The Jets were wobbling a few weeks ago.
The team had lost quarterback Aaron Rodgers four plays into the season, then lost ugly games to the Cowboys and the Patriots.
Backup quarterback Zach Wilson did not play well in the 15-10 loss to New England and it felt like the sky was falling for the Jets.
“I’ve come to realize that here in New York there’s always going to be noise, whether it’s good, whether it’s bad,” tight end Tyler Conklin said Monday.
But the Jets were able to tune out that noise and they stabilized their season, first in a loss to the Chiefs when Wilson played his best game and the Jets took the defending Super Bowl champs down to the wire, losing partly because of a tough penalty.
They followed that up with comeback wins against the Broncos and Eagles and now enter their bye week at 3-3 — with the one-win Giants waiting when they return.
The Jets have saved their season and now have a stretch of games post-bye that look winnable and their playoff dreams are still alive.
And if the dream is alive late in the season, there remains the long-shot possibility that Rodgers returns for the playoff push.
“I think the players and coaches deserve a lot of the credit because there has been a lot of adversity,” coach Robert Saleh said about the first six games. “Not that anyone cares, but there has been a lot of adversity within this organization with all the different things that have transpired, but the resolve and the resilience of the group that we have in the locker room, the effort that is put in day in and day out, on Sundays, I think has been evident. Like I said, all this great momentum can end if we don’t finish strong coming off the bye week.”
The Jets know all too well about momentum dying during a bye week.
Last season, the Jets defeated the Bills at home to improve to 6-3 before their bye.
They won just one more game the entire season and missed the playoffs at 7-10.
This Jets team feels better than last year’s.
The defense is not just beating up on backup quarterbacks.
The Jets have forced eight combined interceptions in games against top quarterbacks Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts.
The offense is struggling to score touchdowns, but a healthy Breece Hall gives that unit a leg up on last year’s offense.
Wilson has also shown growth over the last three weeks.
He is not playing great football but he is playing well enough for the Jets to win.
He has thrown only one interception in the last three weeks and has shown improved footwork and decision-making.
The Jets need to figure out how to improve on third down and in the red zone, but there are signs that this offense can play better.
“All we do is look back and see which little plays or mistakes we could have back and how it could have changed even where we are now,” Wilson said. “We feel like we let one slip in the Chiefs game and needed to play better in the New England game. Everything comes down to little plays. Taking a chance to kind of reflect during this bye week and say, ‘How can we take this offense to the next step?’ Starting with me, finding each individual, little play that I can be just a little bit better, just a little bit more on cue with what I’m asked to do. I think if everyone kind of takes that approach offensively, we can be really good.”
The Jets have shown they are a resilient team with the way they have dealt with injuries — not just to Rodgers but also to other top players like Alijah Vera-Tucker, D.J. Reed and Sauce Gardner.
“I’ve got to give so much credit to the guys we have in this locker room,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said. “Nobody is expecting to lose Aaron four plays into the season. A coach can say everything, a coach can demand everything but if the players don’t want to do it, if the players don’t buy in, if the players don’t take it upon themselves to do what they have to do to bring results. The guys in this locker room are selfless. We play for each other and keep the team goal first 100 percent of the time.”
