RUTHERFORD EAST – You probably shouldn’t overdo it. It’s still just a game. Jets are still a disappointing and slightly embarrassing 3-6. They are still far from making the playoffs.
This was likely an example of a Texans team riddled with injuries and unable to overcome their issues on offense. CJ Stroud had no receptors. He had no line. They will heal and everything will be fine. Give the Jets credit for the 21-13 decisionbut it was Halloween Aberration.
Or maybe it wasn’t.
Perhaps this is when the Jets defense finally returned to championship form. Maybe it was then Aaron Rodgers started playing like the four-time MVP the Jets thought they were acquiring. Maybe it was then Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson And Brece Room reached their cumulative potential.
Perhaps this is where the Jets’ run begins.
“I hope this gives us the confidence that we can beat anyone,” Rodgers said.
The season TOD on the Jets seemed 30 minutes away as the teams retreated to the locker rooms at halftime Thursday night. All the dysfunction the Jets have indulged their fans through the first eight weeks of the season… condensed into these first two quarters, a collection of their greatest hits.
A combination of poor defending and tackling led to Joe Mixon lash out on their defense. Rodgers, by his own admission, was “terrible,” unable to connect with even his most reliable weapon (Adams). Things finally seemed to work out when Malachi Corley scored from 19 yards out late in the round, only to be replayed to show he dropped the ball on the one yard line.
Fans wore bags over their heads and rained chants from the rafters. That was the bottom. A seven-point deficit seemed insurmountable, probably because you’ve already watched this game against Denver, Minnesota, Buffalo, Pittsburgh and New England. The Jets would find a way to lose because they always found a way to lose. Hell, they’d probably invent a new one.
But this time they didn’t.
Rodgers, who admitted the season felt “on the line” to start the second half, carried the Jets 70 yards on the first possession of the third quarter. A one-handed Wilson touchdown run started the scoring and New York never looked back. Their next offensive possession went for 70 yards and another score – this one, a Wilson one-hander that rivaled Odell Beckham Jr.The famous one in the same end zone against the Cowboys. The next drive was 80, with Rodgers finding Adams for 37 yards on third-and-3 to ice the game.
The Jets had 12 first downs and 224 yards in the second half. Rodgers completed 15 of 18 passes for 179 yards. Hall averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Wilson was spectacular. Adams not only ended the game with that touchdown, but his fourth down down the left sideline set up the first score.
It was everything the Jets aspired to see – when talent married with execution to produce results on the field. The line, with backup tackles Max Mitchell And Olu Fashanu replacing the guard, retained. New kicker Riley Patterson scored his three extra points. All while their defense finally returned to form.
The only thing the Jets could count on over the last three years was their defense. They had been beaten since they shot Robert Saleh. New York allowed over 10 points and over 80 more yards after Saleh than before.
Then came Halloween. The Jets had Stroud, last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, swimming. He finished 11 of 30 (36.7 percent) for 191 yards. Mixon finished with 106 rushing yards, but only 15 in the second half. Haason Reddick had seven pressures. Quinnen Williams had 1.5 bags. The Jets rushed the ball. They stiffened when it mattered most.
“It doesn’t mean it will,” said Adams, who finished with 91 yards on seven catches, “but it can give you the momentum you need to go on to the next game.”
A huge project awaits the Jets. Their setbacks at the start of the season erased any margin for error. There are teams that qualify for the playoffs at 9-8, but since the Jets lost to the Broncos and Steelers, two wild card teams, they will have to be 10-7 to make it. This means completing year 7. -1.
It’s unlikely, but it becomes more likely if the Jets beat the Cardinals (4-4) next week and the Colts (4-4) after that. That’s when it will officially be time to believe it.
But today there is a glimmer of hope that was not there before. Even when the Jets beat the Titans and Patriots earlier in the year, you wanted more. These victories seemed empty. There were moments in each, but nothing like these two quarters. It was the first time the Jets looked like the team many thought they would be when they broke camp in early September.
Their attack dominated. Their defense was stifled. They knocked out a Super Bowl hopeful in Houston. When they do that, Rodgers is right, they can beat anyone.
If they want to get where they want, they’ll probably have to beat everyone.
And for the first time this season, it feels like there’s a chance they will.
