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New York Jets vs Arizona Cardinals: Five Players to Watch

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:26 p.m. ET

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Oct 9, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) throws a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second half of their game at Heinz Field. The Steelers won, 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets will be playing the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football. Who are five players we should keep an eye on?

It has not been a good start to the season for the New York Jets or the Arizona Cardinals. The difficult first part of the schedule has proven to be too much for the Jets to handle early on. Besides one game against the Buffalo Bills, the Jets have looked poor this season.

For the Cardinals, this season has been a huge disappointment early on as well. After playing in the NFC Championship Game last season, the Cardinals are off to a 2-3 start. The Cardinals were able to win on Thursday Night Football last week without Carson Palmer. Against the Jets, all signs point to Palmer playing, as he was able to get through the NFL’s concussion protocol.

Monday Night Football will be a very important game for both teams. Neither the Jets or the Cardinals can afford another loss this early in the season, and this makes the game an important one.

The Jets are certainly banged up heading into this game, as wide receiver Eric Decker was recently ruled out for the rest of the season. The decision for Decker to have shoulder surgery is certainly going to be a tough blow for the Jets’ offense, but they do have some talented young wide receivers who might be able to step up.

With the season arguably on the line for the Jets, here are five players to watch on Monday Night Football.

Oct 9, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets running back Matt Forte (22) rushes the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter of their game at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Forte

After a great start to his career with the Jets, we have seen Matt Forte’s production drop the past few weeks. In the first two weeks of the season, Forte was getting a ton of touches, and to no surprise,  it was the best two games the Jets played all season. Against the Bengals, Forte had 27 touches and against the Bills he had 32.

While that type of workload had to be decreased, Forte hasn’t totaled 20 touches in a game since. To no surprise, the Jets’ offense has looked rather poor since. There has been a bit more of Bilal Powell in recent games, which isn’t a bad thing, but Forte needs to touch the ball at least 20 times a game for the Jets.

Due to the struggles of Ryan Fitzpatrick, one would assume that they would try to focus more on getting the ball to their dynamic running back. However, that has not been the case. Against the Cardinals, the Jets will have a favorable matchup to try and reestablish Forte on the ground. The Cardinals have been allowing 4.1 yards, which means Forte can find success on the ground.

The formula for the Jets to play better on offense might be very simple. Get Forte more touches, and good things seem to happen.

October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson (31) runs past San Francisco 49ers linebacker Nick Bellore (50) during the third quarter at Levi

David Johnson

Cardinals running back David Johnson is emerging as one of the best-running backs in the league, and he is coming off of a great game. In the Cardinals’ win against the 49ers. In that game, Johnson totaled 157 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards, and two rushing touchdowns.

Johnson has proven that he can carry the Cardinals’ offense, but that will be a tough task against the Jets’ defense. Even though the Jets haven’t stopped anyone’s passing offense this season, they have had success defending the run.

This season, the Jets are ranked 4th in total rushing yards allowed, and they are 2nd in yards per carry. The 3.0 yards per carry average that the Jets are allowing is only behind the Green Bay Packers, who have been great against the run this season.

If the Jets are unable to contain Johnson on the ground, they will be in for a long day against the Cardinals’ offense. Johnson is averaging 5.0 yards per carry this season, which means that something will have to give in this matchup.

Due to the return of Palmer, the Cardinals will likely be testing what they can do against the Jets’ poor passing defense. Having a player like Johnson to fall back on to keep the Jets’ defense honest is a great luxury to have.

October 6, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) catches a touchdown pass against the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter at Levi

Larry Fitzgerald

Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald might be 33-years-old, but he still looks like one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. After a great 2015 season, Fitzgerald has played well once again in 2016. This season, Fitzgerald has totaled 31 receptions, 361 receiving yards, and five receiving touchdowns.

The Jets have struggled all season to stop elite wide receivers, and that will likely continue against Fitzgerald. Darrelle Revis didn’t play against the Pittsburgh Steelers and his absence was felt. Trying to stop the talented weapons that the Steelers have proved to be too much for the Jets.

The good news for the Jets is that it appears that Revis could be playing against the Cardinals. Like the Steelers, the Cardinals have talented wide receivers in addition to Fitzgerald, but stopping him will be the first priority.

If Revis does return, he will likely be matching up with Fitzgerald. Unfortunately for the Jets, that doesn’t mean much this season. Revis hasn’t played well this season, but he is still the best cornerback that the Jets have to try and defense Fitzgerald.

The Jets’ secondary has been awful all season, and Fitzgerald will likely be a matchup nightmare for them on Monday Night Football.

Oct 9, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) runs after a catch against Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell (31) during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Marshall

The Jets are going to be without wide receiver Eric Decker for the rest of the season after he underwent shoulder surgery. With Decker out, players are going to need to step up for the Jets. There are a lot of talented young wide receivers on the team like Jalin Marshall and Robby Anderson. While the Jets will certainly need these players to step up, they will also need Brandon Marshall to be elite for the rest of the season.

The addition of Marshall really changed things for the Jets last season. Adding a talent like Marshall helped the Jets have a much-improved passing attack in 2015. While Marshall hasn’t done as well as he did in 2015, he appears to be getting into a groove. Two weeks ago, Marshall totaled four receptions, 89 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown in a tough matchup against Richard Sherman. Against the Steelers last week, Marshall played well once again, as he totaled eight receptions, 115 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown.

The two good games in a row for Marshall are certainly a welcomed sight for the Jets, who need him to be playing at a high level. Against the Cardinals, Marshall will likely be covered by cornerback Patrick Peterson, who is one of the best in the business. This will surely be one of the best matchups of the game, and the Jets need Marshall to win it.

Oct 2, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) throws while under pressure from Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Ethan Westbrooks (93) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Carson Palmer

The Cardinals will be getting their starting quarterback Carson Palmer back after he missed a week due to a concussion. The Cardinals were able to win despite Palmer being out. Backup quarterback Drew Stanton didn’t make any mistakes in his start, and that resulted in a win against the San Francisco 49ers.

After a great season in 2015 for the Cardinals, Palmer hasn’t done quite as well this season. In 2015, Palmer totaled 35 touchdown passes, 11 interceptions, and 4,671 passing yards. This season, Palmer has just six touchdown passes and already has thrown five interceptions.

A bulk of those interceptions for Palmer came against the Buffalo Bills, as he threw four interceptions in the loss. Some of the Cardinals’ struggles this season can be blamed on Palmer, as he isn’t playing up to par this season.

Palmer will be returning to a dream matchup against the poor Jets’ passing defense. The Jets’ passing defense that has allowed opposing quarterbacks to average a 118.6 quarterback rating. There hasn’t been any sign of improvement for the Jets’ passing defense in recent weeks and Palmer is poised for a great game despite his struggles. We will see if this is the week that the Jets’ passing defense can turn it around.

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