New York Jets vs. Cincinnati Bengals: Sunday NFL Weather Report

Oct 13, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets free safety Antonio Allen (39) warms up before facing the Pittsburgh Steelers at MetLife Stadium. The Steelers won the game 19-6. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

OK folks, Week 8 is upon us and the New York Jets road show takes its act to Paul Brown Stadium and take on the Cincinnati Bengals beginning at 4:05 p.m.

Now according to the National Weather service, this is the weather that is awaiting Gang Green:

“Mostly sunny, with a high near 54. Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 34.”

Now, who does that weather favor?

In all honesty, with the fact the Jets and Bengals will be playing the game more in the Sunday night of the day due to the late start, you could say that the Bengals have the edge here due to knowing how cold it could get with the stadium being on right by the water.

But, the Jets being a north-east team play in cold weather all the time so with the temp being near freezing, this isn’t anything new for the Jets so the weather is really a wash.

As always, the determining factor of who wins this game will be the play on the field.

This could be another statement game for the Jets. The Bengals come into this game with a 5-2 record and have the 12th ranked offense overall in the NFL (NFL.com) and the ninth ranked defense overall (NFL.com).

For the Jets to win the game, the defense needs to stop the very tall wide receiver AJ Green. Last week, he had a total of 155 receiving yards. The corners have to step up their play, this means you Antonio Cromartie. Plus, the Jets need to be aware of the 6-5 Jermaine Gresham so I believe he has Antonio Allen written all over it. Not to sound like captain obvious here but that front seven needs to continue to play the way they’ve been playing. Andy Dalton has been solid this year for the Bengals (164 completions, 249 passes, 1,924 yards, 11 touchdowns, six INTs) and he’s coming off of a 372 yard passing game last week against the Detroit Lions and three touchdowns. But going back to week three, the Bengals O-Line has allowed 14 sacks. The line is vulnerable so if the defense can get to Dalton, he’ll make a mistake.

Offensively, we need to see Geno Smith build on a lot of fantastic moments in last week’s game against New England. Smith was 17 of 33 for 233 yards with one touchdown pass and then one interception. He needs to not force the issue and do a better job with his reads. He’s facing the ninth ranked defense in the league. Yes, he faces the 4th ranked defense every day in practice HOWEVER, if the Jets want the victory by round 7:30 Sunday night; Smith needs to play a lot smarter. The ground game was a lot better this week and that’s thanks in part to the O-Line. Chris Ivory was fantastic (34 carries, 104 yards) and the Jets need to play a lot with the ground game. It’s going to be cold out and a good running game will help out in the cold.

The bottom line here is that this game is really evenly matched. The Jets need to bottle up what was successful against the Pats — the offensive line, the front seven on defense, the running game, etc; and apply it to the Bengals. I do think though that this game could come down to the special teams and that means Nick Folk against former Jet Mike Nugent.

BUT, I think Jets punter Robert Quigley will play the biggest role of them all. He needs to punt well to play a role in the field position game.