The Jets are heading into Week 5 with little faith from the outside world, and the reasons are easy to see. New York returns home to face the Cleveland Browns after dropping three straight, while Cleveland arrives with a three-game winning streak after opening the season with a loss.
That puts the Jets in a tough spot. They’re trying to avoid sliding to 1-4, and they’ll have to do it without some important pieces because of injury, including star running back Breece Hall. Hall sat out last week against the Chicago Bears, and the offense struggled to generate much.
The early picks from Bleacher Report tell the story of how this matchup is being viewed. NFL analysts Gary Davenport, Brad Gagnon, Kris Knox, Moe Moton, Brent Sobleski, Wes O'Donnell, and Ian Hanford all made their calls for the game, and only one of the seven backed New York. O'Donnell was the lone pick for the Jets, pointing to the home-field edge at MetLife Stadium.
Cleveland may be 3-1, but the Browns still haven’t fully convinced everyone they’re a true top-tier team. That leaves a sliver of opening for the Jets, especially if the offense can do more than it did a week ago.
Much of that responsibility falls on Smith, who will be asked to carry the load against a Browns defense that can make life miserable. New York’s offensive line has to give him time to work and keep the pocket from collapsing. If that happens, the Jets can at least make this interesting.
Even so, this looks like a difficult climb for New York. The Jets believe they can still turn things around, and this game is their first chance to prove it.
In Other News...
Jets Mock Draft Outlook Just Revived A Familiar Quarterback Hope
With a 1-3 start already putting the season on shaky ground, the Jets are back in the familiar spot of being talked about through the lens of the draft rather than the standings. Their long-term outlook is getting extra attention because they are expected to hold multiple first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, with one of them potentially landing inside the top five. For a team still searching for stability at quarterback, that kind of projected draft capital naturally invites another round of speculation about who might eventually become the next answer under center.
One recent mock draft revived that conversation in a big way by linking Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr to New York as a possible franchise fix. Carr has played well in college, and the projection has the Jets eyeing him as a long-term solution if they do end up in position to strike early. The appeal is obvious for a team that has spent years chasing certainty at the games most important spot, even if the real intrigue is in how the quarterback board could unfold before the Jets are finally on the clock. [Read more 🡒]
Geno Smith Faces A Jets Problem That Could Decide Sunday
The Browns have spent the early part of the season leaning heavily on man coverage, and that sets up an interesting test for Geno Smith and the Jets on Sunday. Cleveland has played more man than any defense in the league through four games, which means Smith will likely spend plenty of the afternoon dealing with tight coverage and the kind of one-on-one matchups that can either open things up or stall an offense in a hurry.
Smith has handled man looks well enough to keep the Jets in games, ranking near the top in success rate and completion percentage against those coverages. But the pressure point is hard to miss: he has also been taking sacks in those situations, and if that trend continues against a Browns defense built to challenge quarterbacks that way, it could shape the outcome of a crucial matchup for New York. [Read more 🡒]
Jets Face Growing Questions Over Adonai Mitchell Injury Handling
Adonai Mitchell has already missed the last two weeks with an undisclosed finger injury, and his absence is starting to raise more than routine availability questions for the Jets. The third-year receiver was ruled out for the upcoming game, and he has not practiced recently, leaving the team to manage a situation that has lingered without much clarity while the offense waits for another healthy option at receiver.
What has made the injury even more of a talking point is the uncertainty around its severity and the lack of any injured reserve move despite Mitchell missing multiple games. Reports have suggested the finger may be broken and could require surgery, but Aaron Glenn has pushed back on that line of thinking, leaving the Jets with a gap between the public explanation and the broader speculation around how serious this really is. [Read more 🡒]