Under interim coach, Jets seek to save season, beginning with Bills battle

Aaron Rodgers is expected to help the New York Jets go from laughingstocks to contenders.

But the Jets weren’t displaying enough signs to feel good about ending their 13-season playoff drought.

The dismal start led to Tuesday’s dismissal of coach Robert Saleh. Now, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich will guide the team Monday night in a crucial AFC East contest against the visiting Buffalo Bills at East Rutherford, N.J.

The Jets (2-3) made the coaching change after back-to-back losses to the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett also had his playcalling duties taken away and passing game coordinator Todd Downing will call the plays against the Bills.

Rodgers acknowledged that he and his teammates are partly responsible for the coaching change.

“I think we need to do everything we can to maximize this opportunity,” Rodgers said Thursday. “… We need to be accountable to each other. When something like this happens, it’s a reset for everybody.”

Rodgers, 40, certainly needs to raise his own level of play. He has completed just 61 percent of his passes and been sacked 13 times while passing for 1,093 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions.

Three of the interceptions came during last week’s 23-17 loss to the Vikings.

The former four-time MVP with the Green Bay Packers is overseeing an offense that ranks 25th in scoring (18.6 points per game) and 27th in total offense (286.6 yards per game). New York also ranks last in rushing offense at 80.4 yards per game.

Rodgers said things need to improve immediately under Ulbrich, who is the team’s defensive coordinator.

“I think the spotlight’s on the players,” Rodgers said. “Now, you can change coaches, but we’re the ones out there on the field playing. So we got to play better, but we gotta stick together and get behind ‘Brick’ and move forward.”

Ulbrich, 47, spent 10 seasons as a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers in a career that ended in 2009. He went into coaching and has been with the Jets since 2021 and is in his fourth season as their defensive coordinator.

“We can’t be afraid of mistakes and half-stepping,” Ulbrich said. “We’ve got to play this game on our terms, and I’m very confident we’re going to see that Monday night.”

Buffalo (3-2) is having its own struggles with consecutive losses to the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans.

Star quarterback Josh Allen was an abysmal 9-for-30 passing for 131 yards and one touchdown in last weekend’s 23-20 road loss to the Texans.

“I’ve got to be better,” Allen said. “Ball placement, and a couple throws I wish I could have had back this last game.

“Just making sure we’re on the same page, and it starts with the quarterback. That’s on me. Just trying to find ways this next week of sustaining drives, being better on third down, staying out of some of these third-and-long situations.”

Bills coach Sean McDermott is convinced Allen’s problems are a short-term thing.

“You go through a season, it’s never a straight line in terms of the path to success,” McDermott said. “You’ve got to go through the ebbs and flows of the season and manage them.

“I know Josh is as competitive as there is, and we have full confidence in him, and I’m confident he’ll get back to doing that, and that’s important for us.”

Buffalo ranks third in scoring at 28.4 points, but just 22nd in total offense (299.8). Khalil Shakir leads the Bills in both receptions (18) and receiving yardage (230) as a go-to receiver has yet to emerge.

Shakir (ankle) sat out two practices this week before being limited Saturday. He’s listed as questionable. Starting running back James Cook (toe) also is questionable.

Star defensive tackle Ed Oliver (hamstring) will miss his second straight game. Two other defenders are questionable, tackle Austin Johnson (oblique) and cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm).

Jets cornerback Michael Carter II (back) was ruled out Saturday. Standout linebacker C.J. Mosley (toe) is expected to return after a three-game absence. Mosley and Tyler Conklin (hip) were both listed as questionable.

Right tackle Morgan Moses (knee) is slated to return after a two-game absence. Rodgers (ankle) practiced in full on Saturday and is good to go.

Buffalo has won six of the past eight meetings between these teams.

–Field Level Media

Raiders make QB change to spark offense vs. Steelers

In an attempt to jump-start their offense, the Las Vegas Raiders will change quarterbacks this weekend to someone new.

As for their disgruntled star wideout? Same old, same old.

Davante Adams is likely to remain out and second-year signal-caller Aidan O’Connell will step in for veteran quarterback Gardner Minshew II when the Raiders (2-3) host the Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) on Sunday afternoon.

This will be the third game in a row that Adams is expected to miss because of a hamstring injury. While he has been sidelined, trade rumors have swirled around the 11th-year veteran who has five 1,000-yard campaigns in his previous six seasons.

“We talked so everything’s good,” Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce said. “He is still a Raider. He has never not been a Raider. When he’s healthy and can play, we’ll play him.”

Las Vegas is also expected to be without wideout Jakobi Meyers, who injured an ankle last Sunday in a loss to the host Denver Broncos. After being listed as questionable on Friday when he was a limited participant at practice, Meyers was downgraded to doubtful on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are playing a similar game of wait-and-see when it comes to injury recovery with their own high-profile veteran.

Quarterback Russell Wilson, who has not played this season because of a calf injury, returned to practice this week. He took repetitions with the second team in practice and is expected to serve as a backup to Justin Fields this week against Las Vegas.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Wilson is working his way back.

“He’s probably going to be active as the No. 2 quarterback,” Tomlin said of Wilson. “I like what I’ve seen out here. Again, health and rust are two different things. I thought he had a good week displaying his health, his ability to protect. Now it’s just a process of getting re-acclimated to the ball.”

Fields has posted a career-best 97.1 passer rating in his first season in Pittsburgh. He has passed for 961 yards, five touchdowns and one interception, and he has rushed for 172 yards and three scores.

Najee Harris is the Steelers’ top running back with 270 yards but only 3.3 yards per carry. George Pickens leads the team’s receivers with 23 catches for 310 yards.

