KEY MATCHUP
Three years after he was the third overall pick in the draft, Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is having a breakout season, with eight sacks and 18 quarterback hits this season.
Williams has a half-sack or more in eight of the Jets’ last nine games. He heads a Jets pass rush that is fourth in the NFL in sacks (32) and second in quarterback hits (81) — including 17 sacks and 24 quarterback hits in the last three games.
As productive as the Bears’ offense has been in the running game, their pass protection has been shaky, including last week when the Grady Jarrett-led Falcons sacked Justin Fields four times.
The Bears figure to get a boost with right guard Teven Jenkins’ likely return from a hip injury, but the interior line — left guard Cody Whitehair, center Sam Mustipher and presumably Jenkins — will have to be better than they’ve been regardless of wither Fields or Trevor Siemian starts at quarterback.
TRENDING
The last four quarterbacks to face the Bears have had 100-plus passer ratings, with a combined seven touchdowns and one interception — Dak Prescott (114.5), Tua Tagovailoa (135.7), Jared Goff (113.6) and Marcus Mariota (100.2).
Now the Bears’ withering defense — without cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker, who are in concussion protocol — faces Jets back-up Mike White, who will start after former No. 2 overall pick Zach Wilson was benched this week.
White had a 75.1 passer rating (five touchdowns, eight interceptions) in four games in place of Wilson last season. But that’s deceiving. He had a spectacular debut as a starter, throwing for 405 yards and three touchdowns (with two interceptions) in a 34-34 upset of the Bengals. And he was on his way to a similar performance the following week — against Matt Eberflus’ Colts defense (7-of-11, 95 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions 121.4 rating) — before leaving with a forearm injury in the first quarter of a 7-7 game.
PLAYER TO WATCH
The Bears will either be starting a banged-up Justin Fields or a rusty Trevor Siemian at quarterback.
Fields separated his shoulder on the final drive against the Falcons last week. Except for a token appearance against the Cowboys in Week 8, Siemian hasn’t played since a relief appearance with the Saints last season in Week 17 — he threw two touchdown passes in a 30-20 victory over the Falcons. He hasn’t started since last Thanksgiving, a 31-6 loss to the Bills.
X-FACTOR
The Jets have improved significantly in Robert Saleh’s second season as head coach — from 4-13 to 6-4; from 32nd in scoring defense to ninth through 11 games. But they had some internal strife following a 10-3 loss to the Patriots last week, with Wilson irking some teammates by dismissing accountability for the loss.
Wilson has since apologized to his teammates, but it’s possible that turning to White — a locker room favorite — could energize an up-and-coming team.
