EAST RUTHERFORD – Garrett Wilson, back pressed against the TV screens in the Jets locker room, started to chuckle. The wideout had endured the worst of the worst. So this? Yes. This was a little funny.
The Jets just beat the Patriots, 24-3. About the only time the game felt in jeopardy was at the coin toss, which the Patriots won and deferred, but that feeling ended after New England actually kicked off. Yet here Wilson was fielding questions about his chemistry with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, breaking out in this young Jets season, and if he felt the offense hadn’t yet hit its true potential… off a game they gained 400 yards, picked up 27 first downs and scored three touchdowns (as they’ve done every game this season).
Oh, how the standards have changed.
“Yeah, I ain’t going to fake it,” asked if he thinks about how far the Jets have come. “I do.”
The Patriots stink. That’s painfully obvious. Credit them for their season-opening victory over the Bengals, but it’s clear now that was a one-in-100 scenario. Their defense is as bad as believed. Their offense is as void of playmakers as believed. Jacoby Brissett is a placeholder who won’t be holding place for much longer than first believed.
There is absolutely no point in comparing the Jets roster to New England’s. The difference is that stark. This should have been a blowout and it was. But that’s exactly the point.
The Jets have played bad teams before. They sometimes beat them, but at no point in those games did they actually look like a significantly better ball club. Actually, just twice since Robert Saleh became head coach have the Jets beat a team by 20-plus points. Both games came in 2022: Against the Skylar Thompson-led Dolphins and Trevor Siemian-led Bears.
That was not the case Thursday night. Playing on a short week, their third game in 11 days, the Jets flexed on the team that’s dominated them the better part of the last two decades. Running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen combined for 109 rushing yards and a touchdown. Tight end Tyler Conklin broke out with a career-high 93 yards receiving. Allen Lazard caught another touchdown (three for 48) and Mike Williams (three for 34) got involved, too. Wilson, maybe this team’s most explosive player, was an afterthought (five catches, 33 yards, touchdown).
The Jets not only had a functional offense, but at times a dominant one, on a short week without arguably their most dynamic player doing much of anything.
The Jets still picked up at least one first down on every possession. They had three drives of 11-plus plays. Wilson’s score was the ninth offensive touchdown for the Jets this season. They didn’t eclipse that mile marker until Week 11 of last year.
“We’ve been improving,” said Rodgers, who finished 27 of 35 for 281 yards with a pair of touchdowns. “It hasn’t been good enough for some people outside of this room. To have a performance like tonight: It feels really good.”
Context is important. The Jets have three new starters on the offensive line – Morgan Moses, Tyron Smith and John Simpson. Moses left the game with a knee injury. He was replaced by rookie Olu Fashanu.
The Jets have two players working their way back from season-ending injuries (Rodgers and guard Alijah Vera-Tucker). Williams isn’t ready for a full workload yet. Allen is a rookie.
It’s going to take time for this team to gel. Every week it’s about building on the last. The Jets flashed in the opener against the 49ers with a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. They got a little bit better against the Titans, with Rodgers orchestrating a game-winning, seven-play, 74-yard touchdown drive.
Now came this game against the Patriots. It was another step forward. It wasn’t perfect. A holding penalty thwarted a promising first drive. There was poor timeout usage early in the third quarter. Mental errors and missed throws resulted in two Jets field goal attempts (one missed, one made) when touchdowns seemed inevitable.
But, again, they improved.
Next week, against Denver, take another step.
“If the expectation is winning, then we’re going to celebrate it,” Rodgers said. “But we should expect to win. The next step is expecting to dominate.”
It should be noted that the Jets’ defense did dominate. Playing without captain C.J. Mosley and Pro Bowl defensive end Jermaine Johnson, New York held the Patriots to just 139 yards of offense (46 came on the final drive with the game decided). They were 2-of-11 on third downs. The Jets, highlighted by Will McDonald (two), had seven sacks and 15 quarterback hits.
But, offensively, there are things the Jets must correct in order to defeat the upper echelon of teams awaiting them in the postseason. They know that. But, as Wilson did as he smiled inside the locker room, it’s important to remember what this used to look like.
The Jets do have a long way to go but they’ve come a long way already.
