New York Jets Preseason Week 1 (vs New York Giants) Report Card: Offense

Before we move on to preseason Week 2, here’s how the New York Jets offense performed vs the New York Giants in the opener. Here’s the full report card.

Leading up to Thursday nights preseason opener vs the New York Giants, New York Jets fans were eager to get a first look at new Jets head coach Adam Gase and his offense. Although the newest Jets star running back Le’Veon Bell did not play a single down in Thursday nights game, despite that, the Jets still showed a lot of promise for the 2019 season.

The Jets offense had a lot of ups and downs in Thursday’s game. The first-team offense only played one series but, that was probably the best series in the whole game. Sam Darnold and the Jets offense drove down the field for a touchdown on just the first drive.

The Jets second and third-team offenses did a subpar job as they only scored 16 points and lost to the Giants 31-22.

The preseason also gives fans a look at some of the players who are either low round draft picks or undrafted players that are fighting for a roster spot. Guys like Greg Dortch and Elijah McGuire are two guys that stood out in Thursday’s game.

The Jets offense showed a lot of promise in the preseason opener, and as we move closer to Week 1 of the regular season the Jets will be looking to improve there offense. Here’s the full report card on how the offense performed.

Next: Offensive Line

The offensive line was solid in Thursday’s game. The reason why the Jets O-line gets a B- is because the first and second-team O-lines performed very well as the first-team blocked well for Darnold’s first drive which resulted in a touchdown.

One player that Jets fans are excited to see is former Carolina Panther Ryan Kalil  He did not make his debut on Thursday night.

Some of the guys we did get to see was guard Kelechi Osemele and rookie Chuma Edoga from USC. The Jets have improved there o-line big time this year. Last year under head coach Todd Bowles the Jets Offensive line was ranked 25th in the league according to Pro Football Focus.

The only negative about the o-line in Thursday’s game was that the run blocking was subpar the Jets ran 14 times for only 34 yards. Besides that, the Jets offensive line has more depth this year than any other unit on the offense. The Jets are poised to potentially have a good offensive line this year.

Next: Quarterback

Yes, the Jets quarterbacks get an A- why?

Well, the first reason is Sam the man looked amazing in his first and only drive of the game. After throwing a bad pass that was almost intercepted by Giants safety Jabrill Peppers Darnold led the Jets to the endzone as he completed his next four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown.

The backups didn’t do terrible: former Broncos starting QB Trevor Simeman went 13-of-16 for 77 yards and a touchdown as he was the QB who played the majority of the game.

As for the third QB spot, it is a competition between former Giant Davis Webb and former 6th round pick out of Washington State Luke Falk. Falk played for Gase down in Miami last year and on Thursday he went 9-of-11 for 69 yards and a touchdown. Webb went 2-of-7 and only had 11 yards passing as his night would be short.

At the end of the day, it is all up to Darnold and after seeing what he did on Thursday night Jets fans are hungry to see more from the young 22-year-old QB.

Next: Running back

The Jets running backs got the lowest grade from Thursday’s game. Obviously, the Jets sat Le’Veon Bell out for the preseason opener but, we did get to see the newest Jet Ty Montgomery as he was only out there for the first series.

The Jets only ran 14 times for 34 yards. But the one running back that stood out was Elijah McGuire who had a receiving touchdown and caught six balls for 38 yards. Adam Gase loves to run plays where backs will have to catch out of the backfield and he loves to run plays where he puts a running back in the slot.

Another running back who made his mark in Thursday’s game in a different way was second-year running back Trenton Cannon. Cannon got 9 carries for only 20 yards but he made his presence known on special teams as a return man. Cannon had 36 return yards in Thursday’s game.

The long shot in the Jets running back depth chart is former Australian rugby star, Valentine Holmes. Homles did not get to play much but when he got out there he made the best of it by catching 3 balls for 30 yards in the fourth quarter.

Next: Wide receiver

The Jets receiving core is an underrated bunch. We really didn’t get to see much of Robby Anderson or Qunicy Enuwa but we did get the see Jamison Crowder help punch it in for the first touchdown.

Jamison Crowder had a good game Thursday. He was one of the only two Jets wideouts to catch a touchdown pass. Crowder spent his first four years in Washington where he racked up a total of 221 receptions, 2628 receiving yards, and 14 touchdowns.

One of the biggest concerns fans have with Crowder is his injury history. Crowder last season only played nine games with the Redskins due to injuries. If Crowder can stay healthy he could be a great slot receiver for Darnold when he was healthy in Washington he was the Redskins best receiver.

The other wideout to catch a pass in the endzone was an undrafted standout from Wake Forest Greg Dortch. Dortch has been getting a lot of attention since the start of Training Camp. Dortch went undrafted due to his size but, the 5-foot-7 wideout didn’t disappoint in Thursday’s loss.

Dortch caught 4 balls for 20 yards and a touchdown. He also made his presence known as a punt returner has he had a nice return late in the fourth quarter. Also, second-year wideout Deontay Burnett caught 4 passes for 12 yards as he is another wide receiver who is fighting for a roster spot even knowing he played in five games for gang green last year.