#Preview, predictions, what to watch for

Costello’s call

Joe Flacco should give the Jets a strong effort. He is a smart veteran quarterback, but he will find the same issues Sam Darnold dealt with behind a shaky offensive line and throwing to a weak group of skill players.

Cardinals 28, Jets 23

Marquee matchup

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray vs. the Jets’ front seven

This could be more a nightmare matchup than a marquee one. Murray is going to create issues for Gregg Williams’ defense. The only question is how many and how severe.

Murray, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, is the first player in NFL history with more than 900 yards passing and 250 yards rushing in the first four games of the season. He enters this game with 919 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns, 265 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.

The Jets struggled to contain Josh Allen in Week 1, allowing him to rush for 57 yards and a touchdown on 14 rushes. They will have to do a much better job keeping Murray in the pocket and tackling him when he escapes.

“It’s not an easy assignment for sure,” Jets coach Adam Gase said. “When you have a guy that can move the way he can move, and he can throw the ball away he can throw. He sees a lot when he gets outside the pocket or when he steps up and gets flushed out there. He can either take off if nobody comes up to try to put pressure on him and really create explosive plays on his own.”

Four downs

Kliff notes: The Jets interviewed Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury last year before hiring Adam Gase to be their head coach. Kingsbury was the USC offensive coordinator at the time, after getting fired as Texas Tech’s head coach. The Jets’ sense was that Kingsbury had his eye on the Cardinals’ job, and he was hired by Arizona a day after interviewing with the Jets. Gase and Kingsbury have the same number of wins over the past two seasons (seven), but the Cardinals are viewed as on the upswing while the Jets are heading toward the No. 1-overall pick.

Kingsbury was asked this week what appealed to him last year about the Jets’ job.

“Everything,” Kingsbury said. “I really liked [team CEO and chairman] Christopher [Johnson], what he was about, what he talked about, their goals, the long-term future. And then, obviously, Sam Darnold. I’ve always been a huge fan of his. I was at SC for just a few weeks, but just the way they spoke of him, his character, the type of person he was, that was obviously was really intriguing to work with a great quarterback like him.”

Dread zone: The Jets’ offense has been terrible in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on just 22.2 percent of trips there, the second-worst percentage in the NFL. The Cardinals’ defense has been one of the best red-zone teams in the NFL, ranking fourth in the league with a 44.4 touchdown percentage. That is what you call a bad matchup for the Jets. Expect a lot of field goals, again. The Jets were 0-for-3 in red-zone trips against the Broncos last week, sending out Sam Ficken to kick field goals.

Good hop: The Cardinals pulled off one of the biggest trades of the offseason when they acquired star receiver DeAndre Hopkins. He has not disappointed since arriving from the Texans. Hopkins entered Week 5 leading the NFL with 39 catches and in first-down receptions with 24.

Hopkins has faced the Jets twice in his career, and he torched them. Who could forget him beating Darrelle Revis in 2015 or taking over the game in 2018? In two games against the Jets, he has 15 catches for 288 yards and four touchdowns. He has averaged 19.2 yards per catch against Gang Green. Those are totals that could balloon Sunday against a weak Jets secondary.

Flag squad: The Jets blew last week’s game against the Broncos with 11 penalties, six of them personal fouls on the defense. They looked undisciplined and reckless on many of the penalties. They enter this week tied with their opponent, the Cardinals, atop the league with 32 penalties.

The total number of penalties is not the most troubling number, though. They have been called for seven roughing-the-passer penalties. You can bet refs will be on the lookout now for the Jets hitting the quarterback even a fraction of a second late. Kyler Murray can also draw penalties with the way he runs and slides.