EAST RUTHERFORD – You probably shouldn’t make too much of it. It’s still just one game. The Jets are still an underwhelming and slightly embarrassing 3-6. They’re still a long shot to make the postseason.
This was probably an example of an injury-riddled Texans roster unable to overcome their issues on offense. C.J. Stroud had no receivers. He had no line. They’ll heal up and be fine. Give the Jets credit for the 21-13 decision, but this was Halloween Aberration.
Or maybe it wasn’t.
Maybe this was when the Jets defense finally returned to its championship-level form. Maybe this was when Aaron Rodgers began to play like the four-time MVP the Jets felt they were acquiring. Maybe this was when Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall reached their cumulative potential.
Maybe this is where the Jets’ run begins.
“Hopefully this gives us the confidence that we can beat anybody,” said Rodgers.
The TOD on the Jets season felt 30 minutes away as the teams retreated to the locker room at halftime on Thursday night. All the dysfunction the Jets indulged their fans with the first eight weeks of the season … condensed into those first two quarters, a collection of their greatest hits.
A combination of poor gap defense and tackling led to Joe Mixon running rampant on their defense. Rodgers, by his own admission, was “terrible,” unable to connect with even his most reliable weapon (Adams). Things finally seemed to click when Malachi Corley scored from 19 yards out on an end-around, only for replay to show he dropped the ball at the one-yard line.
Fans wore bags on their heads and rained chants down from the rafters. This was rock bottom. A seven-point deficit felt insurmountable, likely because you already watched this play out 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.
Only this time, they didn’t.
Rodgers, who admitted the season felt “on the line” to begin the second half, took the Jets 70 yards on the first possession of the third quarter. A one-handed Wilson touchdown started the scoring and New York never looked back. Their next offensive possession went 70 yards and another score – this one a Wilson one-hander that rivaled Odell Beckham Jr.’s famous one in the same end zone against the Cowboys. The next drive went 80, with Rodgers finding Adams for 37 yards on third and three to ice the game.
The Jets picked up 12 first downs and 224 yards in the second half. Rodgers went 15 of 18 passing for 179 yards. Hall averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Wilson was spectacular. Adams didn’t just end the game with that touchdown, but his fourth-down grab up the left sideline set up the first score.
This was everything the Jets had been longing to see – when their talent married execution leading to on-field results. The line, with backup tackles Max Mitchell and Olu Fashanu filling in at guard, held up. New kicker Riley Patterson made all three of his extra points. All while their defense finally returned to form.
The one thing the Jets could rely on the last three years was their defense. They’d taken a beating ever since firing Robert Saleh. New York allowed 10-plus points and 80-plus yards more post-Saleh than pre.
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 just 15 in the second half. Haason Reddick had seven pressures. Quinnen Williams had 1.5 sacks. The Jets flew to the ball. They stiffened up when it mattered most.
“It doesn’t mean that it will,” said Adams, who finished with 91 yards on seven catches, “But it can give you the momentum you need to carry into the next game.”
There is an immense undertaking awaiting the Jets. Their early-season woes have erased any margin for error. There are teams that make the playoffs at 9-8, but because the Jets lost to both the Broncos and Steelers, two wild card teams, they’re going to need to be 10-7 to get in. That means finishing the year 7-1.
That’s unlikely, but it becomes more probable if the Jets beat the Cardinals (4-4) next week and the Colts (4–4) after. That’s when it will officially be time to believe.
But right now there’s a glimmer of hope that wasn’t there before. Even when the Jets beat the Titans and beat the Patriots earlier in the year, you longed for more. Those wins felt empty. There were moments in each, but nothing like these two quarters. This was the first extended time the Jets looked like the team so many felt they’d be when they broke camp in early September.
Their offense dominated. Their defense suffocated. They took down 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 to go, they’ll likely have to beat everyone.
And for the first time this season, you feel like there’s a chance they do.
