The Jets snapped their five-game losing skid on Thursday night with a 21-13 victory over the Texans. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. What we saw in the second half from the Jets offense is what I expected to see coming out of training camp. There were shades of what we saw in those joint practices this summer and the regular training camp days.
Start with the Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson connection. They seemed to make a highlight play in every practice this summer. But in the first part of this season, they have not jelled as well as I expected. There have been games where Wilson has put up decent numbers but it felt like Rodgers was forcing him the ball sometimes.
In the second half on Thursday, it just flowed and Rodgers gave Wilson a chance to make a play in the end zone on the second touchdown and Wilson made a spectacular catch. Ryan Fitzpatrick was in the building for Amazon on Thursday and that play reminded me of the connection that Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall had in 2015. Marshall was not always open but Fitzpatrick would give him a chance to make a play and it worked.
The offensive line also played better, even with Olu Fashanu and Max Mitchell, both tackles, playing guard. They gave Rodgers time to operate. The running game was not dominant but the Jets were able to pick up key yards.
The piece that we did not see in August and can be a huge weapon now for the Jets is Davante Adams. He has really opened things up for Wilson in the last two weeks with the attention he has drawn. He also made seven catches Thursday and scored his first touchdown as a Jet. It does not feel like Rodgers and Adams are all the way there yet in terms of rekindling their Green Bay chemistry, so it should get better and better.
The Jets offense has been missing for most of the season. In the second half on Thursday, the Jets found it. Now, can they keep it going? They fooled us the last time they won a game on Thursday night, the 24-3 beatdown of the Patriots. They followed that up with five straight losses. So be careful, but there were reasons to hope Thursday night.
2. There has been some focus on how weak the Jets’ remaining opponents are. The Bills are the only team with a winning record. So, there is a path for the Jets to win some games.
The other aspect of their schedule that has to be encouraging for them is how light the month of November is. They only have two games in the next 30 days. They have the min-bye this week and won’t play the Cardinals until Nov. 10. They then play the Colts on Nov. 17 before their real bye week. The next game after that is Dec. 1 against the Seahawks.
That is a friendly break for an older team. They should be able to get healthier and some of the nagging injuries they are dealing with could go away. The Colts game is currently scheduled for “Sunday Night Football.” It would not be shocking if that gets flexed. But even if it stays, that is the only scheduled primetime game remaining for the Jets. The rest of the season is mostly normal Sunday afternoons, something they have not had much this season.
The first nine games have been a slog for this team. They have played nine games in 53 days. They have had two Monday Night games, two Thursday Night games, one Sunday Night game, a trip to London, a trip to the West Coast and two road games following Monday Night games.
You can understand if the Jets are worn down.
The trip to Arizona is the last long trip for the team. The last three road games are in Miami, Jacksonville and Buffalo.
A schedule that has been taxing now eases up for the Jets and that should help them.
3. I’m not sure were paying enough attention to the season that Will McDonald is having. The 2023 first-round pick was under a microscope in camp and even had to play in preseason games to try to prove himself.
He had another great game Thursday night. He did not get a sack but he pushed the pocket all night long. McDonald had a season-high nine pressures on 33 pass rushes, according to Next Gen Stats. Six of those pressures came in 15 matchups with Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil. McDonald has now generated pressures on at least 20 percent of his pass rushes in six games, the most in the NFL.
McDonald added a fumble recovery in this game. He still is among the league leaders with eight sacks this season.
There were a lot of questions about the selection of McDonald at No. 15 overall in 2023. He has answered them this year.
4. This game reminded me a bit of a Thursday night game in 2017 when the Jets beat the Bills to end a three-game losing streak and improve to 4-5. There were a lot of good vibes after that game and a feeling that the Jets might go on a run. The defense was dancing on the field. The offense was clicking. It was a big night.
They only won one game the rest of the season.
Now, this team is way, way more talented than the 2017 team. Remember that was the year they were expected to tank for a quarterback and ended up being better than we thought. So, I’m not saying the comparison is perfect. I would just caution that one win can be an illusion. We now need to see if the Jets can stack wins. Their margin for error is gone. They can’t afford to have any more bad days if they are going to turn this thing around.
It is a week-to-week league in the NFL. You can look great one week and horrible the next. The Jets have used up their horrible days this season. Time to see if they can string together more than one good half.
Revealing stat
The Jets had 11 quarterback hits on C.J. Stroud and sacked him eight times. Stroud looked uncomfortable all night.
Surprising snap count
Javon Kinlaw played 53 snaps, which is a lot in the Jets’ defensive rotation. Some of it may have been because Solomon Thomas missed some time with an injury. But it looks like Kinlaw has earned the trust of his coaches to have a bigger role.
Game ball
Garrett Wilson was spectacular with two one-handed catches for touchdowns. The second one will be remembered for years. Wilson has shaken out of his early-season funk and is starting to put up big numbers.
