The Jets are Here

 

As the New York Jets head into their bye week, they come off a thrilling upset victory taking down the lone remaining undefeated team, the Philadelphia Eagles. The defense has been dominating games and giving the Jets hope in a season that lost hope only 4 plays in. 

Just 6 weeks ago, many people gave up hope in the Jets when Aaron Rodgers tore his achilles just 4 plays into the season. The Jets quickly lost the next three games after the Rodgers injury, but then flipped the switch just a couple of weeks ago with a big win in Denver, followed by a massive one against the Eagles. 

Lots of experts had the Jets starting the season with their gauntlet of a schedule 3-3 with Aaron Rodgers at the helm. Rodgers has only been at the helm for 4 plays in 6 games and the Jets are still sitting at 3-3 after playing some of the top teams in the league. 

They took on both teams that were in last year's Super Bowl, beating one of them and the other one they came up a questionable penalty call away from taking that one as well. Along with the Chiefs and the Eagles, they took on two other playoff teams from last year in the Cowboys and Bills. 

The Jets defense has been the X-factor this season and we saw glimpses of it last season, but now we are seeing the full package on display. What makes this Jets defense great is their depth at every position. This past game against the Eagles, the Jets were down their top four cornerbacks and still found a way to win with two of their three active cornerbacks being from the practice squad. 

Even with this, the defense was able to force four turnovers against a lethal Eagles offense. Along with these four turnovers, this included a second-half shutout of the Eagles as well. The Jets have so much depth on their defensive line that game after game, they have to make either an edge or lineman a healthy scratch because there is not enough room for them come game day. What a great problem to have. 

Let's talk about Zach Wilson. All he has to do is be an average NFL quarterback and then let the defense and supporting cast do the rest. He doesn't have to attempt to do anything out of the ordinary or spectacular to try and help this team because it can easily backfire. 

The best example of this was the Eagles game where he didn't play very good or very bad, he was simply average. Obviously the red zone offense needs to improve, but I didn't really have a problem with his performance otherwise. Not many quarterbacks around the league have this good of a defense at their disposal that they can rely on like Zach does. 

The Jets now come out of their bye week to take on their in-house rival, the Giants, to try and put their record above the .500 mark as they enter a somewhat weaker schedule than their first six games. As long as the defense does their job and Zach Wilson plays average, this team can end the drought and finally make the playoffs in 2023.