They lost their best pass rusher, Antwan Odom, to an Achilles injury in October but his replacement, Jonathan Fanene, has done a nice job filling in. Fanene is a bit of a tweener and can play both DT and DE.

In his fifth season Fanene has shown some good pass rush ability. In limited action he has posted an impressive six sacks. The Bengals will use him mostly at defensive tackle, particularly on passing downs but Brandon Moore matches up well against him.

With the exception of Alan Faneca, the Jets’ offensive line does an excellent job of protecting Mark Sanchez but they will be challenged by the Bengals’ pass rush, which likes to bring pressure from different angles.

With Odom out and recently injured rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga on injured reserve, they are without their best pure rushers but Zimmer uses his scheme to bring pressure. Like the Jets, he will blitz his linebackers and defensive backs so the Jets’ line must be tight with their pre-snap calls.

Zimmer has 10 players with at least one sack but his top producers are Fanene, linebacker Dhani Jones (3.5) and defensive ends Robert Geathers (3.5) and Michael Johnson (3).

Zimmer will bring pressure on obvious passing downs to rattle Sanchez. This could be a problem for the Jets’ rookie who has struggled to hit his hot reads, a common challenge for new quarterbacks.

Sanchez has thrown a number of interceptions when under pressure. He tries to do too much and throws into tight coverage. But with Rex Ryan getting more involved in the offense, Sanchez has been smarter with the football in recent weeks.

He is throwing the ball away more but more importantly, he is throwing fewer balls down the middle of the field. This is a smart move considering there are always more defenders between the hash marks.

Against this defense, Sanchez will have to know where his hot receivers are on passing downs. On a few plays against Indianapolis, particularly Dwight Freeney’s two sacks, Sanchez did not do a good job of identifying the unblocked defender and it lead to negative plays for the Jets.

The Jets’ receivers also have to do a better job of breaking off their routes and recognizing when they are the hot reads. It is hard to find fault in Jerricho Cotchery’s game but he did not do a great job in this area last game.

On a couple of plays he did not break off his routes and failed to provide Sanchez with a safety valve. He and Braylon Edwards must do a better job in this area against the Bengals.

The strength of the Bengals’ defense is stopping the run and they will present the Jets’ offense with a tough challenge, at least while their starters remain in the game. The Jets get a break because DT Domato Peko will be sitting out with a knee injury.

Peko has been stout and is one of the main reasons Cincinnati has been tough to run on. Tank Johnson has seen more reps since Peko went down but he does not take on the double team as well and is more of a pass rushing threat.

This will be a big game for Alan Faneca who must contain Johnson on passing downs. He has struggled against some of the quicker defensive tackles and Johnson has a similar skill set.

He likes to use his agility and quickness off the snap to get the better of his opponent.
Faneca will need to stop Johnson’s initial burst because Johnson lacks an array of moves. If Faneca can stone him off the snap, he has a much better chance of controlling him.

The leader of the Bengals’ defense is Dhani Jones who has enjoyed a resurgence in Cincinnati. He leads the team in tackles with 106 and spearheads their tough run defense.

The Bengals are talented at linebacker. Maualuga may be the best of the bunch but fellow USC alum, Keith Rivers is a playmaker as well.

Rivers mans the weak side and his athleticism and hustle allow him to make plays all over the field. Rivers is an excellent tackler and the Jets will have to pay attention to him on every play.

Even though the Bengals are middle of the pack against the pass, they have two very talented corners in Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall. Both former first round picks, they have complemented each other well.

Hall was the more physical of the two but he has helped Joseph with his tackling. Likewise, Joseph was the more cerebral player and helped Hall to breakdown offensive schemes.

Both guys are playing at a high level and doing a good job of supporting the run. In fact, Hall and Joseph are third and fourth on the team in tackles.

Safety Chinedum Ndukwe is second in tackles with 83 and does a nice job as an in-the-box safety. Expect him to play near the line of scrimmage for much of this game.

The Bengals know the Jets will want to run the football and they will bring eight or even nine men in the box to stop them. This would normally present an opportunity for the Jets in the passing game but Rex Ryan will continue to employ a conservative attack with Sanchez.

This game projects to be a low scoring affair. Both teams play great defense and will try to control the clock with their running games.

For the Jets’ offense to thrive, it must repeat the Indianapolis game plan – run the football and employ a conservative passing game with safe throws outside the numbers.

Limiting turnovers and controlling the clock will be key in this one. With Cincinnati expected to rest some starters, Sanchez and the offense must be patient.

They must keep the score close and allow the defense to win the field position battle. It is very likely Marvin Lewis will remove some starters in the second half, which should allow the Jets’ offense to win more battles along the line of scrimmage and move the football.

This game will be a tough challenge for the Jets’ offense, which will need big-time contributions from its leaders. This is the equivalent of a playoff game for the Jets and they will need their veterans to step up.

Good players step up in big games and the Jets will need their more experienced guys to lead this offense. Alan Faneca, Thomas Jones and Jerricho Cotchery will need to have big games.

The Jets began the season with a lot of brash talk after some early success but a midseason swoon humbled them. They have been searching for the right formula ever since.

Now they are saying all the right things. The players were all business this week in practice and seem focused on the task at hand.

The Jets are fortunate to be in the position they are in and players get that. They know they cannot let this opportunity slip away.

I expect a solid effort from this group, no matter who plays for the Bengals.

Keys

• Brandon Moore will have to contain DT Jonathan Fanene who has been one of Cincinnati’s better pass rushers this season.

• Sanchez must do a good job of identifying blitzers and hit his hot reads when under duress.

• Cotchery and Edwards must do a better job of reading pressure and breaking off their routes accordingly.

• The Jets’ pass offense must be geared to throw to the outside. Sanchez has struggled throwing down the middle of the field and is facing too good a defense to take unnecessary chances.

• Faneca will have to stone Tank Johnson’s initial pass rush. Johnson can be disruptive on passing downs and his quickness could give Faneca trouble but with a limited array of moves, Johnson can be stopped with a strong punch.

• Sanchez and the offense must be patient. They may have to take some “three and outs” early and try to win the field position battle. With the Bengals expected to rest some starters in the second half, the Jets’ offense needs to keep it close early so it can take advantage of mismatches later in the game.