Week 17 saw the guys who were supposed to carry the Jets pass rush finally step up. Jason Taylor and Calvin Pace had been quiet all year long in getting to the passer, but they were almost living in the backfield against the Bills.
While Buffalo does not have a good offensive line, the job these two did came in stark comparison to recent games against other teams with suspect lines, Pittsburgh and Chicago, in which the Jets struggled for long stretches to get anywhere near the quarterback.
Indianapolis is not a great pass protecting team. They allowed more pressures on the quarterback than the Bills did. They joined those other two opponents, Pittsburgh and Chicago, allowing over 150.
Like any quarterback, Peyton Manning is human under pressure. If he feels heat frequently enough, he can get frustrated and start displaying happy feet. The thing is he's superhuman when not pressured and has an uncanny ability to feel where an attacker is coming from, move, and get rid of the ball before he's under duress.
The two defenses I have seen give Manning trouble more than others during his career are New England under Bill Belichick and San Diego under Ron Rivera. The Pats haven't been perfect against him, but they have had their share of good defensive performances. These teams have been able to bring consistent pressure and limit big plays when they have had success. The two are related to each other. Pressure does not allow receivers to complete their routes or give a quarterback ample time to find an open man. I know it's common sense to say pressure is important, but it is exponentially more so against a guy who will without a doubt carve your defense with time like Manning.
One can only assume the Jets are going to be aggressive and try to attack Manning. That is their style. It is how they find success. Plenty of guys will be coming at the quarterback. The two guys best on the roster at doing that, though, are Pace and Taylor. They will be attacking most of the time they are on the field. If they do consistently get to Manning, the Jets are probably going to have some problems.