New York Jets: Receiver-cornerback matchups to watch vs. Lions
The 2018 NFL season is upon us, and the Lions take on the New York Jets at Ford Field. We will take a look at the top wide receiver-cornerback matchups.
Week 1 of the 2018 season kicked off with the Philadelphia Eagles taking on Atlanta Falcons. The penultimate game of the week will be when the New York Jets head to Detroit to take on the Lions in the first leg of a Monday Night Football doubleheader.
The Lions are expected to have a prolific offense and a lot of weapons. While, on the other hand, the Jets receiving core isn’t getting a lot of respect. The Jets do have a formidable defensive backfield, while the Lions did have some issues with tackling in 2017 (third most yards after the catch allowed in the NFL).
What are the top matchups to watch in this game? Lets examine.
Robbie Anderson vs. Darius Slay
Slay is the top corner, and most people believe that Anderson is the best receiver on the Jets. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Slay shadowed the Lions opponents’ best receiver in 10 out of their 16 games last season. Expect them to follow suit this week and have him shadow Anderson to try and keep him from burning them deep.
Quincy Enunwa vs. the slot corner
This is a matchup that favors New York all game long. The corners of Detroit average 5-11, 198 pounds. So, at 6-2, 225 pounds, Enunwa has the size and strength advantage on the entire cornerback room for the Lions. It’s a matchup the Jets should be able to exploit.
Marvin Jones, Jr. vs. Trumaine Johnson
Last season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Jones was only shadowed in five of Detroit’s 16 games. In the games he wasn’t shadowed by the opponent’s best corner, he had a catch rate of 55.6 percent with 990 yards (19.8 yards per reception) and eight touchdowns. When he was shadowed his catch rate was higher (64.7 percent) but he only scored once and had 10.1 yards per reception. The Jets need to shadow Jones with Johnson as much as possible in this game to minimize his production.
Golden Tate vs. Morris Claiborne
Tate led the league in both yards after catch and percentage of total yard from YAC (min. 100 targets). So, for Claiborne, this matchup isn’t necessarily about stopping Tate from getting the ball, as he had a catch rate of 78.6 percent in 2017. It’s about tackling him immediately.
Per Pro Football Foucs (subscription required), 50 of his 92 catches came between 0-10 yards from the line of scrimmage. Matt Stafford had a passer rating of 111.4 with most of that number stemming from the four — out of five total — touchdowns that came from that distance.
Next. NFL Week 1: Picks against the spread for every game. dark
It seems to be somewhat even in the matchup on Monday Night Football between the corners and the wide receivers. If the Jets can find a way to break the even matchup they will find themselves victorious against the Lions. It will be fun to watch the chess match between the two teams.