As for the Raiders, O’Connell is set to make his first start of 2024 after starting 10 games as a rookie in 2023. The Purdue product has played in two games in backup duty this season, completing 19 of 32 passes for 176 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Pierce pulled Minshew after he threw two costly interceptions in last week’s 34-18 loss against the Denver Broncos. He said O’Connell earned an opportunity to start but he left open the possibility that he could turn back to Minshew later in the season.

“I don’t plan on making switches at any (specific) time,” Pierce said. “When it’s time to make a switch, we’ll make a switch.”

Pierce said he was impressed by O’Connell’s maturity as a second-year player.

“(He’s) out of that shell, not looking like a rookie no more,” Pierce said. “Not acting like a rookie no more. He has a certain presence about himself. I love how he walks around the building.

“Really, what I respect the most, is when we named Gardner the starter, he said, ‘All right, I’m going to be the best scout team quarterback possible.’ And he was lighting our (defense) up. And every day he gives us the best look and he walks around with a smile on his face.”

Raiders rookie tight end Brock Bowers will look to stay hot after scoring his first career touchdown last week against Denver. Bowers leads the team with 313 receiving yards.

Las Vegas also hopes to ignite its running game, which has sputtered this season. Zamir White leads the team with 152 rushing yards and Alexander Mattison is next with 125.

Both teams feature elite pass rushers.

The Steelers’ T.J. Watt has 4.5 sacks in five games this season after tallying 19 sacks in 17 games last year. Watt surpassed 100 career sacks last week against the Cowboys.

Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby can also change the game on defense. Crosby has five sacks in four games after notching 14.5 in 2023.

–Field Level Media

QBs in focus as Commanders make short trip to play Ravens

Two of the NFL’s best dual-threat quarterbacks — one a well-established star, the other a rookie — will battle when the host Baltimore Ravens renew their regional rivalry with the Washington Commanders on Sunday.

Lamar Jackson, the two-time and reigning NFL MVP, has led the Ravens (3-2) to three straight victories into first place in the AFC North with highlight-reel passes and runs.

The Commanders are 4-1 for the first time since 2008 behind rookie Jayden Daniels, who is the first player in NFL history with more than 1,000 yards passing and 250 yards rushing in his first five career games.

There are obvious comparisons between Daniels and Jackson, who are both Heisman Trophy winners. Commanders coach Dan Quinn, however, said each player has his individual style.

“I think everybody knows how exceptional and remarkable Lamar is, and so I get why people would say that here’s somebody who’s got the athletic ability and can absolutely rip it as well,” Quinn said at his weekly news conference this week. “But I’ve always wanted Jayden to be the best version of him and absolutely go for it in that way. They’ll feature different ways in the offense than we do.

“But as far as a comparison, I didn’t allow myself to kind of go down all that road. I just really wanted to kind of stay in all the things that he could do and how we would feature him in our offense with our guys.”

Jackson, in his seventh NFL season, has thrown for 1,206 yards with nine touchdowns and one interception for a 107.3 passer rating. Jackson has also run for 363 yards with two scores.

In last week’s 41-38 overtime victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, Jackson had one of the most iconic plays of his career. After a botched snap, Jackson picked up the ball from the turf, stiff-armed Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard deep in the backfield, and then threw a touchdown pass as he was getting pushed out of bounds to tight end Isaiah Likely.

Jackson was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for that overall performance.

“I knew what was going on,” Jackson said on Sunday. “We just had to put points on the board. That’s what was going through my mind, but without (making) a costly turnover. We were driving the ball down the field, trying to make something happen, because those guys, I think, (had) one play that went 80 yards, so it’s like we have to respond back fast because time is running out, and time was on our side today because we were able to make something happen.”

The Ravens have the NFL’s No. 1 rushing offense, averaging 211.2 yards per game. Establishing the run could be the focal point for offensive coordinator Todd Monken because Washington is ranked 22nd against the run (130 ypg) and 13th against the pass (198 ypg).

Daniels has thrown for 1,135 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also run for 300 yards with four scores.

The Ravens’ secondary has struggled this season and has allowed 280.2 yards passing per game — ranked 31st in the league, ahead of only the Jacksonville Jaguars (287.8). As a result, Daniels could have opportunities to make plays downfield against Baltimore’s cornerback and safeties.

The Commanders also have the NFL’s top-scoring offense with 31 points per game under new offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury.

“Jayden is playing at a high, high level,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. “Kliff has done a great job in terms of building the offense around Jayden. They have skill players, they have a really great running back, a veteran offensive line — think they are doing a great job. You see it on tape. They have a lot of plays where there is all kinds of space out there that they’ve created. We have our hands full.”

The Ravens lead the all-time regular-season series against the Washington franchise 4-3.

Washington leading rusher Brian Robinson Jr. (knee) and linebacker Jordan Magee (knee) were ruled out Saturday. Robinson has ran for 325 yards and five touchdowns. The Commanders ruled out safety Tyler Owens (shin) on Friday.

On Saturday, Washington activated defensive lineman Efe Obada (tibia/fibula) off the physically unable to perform list. He is set to play for the first time since sustaining a major right leg injury 11 months ago.

The Ravens won’t have defensive tackle Broderick Washington (knee), linebacker Malik Harrison (groin) or cornerback Arthur Maulet (knee/hamstring). Five players are questionable: running back Rasheen Ali (neck), receiver/return specialist Deonte Harty (knee), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (toe), offensive lineman Sala Aumavae-Laulu (back) and cornerback Marlon Humphrey (ankle).

–Field Level Media