The Jets have created a deep hole for themselves as we approach the halfway point of the 2025 NFL season. They are 0-7, and just about everything is going wrong. A quarterback controversy between Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor has surely shifted the mood behind the scenes. The situation is definitely not helped by Woody Johnson’s recent quotes from the league meetings earlier this week. Outside of the quarterbacks, the Jets offense simply hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 5. While the defense has improved, they have a tough matchup against the suddenly high-powered Bengals offense. Here are some of the specific obstacles that the Jets need to get through in Week 8.
Jets Will Have to Go Through Obstacles to Get First Win in Week 8
Obstacle #1: Jets’ New Cornerback Duo Against the Bengals’ Wide Receiver Duo
This matchup was already of note going into the season. It was perceived that two of the NFL’s best, Sauce Gardner and Ja’Marr Chase, would be going at it this week. However, a concussion has now officially knocked Gardner out of this game. This leaves Brandon Stephens and rookie Azareye’h Thomas to answer the call against Chase and Tee Higgins. Stephens is very familiar with the AFC North duo, having played against them for many years in Baltimore. On the other side, Thomas, a rookie out of FSU, will draw some hefty competition in his first start. Chase and Higgins will almost definitely make some plays. They combined for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns just last week. Stephens, Thomas, and the rest of the secondary will have to mitigate the damage to give the Jets their best chance of clearing this obstacle.
Glenn says AZ Thomas will start Sunday in place of Sauce.
— Brian Costello (@BrianCoz) October 24, 2025
Obstacle #2: The Offense, The Whole Thing
There are no specifics to the Jets’ offensive struggles at this point. The offensive line has been struggling, the quarterbacks have struggled, the running game hasn’t been able to truly get going, and the wide receivers are both under par and unable to prove they’re above it, considering everything else. Despite having a good matchup against the Panthers last week, the unit still struggled greatly. The Bengals pose a similar matchup, though, which means another chance for redemption. The Bengals are allowing 30.6 points per game in 2025, which is the second-worst mark in the league. From a yardage allowed per game standpoint, they are third-worst in passing yards allowed (257.1) and sixth-worst in rushing yards allowed (137.3). The Jets must prove themselves this week on offense, despite refusing to name a starting quarterback.
The #Jets offense has scored just one TD in the first 3 quarters of a game over the last 6 games.
That feels almost impossible. pic.twitter.com/ufmBiIeU9U
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 19, 2025
Obstacle #3: Two-Minute Offense
In the last two games, the Jets possessed the ball with under two minutes to play in the first half. They also had the ball within that time frame in the fourth quarter against the Broncos. The Jets did not score in any of those situations. The biggest reason? Justin Fields has been the quarterback in all of those situations. He has struggled mightily to move the ball through the air, which is usually how teams approach the two-minute drill. This has caused Tanner Engstrand to call more run plays, which wastes too much time. Assuming the starting quarterback this week isn’t Fields, there must be a better two-minute plan in place. Executing in this part of the game is how good teams win football games.
If the Jets want to pick up their first win this week, these obstacles must be overcome.
Main Image: Rich Storry / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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