THURSDAY NIGHT PREVIEW:
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (6-8) AT NEW YORK JETS (7-7)
Week 16 of the 2022 NFL season gets underway on Thursday, December 22 (8:15 PM ET, Prime Video) as the Jacksonville Jaguars (6-8) visit the New York Jets (7-7) in a pivotal late-season meeting between playoff hopefuls. Each team enters the matchup only one game out of the AFC playoff picture. The Jaguars hold the all-time regular-season series advantage, 8-7, but the Jets earned the victory in the most recent meeting, a 26-21 win in Week 16 of the 2021 season. New York quarterback ZACH WILSON (91 rushing yards) and running back MICHAEL CARTER (118) each set career high rushing totals in rushing in that game, including a 52-yard touchdown run by Wilson.
The Jaguars enter Week 16 with back-to-back wins and sit only a game back of Tennessee for first place in the AFC South. Jacksonville is looking to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2017. Last week, the Jaguars overcame a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to defeat Dallas, 40-34, in overtime. Quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE led a seven-play drive with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter to set up the game-tying 48-yard field goal by RILEY PATTERSON as time expired. In overtime, safety RAYSHAWN JENKINS recorded the game-winning 52-yard interception-return touchdown – his second interception of the game – to mark the seventh-longest game-winning interception return for a touchdown in overtime since regular-season overtime was instituted in 1974. Jenkins also led the team with a career-high 18 tackles, the most tackles in a game by a player with multiple interceptions since 1991.
Lawrence totaled 318 passing yards and a career-high four touchdown passes in the victory, his second consecutive game with at least 300 passing yards and three touchdown passes. Over his past six games, the second-year quarterback has 15 touchdowns (14 passing, one rushing) against one interception with a 111.2 passer rating, the highest passer rating among qualified passers in the NFL since Week 9. Running back TRAVIS ETIENNE led the team with 127 scrimmage yards (103 rushing, 24 receiving) last week and needs 83 rushing yards on Thursday to become the fifth player in franchise history to record 1,000 rushing yards in a season. Wide receiver CHRISTIAN KIRK aims for his fourth in a row with at least five catches and has over 90 receiving yards in two of his past three games. He needs 34 receiving yards for his first-career 1,000-yard season. Wide receiver ZAY JONES had six catches for 109 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in Week 15 and has a touchdown reception in each of his past two games. Linebacker FOYESADE OLUOKUN enters Thursday with at least 14 tackles in each of his past four games and can become the first player since 2000 with at least 14 tackles in five straight games. He leads the NFL with 156 tackles this season.
The Jets enter Thursday one game back of an AFC Wild Card spot, as the franchise is aiming for its first postseason berth since 2010. Last week, Wilson made his eighth start of the season and totaled 317 passing yards and two touchdown passes, his second-career game with at least 300 passing yards. Running back ZONOVAN KNIGHT has at least 75 scrimmage yards in three of his four career games and is one of three undrafted rookies with over 300 scrimmage yards (321) this season. Wide receiver GARRETT WILSON totaled 98 receiving yards in Week 15, his fourth-consecutive game with at least 75 receiving yards, the longest active streak in the league. Wilson leads all rookies with 67 catches and 966 receiving yards this season, both the most ever by a Jets rookie. Tight end C.J. UZOMAH recorded his third-career game with two touchdown receptions last week. In his last game against Jacksonville (Sept. 30, 2021, with Cincinnati), Uzomah recorded five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive lineman QUINNEN WILLIAMS leads the team with 11 sacks this season and is the first Jet with at least 11 sacks in a season since 2015 (MUHAMMAD WILKERSON). Linebacker QUINCY WILLIAMS aims for his sixth in a row at home with a tackle for loss. Linebacker C.J. MOSLEY is one of 10 players in the NFL with at least five tackles in 14 games this season. In the teams’ 2021 meeting, Mosley recorded 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Rookie cornerback SAUCE GARDNER leads the NFL with 16 passes defensed in 2022, while cornerback D.J. REED tied a career high with three passes defensed last week.
Prime Video will stream 15 Thursday Night Football games this season (Weeks 2-17, excluding Thanksgiving). The game will feature Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit and Kaylee Hartung on the call.
COURTESY NFLmedia.com
