Jets Win, but Lose Key Weapons: Jets Week 7 Recap

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The Jets fought out a downright ugly win yesterday in Denver, beating the Broncos by a score of 16-9. A matchup rarely shown on the Redzone channel, this painful game only became more hurtful to watch after star rookie running back Breece Hall went down with a knee injury, along with several other key members of the Jets offense and defense. Gang green now sits at 5-2, but with a tough stretch coming up, and important players now sidelined with injuries, can the early season success continue to be sustained?

Injury Report:

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Breece Hall: Hall will be receiving an MRI Monday, but everyone's biggest fear is all but confirmed; a torn ACL. An incredibly devastating way for Hall's rookie campaign to end. Breece truly began to emerge as a stud week 5 against the Dolphins, and since then, was the single most important player on the Jets offense. Hall had already run for a 62 yard score before going down with his knee injury Sunday against the Broncos. With Hall almost certainly sidelined for the rest of the year, the Jets should contemplate acquiring a running back through trade. Kareem Hunt sticks out to me, as he is in the final year of his contract on a bad Cleveland team. It will be interesting to see how the Jets approach the running back situation going forward.

Alijah Vera-Tucker: Vera-Tucker, the Jets Swiss Army Knife on the offensive line, also went down with an injury on Sunday. With was was described as an "elbow injury", Vera-Tucker is added to the already long list of Jets offensive linemen out with injuries. New York has done a solid job of using the waiver wire and practice squads to fill the holes, but that can only work for so long.

Corey Davis: At what seemed like a strength coming into the season, the Jets wide receiver room is all of a sudden looking very thin. With Davis now hurt as of Sunday, the two best options at wide out now are rookie Garrett Wilson and return specialist Braxton Berrios. Elijah Moore, who recently requested a trade, was listed as inactive last game and will be for the foreseeable future. Denzel Mims, a second round pick from 2020, has failed to meet expectations to say the least, and has also requested a trade. He made his season debut Sunday, making one catch for four yards. Jeff Smith, a lifelong special teamer, was also playing meaningful playing time on Sunday, and was targeted once for zero catches and zero yards. Unlike running back, the wide receiver situation seems more addressable through the practice squad as opposed to the trade block, but with Zach Wilson struggling these past couple of games, can the Jets really afford to put inexperienced wide receivers out there for him to throw to?

What's Next?:

The Jets have a true test next week, as the hot Patriots come to MetLife. While the game certainly becomes more winnable at home, New England always gives the Jets trouble no matter where they are. And with the major injury concerns for the Jets, will they have enough strength to get their 6th win in a row?