You can watch Thursday Night Football: Jets vs. Watch Texans at 8:20 PM ET/5:20 PM PT on Amazon Prime Video.

Two teams with opposite records compete on TNF as the 2-6 New York Jets host the 6-2 Houston Texans. The Jets are once again mired in a season of high expectations and disappointing results, while the Texans, once again at the top of the AFC South, are trying to stay afloat while dealing with a plethora of devastating injuries.

Let’s get to the story of the tape.

Will the Jets offense finally take off?

Much of the fantasy football offseason was spent on Aaron-Rodgers-is-the-rising-tide-that-lifts-all-(green)-boats hype. The math was simple: Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall were elite, proven individual talents, held back by the Jets’ terrible quarterback play. A healthy Rodgers, fully recovered from his Achilles injury – along with a retooled offensive line – would be the missing key. That belief catapulted Hall into the top five of most fantasy drafts, while Wilson was a common pick at the 1-2 turn.

Until now, that faith has remained just that: a faith.

The Jets instead find themselves at 2-6, mired in coaching controversies and front-page headlines with an overwhelming sense of wasted potential. Their latest debacle: loss to the previously 1-6, Drake Maye-less Patriots, 25-22.

Rodgers is a shell of his former self; Even the addition of his old buddy, Davante Adams, didn’t help him deliver a vintage performance over the past two weeks. It makes you wonder if Tom Brady, who was so good into his 40s, has set the bar way too high for other older QBs.

The o-line was in the middle of the pack when protecting the pass, slightly above center when blocking the run. And while Hall currently ranks eighth in overall running back fantasy rating (half-PPR) and Wilson seventh at WR, it seemed like more was expected from both players per game (Hall is 16th among RBs; Wilson is 14th) . under WRs).

It all goes back to Rodgers. Sure, it wasn’t terrible, but as mentioned, we all expected more.

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Is this the game where he shines and the Jets offense puts it together? Well, it wouldn’t be due to a lack of pressure. The Jets MUST win this game to stay alive in the playoff hunt. They welcome a limping Texans team that has cluster injuries to the offensive line and receiver, which is excellent news for a much-maligned Jets defense. The Texans defense isn’t the friendliest when it comes to opposing passing games, but it isn’t the most difficult hurdle to overcome either.

Fantasy managers of Hall, Adams and Wilson are no doubt looking forward to all those easy fantasy matchups coming up, and perhaps that’s some consolation. But again, it all goes back to Rodgers. If his play doesn’t improve, we’ll continue to see those stars’ rankings look good throughout the season, while the per-game rankings tell the true story. If Rodgers doesn’t deliver this game, with (for all intents and purposes) the real season on the line, fantasy football managers should start lowering the projected ceilings for the big names on Gang Green.

Who will stand up for the Texans?

As mentioned, the Texans enter this match comfortably atop the AFC South, but I’m sure if you ask anyone on the team, the atmosphere is anything but flawless.

After losing Nico Collins for a month with a hamstring injury, the team lost Stefon Diggs to a season-ending knee injury. Most teams wouldn’t survive losing their top two receivers. Tank Dell is not his old, explosive self as he continues to recover from injury. And then we haven’t even talked about the injuries on the defense and offensive line.

Luckily for the Texans, they have CJ Stroud.

Stroud will be needed to play his very best football against a desperate New York team with their backs against the wall. And a Stroud at the height of his powers, even without a full stock of weapons, is still dangerous. But even he needs help.

The obvious candidate to help Stroud in this game is Joe Mixon, and the veteran running back has done just that. And it would probably behoove the Texans not to challenge the Jets’ secondary and instead attack the defense on the ground. But when the time comes to pass, who will Stroud look to? Dell is still there, but as mentioned, it is not itself; he has more games under 10 fantasy points this season than he has receiving touchdowns. Perhaps Dalton Schultz will continue to see his target share increase and Stroud will attack the Jets from the middle. Or maybe another receiver like Xavier Hutchison or John Metchie III or even the ghost of Robert Woods will deliver.

I’m not optimistic. This isn’t the easiest thing to type, but for Week 9 I would bench Stroud in this game in favor of Matthew Stafford (54% listed) or Joe Flacco (10%).

Bye week TE pick-up-and-play: Tyler Conklin, New York Jets (20% selected)

Did you miss George Kittle’s services tonight? Why not start Conklin?

The Texans have been strong against opponents’ tight confines this season, there’s no doubt about that. But look deeper and you’ll see that they’ve allowed four catches or a touchdown to the position in four of eight games this season. The other four? Twice the Colts (who don’t have a goal-earning TE and had Anthony Richardson under center for both games), the Jaguars (who missed Evan Engram) and the Bills (the entire Bills passing offense was swallowed whole in that game).

This isn’t to say that Conklin is suddenly going to start demanding targets from Adams, Wilson and Hall, or that he’s going to “invent” the Texans defense — or that he’s even a top-tier fantasy TE option. But we’ve seen Rodgers look Conklin’s way in the red zone this season; he has five targets inside the 20 – that’s a lot when you consider Adams, Wilson, Hall and, shooting, even All Lazard have commanded red zone looks for this team. He’s also on a two-game touchdown streak, so with the Jets not being great at converting rushing touchdowns in the red zone, I expect Rodgers to look the tight end on scoring opportunities. There may not be a floor, but there is an advantage if you need it at Conklin.