Chris Gross - Prediction: Seahawks 23 Jets 13 – The Jets enter week 10 heading into a hostile environment at CenturyLink Field. Seattle utilizes their 12th man like no other team in the NFL, making CenturyLink a nightmare for opposing teams. In order to keep it close, the Jets must be able tune out the roaring crowd, a daunting task for a team that has shown little mental toughness all season long. Offensively, Seattle will look to attack New York’s vulnerable run defense, and based on the play of this unit over the past few weeks, coupled with the fact that NT Kenrick Ellis is out yet again this week, there is no reason to believe that the Seahawks won’t be able to get Marshawn Lynch and company going for 130+ yards. Lynch will be keyed, allowing for Russell Wilson to take some shots deep. There is no serious threat to the Jets secondary in Seattle’s receiving corps, but look for the Seahawks to use a lot of play action, particularly if Lynch is ripping off anywhere between 4-5 yards per carry. If New York can slow “Beast Mode,” they should be able to keep Seattle’s offense in check throughout the game. However, with the way Lynch has been running, don’t expect this sub par run defense to be able to contain him for 60 minutes.
Mike Donnelly – I touched on what I expect the Jets to do in my 2nd Half Preview Stock Watch. I think the Jets are going to play their best game of the season and win 20-16. Coming off their bye, these players and coaches know how important this game is if they’re going to make any kind of run in the second half of the season. I expect Mark Sanchez to play a very efficient — if unspectacular — game. The defense is where this game will be won, however. I’ve never been much of a believer in Russell Wilson and that hasn’t changed. The Jets are going to load up to stuff the run and come after Wilson in a big way. I have full confidence in Rex Ryan and his staff that he was able to fix some issues during their week off and add some new wrinkles that will make this defense start to look more like the dominant unit we all expected at the start of the season. Jets pull this one out, make everyone think they’re good again, then lose in comical fashion the following week. It’s all a very Jets thing to do.
Rob Celletti - I’m not going to beat anyone over the head with logic or reason here. Instead, I’m going with my gut: I like the Jets to win this game. I’m a believer in “due” and Seattle hasn’t lost a home game yet this season. NFL teams are usually energized after a bye week, so I expect a much better start from the Jets compared to what we saw two weeks ago. Russell Wilson is a rookie and I think the Jets have a good chance to force him into some mistakes, like they did to Andrew Luck (a better quarterback, in my opinion) a few weeks ago. I think the final score is close and the Jets pull it out, 19-16.
Chris Celletti - As I mentioned in our roundtable earlier this week, the most important matchup of this game, to me, is whether or not the Jets can keep Marshawn Lynch from running wild. You would think with some extra rest off the bye week the Jets’ defense should be fresh, but personally I just think that matchup favors the Seahawks too heavily and is going to prove to be too meaningful to this game. Although, I do fully expect the Jets’ pass defense to shut down Seattle’s passing attack with rookie QB Russell Wilson. If they can’t, it’s game over. Offensively, I don’t see how the Jets are going to put up too many points. This seems like a game where Mark Sanchez will struggle in, most quarterbacks do in Seattle. The Jets will need a big play or two on special teams in order to stay in this one late. Either way, I think Seattle defends their home, winning 23-16.
