Jets vs. Commanders: Preview, prediction, what to watch for in Week 16

An inside look at Sunday’s Jets-Commanders NFL Week 16 matchup at MetLife Stadium.

Marquee matchup

Commanders WR Terry McLaurin vs. Jets CBs Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed

The Jets’ defense has performed well all season but gave up an explosive play in last week’s loss to the Dolphins when Jaylen Waddle beat Reed for a 60-yard touchdown.

Washington’s only hope of having success against the Jets defense is to have a similar big play.

McLaurin is the leading candidate to do it.

He had six catches for 141 yards and a touchdown last week against the Rams.

He has 66 catches for 835 yards and three touchdowns this season.

“He’s explosive, very explosive,” Gardner said. “He’s got strong hands. There are a lot of good things about him. I was at the Pro Bowl with him last year, and I was able to see him do a few things. It’s not the same as with pads on, but he’s a really good receiver.”

Gardner is having a strong sophomore season.

He was not targeted at all last week by the Dolphins.

Still, Gardner is searching for his first interception of the season.

Maybe it comes in this game.

Commanders quarterback Sam Howell has an NFL-worst 15 interceptions this season.

Reed and Gardner may be the best cornerback duo in football.

Though the playoffs are out of reach, these two are still trying to earn Pro Bowl invites and should remain motivated.

Costello’s call

This game is all about the Jets offense and whether they can actually score points against a Commanders team that has the worst defense statistically in the NFL.

Trevor Siemian is the latest to jump on the Jets quarterback carousel.

I still think the Jets struggle and get nothing but coal this year for Christmas.

Commanders 9, Jets 7

4 downs

Gore four: The Jets will start their fourth quarterback of the season on Sunday when Trevor Siemian gets the nod against the Commanders.

Siemian joins Aaron Rodgers (one start), Zach Wilson (11) and Tim Boyle (two) as starters this year.

It is the first time since 1989 the Jets have started four quarterbacks (Ken O’Brien, Pat Ryan, Tony Eason and Kyle Mackey).

This actually will be Siemian’s second start as a Jet.

His first came in 2019 when he started against the Browns during his first stint with the team.

He was subbing for Sam Darnold, who had mono, and Siemian suffered a season-ending injury that night.

He has not won a game as a starter since 2017, when he was with the Broncos and beat the Jets.

Wilson was ruled out Friday with a concussion.

“It’ll be nice if I do play to get a full run at it, but it is what it is, it’s a job, it’s the life of a backup quarterback,” Siemian said. “I’ll be ready to play if they need me, and if not, we’ll go from there.”

Protection plan: The Jets’ offensive line was atrocious last week against the Dolphins, allowing six sacks and plenty of other quarterback hits.

Wilson left the game with a concussion, and the offense gained just 103 total yards, in large part because of the line’s struggles.

The Commanders have Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne on the defensive line, who could cause more issues for the Jets.

They are getting back rookie Carter Warren at right tackle, which means they will have their 12th different offensive lien combination this season.

Can this combination perform better than last week’s?

Thousand island: The Jets don’t have much left to play for, but players do have individual goals they are striving to achieve. One player to watch in these final games is wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who is 118 yards shy of 1,000 yards for the season.

“I want 1,000 yards,” Wilson said. “I want that really badly. Period.”

Wilson could become the first Jets wide receiver to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons since Keyshawn Johnson in 1998-99.

Siemian will be the sixth different quarterback Wilson has played with in his two seasons.

Picking on Sam: Commanders quarterback Sam Howell was benched in the fourth quarter of the team’s loss to the Rams last week after throwing his league-worst 15th interception.

Jacoby Brissett replaced him and played well, but Washington is going back to Howell this week.

The Jets defense has to be excited about going against Howell, who not only has thrown the most interceptions but also has been sacked more times (59) than any other quarterback.

“When you see that he has the most interceptions this year and he’s got the most sacks, that gets the defense fired up,” safety Jordan Whitehead said. “That gives you a little extra boost to play this game.”