4 questions the NY Jets must answer against the Ravens in Week 1

With the NY Jets starting their season on Sunday, there are many question marks about how the team can translate a positive offseason with lauded moves in free agency and the draft into results on the field.

The team does have a number of things working against them to kick their season off including their starting quarterback Zach Wilson being unable to play, injuries on the offensive line, as well as an extremely tough matchup to open their year.

Here are a few of the most important questions that the Jets will need to answer in this game.

1. Can Joe Flacco actually play like an NFL starting quarterback?

When Jets fans envisioned Week 1 prior to the first preseason game, one of the top things on their minds was getting to see how Zach Wilson looked for his much anticipated second-year leap.

Unfortunately, that is going to have to wait a little while, until at least Week 4, according to head coach Robert Saleh.

Luckily the Jets seem to have a better backup quarterback situation to start the season than in years prior. Saleh has had very kind words about backup Joe Flacco, even going as far as to say that "he could [still] start in this league" prior to the Wilson injury.

Fans will see pretty early on Sunday if that praise was deserved or not. Since Flacco left the Ravens in 2019 he has started 13 games and only won two of those games.

Flacco does not have to light it up for this offense to succeed. For the first time in a while, the Jets have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. What the team needs from Flacco is consistency and limiting mistakes.

If he can be an efficient game manager, that's all anyone could ask for out of the 37-year-old veteran. This type of play might not lead to a win, but it should keep the Jets in a competitive game against the Ravens.

Speaking of the opponent, the factor of Flacco going up against his old team will affect the game. It could be a positive where he rises to the occasion because of the extra emotion and knowledge of the system he's going up against.

On the other hand, Ravens coach John Harbaugh knows Flacco very well and could game plan against his tendencies to create an ugly performance from the quarterback who is well past his prime.

How Flacco performs in this game will be an indication of the Jets' chances over the next couple of weeks, as he will be their option at the helm to start the season off until Wilson can get back to full health.