5 things to watch as Jets face Browns on Thursday night in Week 17

The Jets blew a big lead against the Washington Commanders on Sunday but battled back to win the game at the death to improve their record to 6-9 on the season with a late field goal. Can they match their 2022 win total on Thursday night against a Cleveland Browns team that has won three in a row and has a chance to clinch a wild card berth?

Here are some of the biggest stories to watch as the Jets –with Trevor Siemian once again starting at quarterback for an injured Zach Wilson – look to play spoiler in their penultimate game of the season:

Will Joe Flacco’s hot streak continue?

It seems unbelievable, but less than a year ago, Flacco was starting for New York as they headed into Miami for their season finale. However, he looked washed-up and disinterested as Miami cruised to a forgettable 11-6 win.

It looked like Flacco would be out of the league in 2023, but he’s making a bid for the Comeback Player of the Year since being given the Browns’ starting role four weeks ago after joining the practice squad on Nov. 20. Flacco has passed for over 300 yards in three straight games and actually has almost 200 more yards in four games than their injured starter Deshaun Watson managed in six.

Flacco hasn’t been perfect though. He’s thrown seven interceptions in those four games. The Jets will hope to get early pressure on Flacco to disrupt the Browns offense because he doesn’t have much mobility at this stage of his career.

Can the Jets slow down Amari Cooper?

Cooper has quickly developed excellent chemistry with Flacco, and he exploded for 265 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s win over the Houston Texans. Cooper now has a career-high 1,250 receiving yards on the season after several successful downfield connections. Could this be one of those rare occasions where the Jets allow Sauce Gardner to travel with the other team’s top target?

If the Jets can shut down Cooper, or at least limit his effectiveness, the Browns will instead need to rely on players like David Njoku and former Jets' second-round draft pick Elijah Moore. In Sunday’s win, Flacco was just 16-of-27 for 103 yards and one touchdown when targeting someone other than Cooper.

Can Mekhi Becton hold his own against Myles Garrett?

Becton has been up and down this season, but he’s given up 11 sacks and been called for 13 penalties, both of which are much higher than the Jets would have wanted. Garrett is the key to Cleveland’s defense, which is first in the league in terms of the fewest yardage allowed.

Garrett, who has 13 sacks so far this season, primarily lines up on the right side, so Becton will have his hands full this week. However, if Becton can step up and hold his own, that will be a big feather in his cap heading into free agency.

Can the Jets get Breece Hall going against the Browns’ No. 1 ranked defense?

The pattern couldn’t be any clearer that the Jets need the second-year running back to produce if they’re going to win. He’s only generated 425 yards from scrimmage in their nine losses but has racked up 844 in their six wins. In those six wins, Hall has 93 yards from scrimmage or more, whereas in each of the nine losses, he has 75 yards or less. There was a similar pattern last year, too, as the Jets were 5-0 when Hall rushed for 50 yards or more, but 0-2 when he didn’t. They then went 2-8 after his season-ending injury.

While the Browns have the number one defense overall, they’re only 10th against the run and in the middle of the pack for yards per carry. Getting the running game going might therefore be the Jets’ best chance to compete.

Sunday was a good sign on that front, as Hall’s 95 rushing yards were easily the most he’s had since Alijah Vera-Tucker went down in Week 5. In fact, it was the first time he’s surpassed 50 rushing yards since then.

Can Garrett Wilson surpass the 1000-yard barrier again?

There’s a good chance Wilson will clinch his second straight thousand-yard season on Thursday night. He only needs 42 more yards, a total he’s surpassed in all but three games so far this season.

After not being targeted at all in the first half of the loss to Miami, the Jets and Siemian made a concerted effort to get Wilson involved early against the Commanders, as they threw it to him twice on the first series. By halftime, Wilson had eight catches for 65 yards.

However, they didn’t get him involved as much in the second half and he only had one more catch after halftime while Washington made their comeback. (He finished with 15 targets, one behind Hall.) That underlines the importance of keeping Wilson involved as much as possible.