There have been some epic Thursday night battles over the years. Tonight will not be one of them.
Maybe that's not fair. Melvin Gordon still has value as a bellcow, provided Phillip Lindsay doesn't return and exceed expectations. Noah Fant is a weekly starter. Courtland Sutton's lost season has catapulted Jerry Jeudy to must-roster WR with strong weekly streaming potential, while fellow rookie KJ Hamler is earning enough targets to merit consideration in deeper leagues.
But perhaps none of this matters if third-string QB Brett Rypien can't move the offense. Assuming Lindsay sits, I can see Gordon netting 25+ touches en route to what could be his best fantasy day of the year. As I've said repeatedly, the Gordon signing was a desperation move by a Broncos team whose problem wasn't the running game. Yet they made the former Charger the fifth-highest-paid back in the league.
This is the night to fire up Gordon, and when he has 14 touches for 70 yards and a score by halftime, start working the phones to sell him high.
Of course, against the Jets anything is possible, and Rypien could look deceptively capable. But more likely, he'll be dunking it to Gordon or Fant for much of the game.
For the Jets, Sam Darnold is guaranteed only one more year after this one, and simply might be running out of time despite being only 23. It's interesting to think that of the offensive players taken early in the 2018 draft, the top 3 (Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley, and Darnold) have not been as impactful (through no fault of Barkley's, obviously) than the next three (T Quenton Nelson, Josh Allen, and T Mike McGlinchey). Darnold is arguably that year's biggest first-round bust outside of Josh Rosen, and perhaps a change of scenery in 2022 as a backup or fringe starter (Chicago?) could do him some good.
For tonight, his biggest hope is getting Jamison Crowder back. Otherwise Braxton Berrios and Chris Herndon become the ultimate flyers. From all reports, Crowder looks more in than out as I write this early Thursday morning, so let's assume Crowder is a must-start WR3, which mercifully should mean less work for Kalen Ballage.
Speaking of the backfield, the father-and-son team of Frank Gore and Lamical Perine (when was the last time we saw a backfield pairing aged 15 years apart?) will offer plenty of two- and three-yard carries. This is actually a golden opportunity for the nothing-to-lose Jets to keep ramping up Perine, meaning I wouldn't start the increasingly risky / TD-dependent Gore. Wouldn't start Perine, either, but he's a higher-upside hold for later in the season if Le'Veon Bell gets re-injured or benched.
Finally, I wouldn't be surprised if the defenses combine to score more points than the offenses.