Jets defense must be prepared for Brock Osweiler in Week 9

The New York Jets are set to take on the Miami Dolphins in a Week 9 matchup at Hard Rock Stadium. New York must be sure not to underestimate Dolphins’ quarterback Brock Osweiler, who has played well despite the team’s two-game losing streak.

At 3-5 the New York Jets are seemingly in a desperate situation with an instant and stunning turnaround needed for the team to change the course of its season. However, weaker quarterback competition in the coming weeks has fans expecting Gang Green to be at 5-5 before the team’s bye in Week 11.

The Jets are set to take on Brock Osweiler this week, who struggled his way to a horrendous reputation in the past few seasons, followed by whoever the Bills’ starting quarterback may be. This has created the expectation that the Jets should come away with a fairly easy win in Miami on Sunday as well as the week after in Buffalo.

Contrary to this belief about Osweiler, he’s actually been surprisingly solid in his three starts with Miami to this point. He opened up with a thrilling overtime victory in Chicago where he went 28-44 with 380 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in an explosive Dolphins’ debut.

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In the following week, Miami suffered a tough 32-21 loss to Detroit, but Osweiler was quite impressive. He went 22-31 for 239 yards and two touchdowns looking as clean and competent as ever.

Last week was obviously a brutal loss for Miami against Houston with the score being 42-23. Even in that game though, Osweiler was relatively efficient going 21-37 for 241 yards with one interception.

Osweiler probably isn’t a starting-caliber quarterback and he might not even be all that good, but you can’t dispute the evidence from these past three weeks. He’s absolutely been good enough to win, and he seems to be a changed quarterback in head coach Adam Gase’s offense.

Osweiler’s arm talent and ability haven’t been in question since he came into the league, so his efficiency gives him the chance to be more of a playmaker in the future. We could definitely see more plays down the field from Miami than we have in previous weeks.

As for the Jets defense, the game-plan must, at least initially, show some level of respect for Osweiler. Jets’ head coach Todd Bowles should definitely be trying to put a lot of pressure on Osweiler early and often as his pocket mobility is a big weakness. However, New York must be prepared for the potential that Osweiler has to make plays. It should be a tightly contested game on Sunday as it normally is when the Jets play in Miami.