up with four picks in the top 45, it would be just the fourth time they’ve pulled it off since the 1970 merger, along with the 2022, 2000, and 1984 drafts. Two of those three draft classes preceded back-to-back playoff appearances, the exception, of course, being 2022.
