Keeping Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense from repeatedly shredding the Jets secondary with long passes has been the focus leading up to Sunday’s game in Baltimore.
It’s a logical factor considering the vulnerability the Jets have shown in the secondary and the big-play potential of Flacco and his receivers. But that doesn’t mean the Jets have forgotten about Ravens running back Ray Rice and the damage he can do if not contained.
Rice, the Rutgers product, is coming off his best game of the season last Sunday, rushing for 131 yards on 25 carries in a 23-20 overtime loss to the Bears. It was easily his highest total of the season and included his longest run of the year, a 47-yarder on his first carry of the game. His previous longest run was 14 yards.
Ravens offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell said it took a team effort to get the running game going.
“It wasn’t just the offensive linemen did a better job,” Caldwell said. “Our backs did a good job running the ball. Our quarterback did a great job getting us into the right plays. Our receivers did a nice job blocking on the perimeter. I think as a group collectively, we played better.”
Before the breakout game against the Bears, in which the Ravens rushed for a season-high 174 yards, Rice was a virtual non-factor. He was averaging just 2.5 yards per carry and not producing the big gains he made his previous five seasons.
“Early on we were trying to run into a lot of heavy looks and just smash it out and it wasn’t working,” Flacco said. “So we adjusted a couple of things and we’re starting to get better here and there.”
Rice has just 420 yards rushing with four touchdowns this year. He has also caught 36 passes for 178 yards. While viewing film of the Ravens’ game against the Bears, the Jets noticed Baltimore using more of a two-back set to give Rice more blocking. It was a change from earlier in the season, when the Ravens used multiple groupings with their wide receivers to enhance the passing game.
“I think the focus has been more with them throwing the football than it has been running it,” coach Rex Ryan said. “We saw [against the Bears] they went to the two-backs more. Certainly, we’re going to be prepared for both styles.”
The Jets’ run defense is certainly more formidable than that of the Bears, who have allowed an average of 140 yards rushing per game this season. With the stout defensive line of Muhammad Wilkerson, Damon “Snacks” Harrison and Sheldon Richardson, the Jets lead the NFL in rush defense, allowing just 73.2 yards per game. That’s why the smart money says the Ravens will spend most of the game throwing the ball.
“They’re some big, powerful guys, who aren’t just big and powerful, but they can also move,” Rice said of the Jets. “That’s what poses a challenge, is that you have to get movement to even gain a yard. You can’t let them feast in a position. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
Despite Rice’s struggles this season, the Jets haven’t forgotten about the Ravens’ running game even though much of their attention has been on containing Flacco.
“If a team can run on you, they can do anything,” Jets linebacker Quinton Coples said. “We know they’re going to try to run the ball on us. But we accept the challenge. If we stop the run game it opens up opportunities for us to get to the passer.”
The defending Super Bowl champions want desperately to show their running game and Rice are back. But the Jets can’t afford to let Rice get cooking.