New York Jets vs Green Bay Packers: TV Schedule, Time, and Prediction

New York Jets vs Green Bay Packers

Where: Lambeau Field

When: 4:25 PM ET (3:25 PM CT) on September 14, 2014

Watch: CBS

Betting Line: Packers -9, O/U 46

In the 95 career games where Aaron Rodgers has played the entire game, Green Bay’s quarterback has only had one touchdown-less appearance. Can you guess which opponent shut him down? If you guessed the New York Jets, you were correct. Rodgers failed to find the end zone in his team’s 9-0 win over the Jets at MetLife Stadium.

This will be certainly be a different encounter though. For New York, Geno Smith is under center, not Mark Sanchez. Smith led the Jets to a Week 1 win over the Oakland Raiders, but it wasn’t very convincing. He did post a touchdown and over 200 yards through the air, but he also managed to fumble the ball inside Oakland’s five yard line and threw an interception.

While Smith does look improved from his rookie season, New York Jets fans shouldn’t consider him the face of the franchise just yet. A win in Green Bay, better yet, a string of wins against the stiff competition over the first half of the season could change things though. It starts against the Packers though.

Two areas where the Jets have traditionally been formidable have been on defense and on the ground. Despite starting two inexperienced cornerbacks in Week 1, New York looked very convincing defensively. We knew that their front-seven was going to be one of the best in AFC, and probably among the NFL’s elite as well, but the secondary had to have been a nice surprise for head coach Rex Ryan.

Albeit, they were facing a rookie quarterback in Derek Carr, not Aaron Rodgers. The former California quarterback is among the top-five signal callers in the league, and he has one of the best receiving corps in the game. New York will need to get pressure early and often, in order to disrupt the All-Pro player.

Prediction:

Despite being nine point underdogs, the Jets actually do match up really well with Green Bay. Ultimately, the Packers are still the better, more experienced team. Coach Mike McCarthy and his team were thrashed in Week 1 by the Seattle Seahawks, and the Jets will need to follow Pete Carroll’s formula in order to succeed against Green Bay. The Jets defense will likely hold the run game to minimal yards, but Rodgers can still sling it. The secondary would need to play the game of their lives, particularly corner Kyle Wilson, who will likely be covering wide receiver Randall Cobb. Then, New York has to run the ball effectively, just as they have done since Rex Ryan became head coach. Aaron Rodgers will and the passing game will likely be too much for this team to handle, but for all the bettors out there, taking the Jets with a nine point cushion isn’t a ridiculous thought.

Jets 21 – 27 Packers