Tony Brackens has been a force on Jacksonville's defensive line.

The Jaguars defense, which is ranked third in the league, has been outstanding under coordinator Dom Capers, who has transformed them from a bend-and-don't-break style into one that is more aggressive. Carnell Lake has given the defense better leadership, flexibility to play eight-man fronts and coverage ability.

Rookie Fernando Bryant has been a nice complementary cornerback to Aaron Beasley. Now the Jags can play a bump-and-run style on the corners, allowing Capers to use the attacking style he prefers. Defensive end Tony Brackens is getting after the quarterback and doing some good things.

Looking at film from their loss to the Titans two weeks ago, the Jaguars did a lot of stunting, slanting and generally being aggressive. But against Pittsburgh last week, they changed their approach, playing a straight front without much blitzing. The Jaguars have a flexible style, which is suitable way for Capers to go.

Meanwhile, the Jets offense was really in sync last week against Denver. Quarterback Rick Mirer clearly took a quantum leap forward. One of the reasons was that, for the first time this year, I saw a predominance of their bunch, or cluster, formation, with three receivers on one side. They were very effective with that formation, which was the foundation of their offense last season.

As Mirer becomes more comfortable, you will see a lot more of that cluster formation. It's one in which the quarterback must read on the run and be in rhythm with his receivers. The way they ran the cluster formation showed me the Jets are starting to reach a comfort level with Mirer and his handling of the offense. They were much more aggressive at testing the defense downfield.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Bad month for Tuna: Bill Parcells generally has had a difficult time in the month of October. His winning percentage during the month is just .517. Contrast that to December, when Parcells-coached teams have won at a .643 clip. Keeping the Jets in balance: Last week in their victory at the Denver, the Jets ran 70 offensive plays. New York ran the ball 35 times and passed the ball 35 times. The best offense is a good defense: The Jaguars defense has scored two touchdowns and two safeties so far this season to account for 16 percent of Jacksonville's scoring total.

The Jets offense is starting to work its way back to where it was a year ago. Another plus is that their two new guards, Kerry Jenkins and Randy Thomas, are improving. I thought last year the guards were the weakness of the Jets offense, but this year the young players are starting to come through.

Here are the keys for each team in Monday night's game:

Jacksonville Jaguars
1. Get pressure on Mirer: This is the most important key to the game. When you play a quarterback like Mirer who is inexperienced in a system, you want to create doubt in his mind that he will have time in the pocket to make his reads. It just doesn't happen as quickly when you are new to a system as it does when you are acclimated. Capers should unleash the full complement of his zone-blitz schemes to pressure Mirer.

2. Throw to Kyle Brady: The Jags need to get their tight end involved in the passing game. The Jags lost Pete Mitchell in the offseason and gained Brady, who is more of a blocking tight end than a receiving tight end.

Last week the Steelers were double-covering Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell all day, and Mark Brunell was having a tough time getting the ball to the tight end. If that continues, the Jacksonville passing game will struggle. So they need to get the ball to Brady, or use some a variety of formations to prevent the Jets defense from doubling Smith and McCardell.

3. Improved offensive line play: The line needs to play better than it has played this season. I think tackle Tony Boselli has been the only consistent lineman. The offensive line has to play like a group, and they aren't doing that. The Jaguars have the ability to be a dominant offensive line, and they eventually will be. But right now, the line has to pick it up. Tackle Leon Searcy, who is normally reliable, struggled a bit last week. Brunell took far too many hits against the Steelers.

New York Jets
1. Establish the run: The Jets have to take the pressure off Mirer. Surprisingly last week, they came out against Denver and emphasized the passing game to spread things out. The Jets might try that again, but when you play against a zone-blitzing scheme like the Jaguars, the best way to neutralize them is to use a power running game.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jaguars RB James Stewart: Does any team have a better 1-2 punch at running back than Stewart and the banged-up Fred Taylor? Jaguars LT Tony Boselli: In just his fifth season, Boselli has redefined the left tackle position. Jaguars DB Aaron Beasley: With three interceptions and two touchdowns already, the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for September looks to continue his fast start in October. Jets RB Curtis Martin: In three career games against the Jags (one regular season and two playoffs), Martin has four TDs and 278 yards rushing. Jets WR Dedric Ward: Ward has been a terrific fill-in for the injured Wayne Chrebet, scoring a touchdown in each of the last two games. The Jets' linebacking trio: Mo Lewis, Bryan Cox and Marvin Jones are all mean and mobile. They have been the strong point of New York's defense this season.

The Jets will go with Curtis Martin running the ball, and then in the cluster formation try to create some matchups on the weak side -- in other words, get the Jaguars defense to swing over to the third-receiver side and work the backside. The Jets can potentially get Dedric Ward, their fastest player, in single coverage on the backside and generate big plays.

If Martin runs effectively, the Jets will stay out of third-and-long situations. The Jets must be in third-and-seven or less, or the Jaguars' zone-blitzing defense will win almost every time.

2. Slow Taylor and Stewart: For the Jets to disrupt the Jaguars' dangerous play-action passing game, it starts with stopping the run. Tom Coughlin hasn't been pleased with his team's offensive performance. Usually when a coach isn't happy, he goes back to the smash-mouth style as a wake-up call to his offensive line, his running backs and everyone in the organization that they are going to get back to the basics of football.

With Fred Taylor still ailing with a hamstring injury, the Jaguars will probably run a lot of inside-the-tackle running plays with James Stewart. Those plays will set up the play-action pass unless the Jets can keep the running game under control. Making matters more difficult for the Jets is the season-ending injury to linebacker Chad Cascadden, who played well against the run and pass.

3. Secondary must step up: The Jets have concerns on the outside with Smith and McCardell. The secondary is depleted again with the loss of Otis Smith, who is out for the season. But cornerbacks Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens will have to work hard because -- if the Jets are committed to stopping the run -- Glenn and Mickens will be left in single coverage every now and then against Smith and McCardell.

Former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski appears each week on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown and Edge NFL Matchup. He breaks down the Monday Night Football matchup each week on ESPN.com.