The New York Jets (1-0) will look to continue their solid start to the season as they return to MetLife Stadium in Week 2 for their home opener against the Green Bay Packers (0-1).
The Jets dominated the Tennessee Titans on both sides of the ball and cruised to a 23-10 victory in Week 1. Breece Hall had his first 100 yard game of the season, rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq had his first NFL touchdown and David Bailey had his first NFL sack.
The win over the Titans seems to have energized the Jets fan base and hopefully the momentum will continue into Sunday's game against a much tougher opponent.
With that, here are Jets Wire's three key matchups to watch in Week 2:
Brandon Stephens vs. Christian Watson
Stephens has quietly flown under the radar as an effective corner, especially after
Sauce Gardner was traded last year. He played well in Sunday's win, finishing with an overall PFF grade of 65.5, ranking him 32nd among all cornerbacks. Stephens held rookie receiver Carnell Tate to only 38 yards in his debut and the Titans as a whole combined for only 140 receiving yards.
The Jets enter this game a little banged up as safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will miss the next 2-4 weeks with a groin injury. That makes a secondary that had some question marks heading into the season look much weaker and Stephens will be tasked with trying to shut down Watson, who had two touchdowns and 147 yards receiving against the Vikings. However, most of those numbers were in the first half as Minnesota shut down the Packers offense and their quarterback, Jordan Love.
One thing that could work to the Jets advantage is the weather as heavy rain is expected in the forecast on Sunday. The Packers may have to keep the ball on the ground, which is not their strong suit with running back Josh Jacobs currently on the Commissioner's Exempt list. Either way, if Stephens can contain Green Bay's top receiver, the Jets have a good chance to walk out of MetLife Stadium with a victory.
Jason Sanders vs. Jets Nation
The wound still feels raw among Jets fans after Nick Folk decided to sign with the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason. He was automatic as you could get last year with the Jets, missing only one field goal all season. Folk's first game with Atlanta got off to a bit of a rough start last week in Pittsburgh as he missed two field goals in their 20-13 loss.
Sanders was named the Jets kicker a few days before their game against Tennessee. In the beginning, it looked like a disaster as he missed bad from 54 yards. But, Sanders bounced back and made three of his four field goals, including two from 50+ yards. For one week, Jets fans can breathe easy.
Jets fans will be fired up on Sunday and Sanders will be kicking under much more pressure than he had against Tennessee. Rest assured, every miss will be scrutinized. Will he be able to recover like he did last week? We’ll find out soon enough.
Garrett Wilson vs. Keisean Nixon
Wilson was great in his first game back since suffering a knee injury last season that limited him to only seven games. While he didn’t find the end zone on Sunday, Wilson still finished with six receptions for 78 yards and was targeted seven times. He’ll draw a tough matchup on Sunday, most likely facing off against Nixon, Green Bay’s best cornerback.
Even in the Packers loss, Nixon was terrific, earning a PFF grade of 78.4, ranking him 11th out of 89 cornerbacks. Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray combined for a passer rating of only 41.7 against Nixon, which is really impressive for the 29-year-old corner. Nixon also had an interception and was strong against the run all afternoon.
Expect Frank Reich to line Wilson up in the slot to garner more targets, especially with Omar Cooper Jr. most likely out for this game after suffering an ankle injury against Tennessee. Iron sharpens Iron and this should be a fun matchup to watch on Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Jets vs. Packers: 3 key matchups to watch in Week 2
