NY Jets: Scouting the Arizona Cardinals ahead of Week 5 matchup

The NY Jets are set to host the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.

We’ve made it past the first quarter of the season. Hooray, NY Jets fans! Only six more months until the start of the 2021 NFL Draft. Only kidding (am I?).

After four heart-wrenching weeks of watching the Jets tragically drop to 0-4 for the second consecutive year, it won’t get any easier from here on out.

The Arizona Cardinals, who are coming off of back-to-back losses, are certainly going to play with a spark when they face the talent-depleted Jets at 1:00 PM EST on Sunday.

This Arizona Cardinals team features the likes of a previous No. 1 overall pick in quarterback Kyler Murray, who has been electric through four games of the season thus far.

The Jets defense will certainly have their hands full when dealing with head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s air-raid, fast-paced offense attack.

The Cardinals have been able to score more than 21 points in all of their matchups to this point, there shouldn’t be a reason to slow down against a Jets defense that let an undrafted-rookie QB dice their defense to shreds.

It won’t be easy to contain Murray, nor will it be any easier to contain the players around him. This past offseason, the Cardinals traded for superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to pair alongside long-time wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

Those two have been making quite the impact while allowing Murray to confidently pass the ball behind an improved offensive line that features former Jets left tackle Kelvin Beachum (currently playing right tackle for the Cardinals).

The Jets’ defense will need to contain the run just as much as containing the pass. The Cardinals are the eighth-best rushing team in the league, the Jets, on the other hand, are in the bottom-third in terms of defending the run up to this point.

The NY Jets will likely see the return of running back Le’Veon Bell in Week 5.

On offense, the Jets will need to resort to a fast-paced, short-to-intermediate passing game to eventually open up running lanes for the return of running back Le’Veon Bell, who is set to play for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury in Week 1 versus Buffalo.

Bell will likely draw the attention of the Cardinals’ first-round selection, linebacker Isaiah Simmons. With quarterback Sam Darnold sitting out Sunday’s tilt, Joe Flacco will step in to relieve Darnold.

Flacco, who took his first snaps of the season Thursday night for the first time since October of last year, is the more reliable option to go with rather than the Jets’ fourth-round selection, quarterback James Morgan.

Flacco, 35, gives the team a better chance to win. It won’t be as exciting to watch a Joe Flacco-run team rather than a Sam Darnold one, and it doesn’t look like the Jets will be receiving more help out wide.

Rookie wide receiver Denzel Mims, who suffered multiple hamstring injuries that eventually had him placed on short-term IR, won’t practice this week once again, he’s eligible to be activated to the active roster off IR.

The Jets are getting a bit healthier, but will it be enough to out-duel an Arizona Cardinals team that has seen their fair share of losses thus far this season? It will be tough, as the Cardinals are betting on fourth-year safety Budda Baker (thumb) to return after sitting out last week.

Bottom line is, Gang Green isn’t yet talented enough to stack up against a Cardinals team that is desperate for a win to compete in the NFC West.

Score Prediction: Arizona Cardinals 38, NY Jets 9