Heaps: It will be ‘concerning’ if Seahawks can’t exploit Jets’ secondary
Dec 12, 2020, 10:30 AM
The Seahawks' passing offense has a great matchup to exploit against the Jets. (Getty)
(Getty)
The Seahawks have a great chance to get back in the win column on Sunday when they face the New York Jets, one week after Seattle lost to the New York Giants and the offense looked out of rhythm from the start.
3 Seahawks Questions: Will Wilson have an MVP performance against Jets?
The Jets are the only team in the NFL without a win in 2020 and have a plethora of issues on both sides of the ball. One area of concern for New York is so great that former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps thinks the Seahawks will take full advantage of it as it plays into Seattle’s greatest strength.
“The most obvious mismatch in this game is the Seattle Seahawks’ passing offense versus the Jets’ passing defense,” Heaps said Friday on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Jake and Stacy. “It’s not even close.”
The Seahawks are eighth in yards per game, fourth in points per game and seventh in passing yards per game. The Jets, meanwhile, are allowing the fourth-most yards per game on defense and are allowing 291 passing yards per game, which is the second-most in the NFL behind the Seahawks.
When you look at the players the Seahawks have in the passing game compared to who the Jets currently have in the secondary, Heaps says it’s not a close contest.
“We’re talking about one of the better passing offenses in this league with some of the better weapons you can have in Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Russell Wilson at quarterback, your tight end group is a very good group of receiving tight ends, you’ve got great running backs that can catch it out of the backfield,” Heaps said. “And this (Jets’) defense has three rookies in the secondary: (safety) Ashtyn Davis from Cal, (cornerback) Lamar Jackson who (is an undrafted rookie out of Nebraska) and you’ve got your fifth-round pick in (cornerback) Bryce Hall. (Those) are your starting guys in your secondary.”
After starting the season on a historic pace, Wilson and the Seahawks have slowed down offensively with last week’s loss being the worst performance to date. Seattle scored a season-low 12 points and Wilson didn’t look like himself, completing 27 of 43 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown as well as one interception and one lost fumble. Heaps thinks the Seahawks can get back on track in this one, but if they don’t, then concerns coming out of the Giants game are even more valid.
“This is a mismatch that you have to take advantage of and if they don’t, I will be concerned,” he said. “I’m all for running the ball, I’m all for getting Chris Carson his carries, but if they are not attacking this secondary and not taking full advantage of it – not taking deep shots all the way down the field, but moving the ball steadily through the passing game and having a great mix between their pass and run – I will be concerned because this is a mismatch that they should be exploiting greatly.”
Listen to the second hour of Friday’s Jake and Stacy here or in the player below.
Follow Brandon Gustafson on Twitter.
Clayton: Expect more rushing from Seahawks’ offense against Jets
