The Jets will likely face the NFL’s leading receivers without Sauce Gardner

The list of problems facing the Jets is long — they don’t have a win and they don’t have a publicly recognized quarterback, as two examples at the top of the ledger — and includes a glaring one this weekend.

The Bengals will unleash one of the best wide receivers in football against a team that likely lacks their best cornerback.

Ja’Marr Chase, who is as explosive a wideout as there is and who leads the NFL in receptions for the second straight season, probably won’t be opposed by Sauce Gardner, who has yet to practice this week yet He suffered a concussion during last Sunday’s loss to the Panthers.

The Jets wide receivers have 65 catches this season. Chase has 58.

“Potential Hall of Famer,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilkes said Thursday. “He’s that type of player. So you have to put yourself in a situation – you want to go into a game and say we want to take him out. That’s tough. You want to try to limit his touches in a lot of different ways, and sometimes that’s hard to do, but he’s a great player.”

“Again, I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

The challenge of containing Chase in particular but also Tee Higgins may fall primarily to Brandon Stephens and Azareye’h Thomas.

Stevens — who spent his first four seasons with the Ravens — is very familiar with his former AFC North rival and has faced Chase often. Stevens said he’s “absolutely” excited about the prospect of lining up again against Chase, who is coming off a 16-goal, 23-receive, 161-yard outburst in a win over the Steelers.

“He’s one of the best receivers in this game,” said Stevens, who signed a three-year, $36 million contract this offseason. “He can do it all.”

Stevens himself looked more comfortable as the season went on in his first time playing for a team that wasn’t the Ravens.

“I feel like I’m playing my game,” said Stevens, who replaced DJ Reid.

It’s likely that if Gardner does sit, it will be Thomas — a third-round rookie out of Florida State — who steps in as the starter to go along with Chase O’Higgins, who has caught 11 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks.

Thomas said he prepares every week as if he were going to start. He hasn’t gotten the nod yet, but Gardner remaining in the concussion protocol could change that.

“You want to play against the best,” Thomas said. “This week, if Soos comes out and the opportunity presents itself, I will face the best, and that excites me.”

Yes, this is an opportunity, but it is an opportunity that could easily go wrong. Chase has proven to be nearly impossible to stop this season no matter who throws the ball to him. Joe Burrow went down in Week 2, passing the baton to Jake Browning, who handed it to Joe Flacco. The Bengals’ production has been up and down, but Chase’s wasn’t much, and he was immediately in sync with Flacco.

Meanwhile, the Jets’ defense has taken encouraging strides over the past two weeks and has given up a total of 26 points in a pair of losses.

“Very proud of the way the guys have responded the last couple of weeks,” Wilkes said, even though those steps were taken against offenses led by Bo Nix and Bryce Young.

Flacco, Chase, and Higgins would be a much tougher challenge and likely wouldn’t include the Jets’ best player. Losing Gardner — who is perhaps the best cornerback in the NFL and a weapon the Jets have allowed to travel this year, often trailing the opposing team’s best receiver wherever he goes — hurts.

The planes hope they can overcome it.

“We know Chase and Higgins are great players, but again, I have every confidence in our team that we can get it done,” Wilkes said.