It might only be Week 2, but Monday night is proving to be a must-win game for the New York Jets (0-1) as they face the Cleveland Browns (0-1) with a daunting schedule ahead.
Here are two things to watch:
Trevor’s Time
The Jets were dealt quite the blow last week when they lost starting quarterback Sam Darnold for anywhere between three and seven weeks after he contracted mono.
Stepping in under center will be Trevor Siemian, who signed with the Jets back in March after a season backing up Kirk Cousins in Minnesota with the Vikings.
The 27-year-old hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since 2017, when he was the Denver Broncos’ starting man under center.
From 2016-2017, Siemian started 24 of 32 games for a franchise that struck out on finding a franchise quarterback in Paxton Lynch or Brock Osweiler.
The numbers aren’t all too impressive. He went 13-11 with a 59.3 percent completion rating for 5,686 yards, 30 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
Jets head coach Adam Gase, however, has liked what he’s seen from Siemian.
“Being with him since we started in the spring, the way he’s practiced, the way he’s prepared, the way he is, nothing really bothers him,” Gase said. “He’s got a good way about him.”
Expect Siemian to be more of a game manager than a playmaker, relying heavily on running back Le’Veon Bell.
In terms of his game plan, he could take a page right out of Darnold’s book from Week 1. Throwing quick slants to slot receiver Jamison Crowder — who hauled in 14 receptions for 99 yards against the Bills — are low-risk throws that could keep the offense’s pace up.
OBJ vs. Gregg
Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is making his first return to MetLife Stadium since being traded from the Giants over the winter — albeit, he’s playing the Jets.
Regardless, there’s plenty of fuel to fire the star pass-catcher as he accused Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams of directing his players to injure the former Giants back in 2017 during a preseason game.
Williams was the defensive coordinator of the Browns at the time when defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun cut the legs out from under Beckham, who suffered an ankle injury on the play that held him out of Week 1.
“It’s preseason. It’s like a known rule. Like in preseason, nobody in the NFL is really out to do stuff like that,” Beckham said. “I had players on this team telling me that that’s what he was telling them to do — ‘take me out of the game’ — and it’s preseason. So, you just know who he is. Just that’s the man … calling the plays.”
Williams wasn’t too amused with such accusations.
“Odell who? … That was a joke,” he said.
Williams was famously involved in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal earlier in the decade, where players were paid for injuring opposing players.
Beckham is one of the most explosive receivers in the game and needs no extra motivation to take center stage, especially during prime time.
