CLEVELAND – The Jets won their third straight game Sunday, a 17-14 victory over the Browns. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. This Jets team is starting to remind me of the 2013 team. Like this year, that team was given no chance by preseason prognosticators. There was very little talent, a rookie quarterback and a team beginning a rebuild. Somehow, that team went 8-8 despite being outscored 387-290.
This team feels similar. The Jets did not play a great football game Sunday. They did not play a complete game last week against the Jaguars. You could argue they should have lost both games. But they didn’t. They are finding ways to win, and that’s a credit to coach Todd Bowles, his staff and these players. There is a confidence in the locker room, a bond that is rooted in “us against the world” as much as they like to pretend they did not know everyone predicted them to be the worst team in football.
Can it continue?
That is the question now, isn’t it? The big, bad Patriots come to town Sunday, followed by a trip to Miami, a visit from the Falcons and a Thursday night game with the Bills. That is a four-game stretch that should tell us how legit these Jets are.
In 2013, the 3-3 Jets faced the Patriots at home in mid-October. They beat New England 30-27 in overtime, announcing their arrival as a contender. Then, they lost 49-9 to the Bengals the next week.
These Jets can show they are for real Sunday.
2. That was the Jets offense I expected to see at the beginning of the season. Wide receivers struggled to get open, the offensive line did not create many holes and Josh McCown had a bad turnover. They have not played like that this season, but Sunday they managed just 212 yards, the fewest since Oct. 5, 2014, when they had 151 yards against the Chargers.
Maybe it was just a one-day slump or maybe this is going to be what we see more of over the next 2 ½ months. The Patriots defense has been terrible this season. The offense should be able to have a bounce-back game, but there are plenty of things to clean up this week.
3. The mystery on the defensive side of the ball is why Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams can’t get to the quarterback. They combined for zero quarterback hits on Sunday. Well, Wilkerson did get one hit on the quarterback, but it was late and drew a personal-foul penalty, his first of two on the day.
Williams and Wilkerson have zero sacks on the season, and Wilkerson has zero quarterback hits. Bowles says they’re getting double-teamed, but that is not happening on every play. They are both dealing with injuries (Williams a wrist, Wilkerson a shoulder), which could be leading to the diminished production.
Wilkerson does not look explosive, which is troubling. The expectation was he would regain the explosion he was missing last year following leg surgery. That has not happened yet.
4. I am suspending the talk about the 2018 draft and the quarterbacks for now. It could return later in the season if the Jets falter, but right now it’s silly to talk about Sam Darnold, etc. The Jets are closer to the playoffs than the No. 1 pick. So, I am going to put my focus on the 2017 season and hold off on the 2018 draft previews.
Revealing stat: The Browns ran 76 plays and the Jets ran 51. It is staggering that the Jets won the game running 25 fewer plays. It just shows how inept Cleveland was in the red zone, going 0-for-3 with two turnovers.
Surprising snap count: Muhammad Wilkerson played just 52 snaps out of 76 (68 percent). That is a light workload for Wilkerson. It makes you wonder if Bowles is unhappy with Wilkerson’s production.
Game ball: Linebacker Demario Davis returned to Cleveland and had a huge game. He hit the quarterback four times, one time causing an interception. He also had six tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. Davis has played great for the Jets this season and has emerged as a team leader.