The Jets dominated the Patriots on Thursday night in every way during a 24-3 victory at MetLife Stadium. The Jets are now 2-1 for the first time since 2015. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. The Jets needed a game like this. A week after showing they can win a grimy game on the road when they don’t play perfectly, they showed they can dominate an inferior opponent at home. That’s what good teams do. The Jets have now shown they are a good team. They are not a great team yet. A great team would have gone on the road and at least taken the 49ers to the wire. But they are a good team.
The Jets are clearly in the second tier of the NFL teams right now and that is a good place to be three weeks into the season. You don’t need to be at your peak in September. That will come in December and January if the Jets are who they think they are.
On a night when the Patriots looked awful, it is important to remember a lesson you can learn from the Patriots dynasty teams. They often had slow starts to a season. Bill Belichick felt the first month was an extension of the preseason. How many times did people write the Patriots off early only to watch them reel off 10 wins in a row on the way to the Super Bowl?
It is clear now the Jets lost that opener in San Francisco to a better team in tough circumstances. But the Jets have now beaten two lesser opponents in different ways. Thursday night’s win was dominant in every way. The offense rolled up 400 yards and had no turnovers. The defense allowed no touchdowns and sacked Patriots quarterbacks seven times.
This was a butt kicking and it is exactly what the Jets needed to show in this spot.
2. Here is the thing about Aaron Rodgers’ night: I would be hard pressed to name one throw I thought was the most impressive of the night. He did not have any jaw-dropping, make you say “Wow” throws in this game. Instead, he was just deadly accurate and set his receivers up for long runs after the catch. The longest pass play of the night was a 27-yarder to Allen Lazard and most of those yards came after the catch.
The term “game manager” has gotten a bad connotation to it but I say it as a compliment to Rodgers. He is in total control of the game and puts the Jets in the right spot in seemingly every situation. It is amazing to watch a quarterback who does not seem to panic and make bad throws. Rodgers’ one interception this season came on a deflected pass. It was not a great throw, but it also wasn’t one I would call risky.
Rodgers minimizes risk. That means you won’t see him bombing the ball downfield 50 yards too often but you also won’t see a mindless throw into double coverage for an interception that Jets fans have seen from their quarterbacks for years.
Thursday’s performance by Rodgers was a thing of beauty to watch. He picked the Patriots apart and threw to eight different targets. This version of Rodgers is not going to put up prolific numbers but he is going to be so efficient it won’t matter.
3. Last week in this space I argued that Haason Reddick had gained leverage after the season-ending injury to Jermaine Johnson and it was time for Joe Douglas to find a solution. I still think the Jets need Reddick in the long-term but Will McDonald has quieted the cries in the short-term. McDonald had two sacks on Thursday night after notching three against the Titans last Sunday. McDonald is living up to his first-round draft pedigree and the Jets pass rush looks just fine without Reddick right now.
McDonald’s emergence is huge for the Jets who need someone to replace the production they got from Bryce Huff last year. McDonald looks like he can do that. I still think the Jets need Reddick if they are going to win big games down the stretch. I’m thinking about a game at Arrowhead in January when Patrick Mahomes might not be as easy to get to as Jacoby Brissett. The Jets need Reddick to bookend with McDonald for games like that. But McDonald has quieted the panic about Reddick for now with his performances in the last two weeks.
4. There were so many things to like about the Jets offense on Thursday night but one piece that still looks off is the timing between Rodgers and Garrett Wilson. They missed each other several times in the game where it looked like they were not on the same page. Rodgers threw before Wilson was out of his break or Wilson made a move and Rodgers held the ball. Rodgers credited their first three opponents with their focus on taking Wilson away. The Patriots had top cornerback Christian Gonzalez following Wilson on Thursday night. Yes, it is true defenses are out to stop Wilson, but he is a No. 1 wideout and Rodgers is a four-time MVP. They should be able to counter what defenses are throwing at them and get more production for Wilson, who had five catches for 33 yards and a touchdown on Thursday.
Revealing stat
The Jets have 14 sacks this season after getting seven on Thursday night. It is the first time the Jets have that many sacks through the first three weeks of the season since sacks became an official stat in 1982. It is the first time since 1985 the Jets have recorded at least three sacks in each of their first three games of a season.
Surprising snap count
Rookie DT Leonard Taylor played 24 snaps (46 percent). Clearly, the Jets wanted some added beef in the middle of the defensive line against the run-heavy Patriots but I was surprised to see Taylor, who was inactive the first two games, get more playing time than fellow defensive linemen Micheal Clemons, Jalyn Homes and Javon Kinlaw.
Game ball
Rodgers was everything Jets fans dreamed about on Thursday. He went 27-of-35 for 281 yards with two touchdowns and showed he can still move. He escaped the pocket several times and even had an 11-yard run.
