Can The Jets Keep It Going?

After a fairly impressive win against a highly touted Houston Texans team, are the Jets primed to take the next step by playing consistent football? Does this win propel the Jets to make a move towards the playoffs that are as of this writing a very far distance away?

What are the things we saw that give Jets fans hope, and what things did we see that give Jets fans pause before calling the Jets playoff material?

Things that give Jets fans hope

The passing game has shown signs of life.

The Jets didn’t light up the scoreboard against the Texans, but Aaron Rodgers did have three passing touchdowns for the first time this season. The Jets also had a touchdown run given away by rookie receiver Malachi Corley, who made one of the most egregious gaffes (dropping the ball short of the goal line) you can make.

Aaron Rodgers looked much steadier in the pocket than he did in his previous games. He stood in there and allowed the pass routes to mature instead of throwing the ball incredibly early in the play. Rogers also showed better mobility in the pocket to avoid rushers, then continue on with his reads. The offensive line was missing two starting guards through much of the game, but they allowed only two sacks on 34 drop backs. Rodgers hasn’t thrown an interception in his last two games, which is an improvement from the six interceptions he threw in games five though seven.

Rodgers has shown improved coordination with his two best receivers. Against the Texans he completed a combined 16 passes on 21 targets (76.2%) to Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson for 181 yards and three touchdowns. While the Jets did throw some screen passes and short passes to tight ends and running backs, they stopped the dink and dunk offense of the Hackett era. Against the Texans the Jets had completions of 21, 12, 13, 17, 13, 12, 37 and 26 yards, which is a far cry from other games. They needed to add some more deep throws to at least keep the defense honest. By doing so it helped the running game to a five yards per carry average.

There is still a lot of room for improvement, as the Jets still averaged only 6.6 yards per passing attempt, and they had five drives that lasted less than five plays. More consistency is needed, but the offense is trending in the right direction after moving on from offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.

The Defense made some plays

The Jets defense turned in a nice performance against a quality Houston offense. They harassed C.J. Stroud throughout the game, sacking him eight times and piling up ten tackles for loss. Stroud completed only 37% of his passes, with zero touchdowns.

Jamien Sherwood had two sacks, two tackles for loss and an additional quarterback hit in the game. Jalen Mills continued to impress with 10 total tackles and two passes defended from the safety position. This is key with starting safeties Chuck Clark and Tony Adams out of the lineup. Michael Carter II went out of the game at times, Ashtyn Davis was out all game, and so was C. J. Mosely. The defense gave up some plays, but they never folded and responded well considering they have so many key injuries in the second and third levels of the defense.

Haason Reddick seemed to be more at home in the defense, making a tackle, a quarterback hit and a ¹⁄₂ sack. The more he plays with this defense the better he should get.

Quinnen Williams looked like his former self against the Texans. He used more of a bull rush against his opponents, with great success. Williams had two quarterback hits, four tackles and 1.5 sacks in the game. When Quinnen Williams is playing like he did Thursday night he makes the entire team better.

The Jets defense is giving up 20.3 points per game, which is 10th best in the NFL. With the hardest portion of the schedule behind them they should better that mark for the rest of the season. That should keep Jets in just about in every game.

Upcoming schedule looks promising

The Jets play the Arizona Cardinals in Arizona next Sunday. That is the only Jets game outside the eastern time zone for the remainder of the season. The Jets play the Arizona Cardinals, the Indianapolis Colts, the Seattle Seahawks, the Miami Dolphins twice, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills, with a week off between the Colts and the Seahawks.

Every one of those games is winnable for a Jet team that is playing well. Even the Bills game is winnable considering the Jets lost by only three points the last time they played, with Josh Allen making some improbable plays against them while avoiding the huge mistakes he is known for.

You can never predict wins. NFL games are always difficult to win no matter who you are playing. It is, however, preferable to be playing winnable games rather than going against many of the top teams in the league.

Each win the Jets get should breed more confidence. They just have to concentrate on the task at hand in each game and stay mentally focused.

Reasons to be concerned about the near future

Wins in the NFL are never easy, with each game its own mental/physical battle. You never know how healthy the team is or how the opponent’s health is. Attrition is always a concern during an NFL season and the Jets already have numerous injuries to key people. The Jets will need to stay in good health while returning some key players to the lineup over the next few weeks.

What is wrong with Sauce Gardner? Sauce has not been the same player he was since he left the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers for some unspecified reason. He stayed on the sideline for nine plays in that game. Sauce has not been himself since. He looks like he is mentally drained and he is being attacked by quarterbacks now, whereas before he was rarely targeted. Gardner is ranked #84 out of 201 cornerbacks by PFF. In 2023 Gardner raked #1 out of 229 cornerbacks in the NFL in coverage. He ranked #1 in 2022 out of 236 cornerbacks in coverage.

There is a clear difference in Sauce’s play, as he looked lost in coverage late in the second game against the New England Patriots, when he was totally turned around by Kayshon Boutte for a 34 yard gain. If you look for a reason the Jets lost to the Patriots, it was Sauce Gardner.

The defense as a whole has only two interceptions on the season, both by Brandin Echols. The Jets have five fumble recoveries, which ranks 6th best in the NFL, but they only have six forced fumbles all season, which ranks 16th. Aaron Rodgers has seven interceptions, and the Jets are fortunate as they have fumbled the ball eight times but only lost two fumbles all year. The Jets have been extremely fortunate on the turnover margin, but that won’t last if they continue to fumble the ball. The Jets currently rank 23rd in turnover margin in the NFL with a minus three, but it could be much worse.

In the NFL you need easy points if you want to win games at a high rate. Return touchdowns, turnovers, and long pass play touchdowns are the best ways to get easy points. The Jets currently are not good in any of these areas. That will need to change.

The Jets defense continues to give up huge chunks of yardage on the ground. They gave up 187 yards rushing and 5.2 yards per carry to the Texans, 112 yards rushing and 3.6 yards per carry to a depleted Patriots team, and 149 yards and 4.1 yards per carry to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the past three weeks.

To make matters worse, the Jets have one of the best running back tandems in the NFL with Breece Hall and Braelon Allen, yet they average only 87.7 yards rushing per game, 30th in the NFL. With the offensive line in a continual state of change that number might not get any better for the entire season.

The Jets have dug themselves a hole. They will need everyone on the same page pitching in if they want to dig themselves out.

What do you think?