This is where the Jets can, and should, take off.
Sunday’s home game against the Broncos at MetLife Stadium is a game in which the 2-1 Jets need to take care of business.
Yes, we know the NFL mantra: One week, one game, one down.
But the fact is this: A game against the Vikings awaits next Sunday in England, followed by a home game against the Bills, the class of the AFC East, then a road game at the Steelers.
All three of those teams enter this week at 3-0.
The Broncos are 1-2. They’re a young team with a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix. And they must be dealt with by the Jets with force. From the opening kickoff.
If we’re to believe in trends, the Jets look like a team on the come. They responded to the rough opener against the 49ers with an inelegant but gritty road win over the Titans followed by a dominant victory over a weak Patriots team.
The Broncos are better than the Patriots, but they’re not as good as the Jets.
Aaron Rodgers, four-time league MVP and former Super Bowl winner, versus Nix, the Broncos rookie quarterback who has skills and moxie but is still very much a neophyte work in progress prone to mistakes.
Who are you going to take?
You take Rodgers, particularly after the way we’ve seen him progressively find his footing after the Achilles injury wrecked his season.
It’s funny. The Jets have scored nine offensive touchdowns in their three games, which is exactly half as many as they produced in 17 games last season.
Rodgers, by mere mortal standards, has put up terrific statistics through three games — 67.4 percent completion rate, 624 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception (on a deflection) with a 103.1 rating.
Those are quarterbacking stats that project to 28 TDs, five INTs and 3,536 yards — the kinds of numbers Jets fans have dreamt about since … well, just about forever.
Vinny Testaverde threw 29 TDs to seven INTs and for 3,256 yards in 1998, when the Jets went to the AFC Championship. They haven’t had a lot of quarterbacking seasons like that one, or the one Rodgers is in the early stages of producing.
And here’s the thing: It feels like Rodgers and Co. have only just begun to clear their throats. It feels like there’s so much more to give, which is rather exciting if you’re a fan.
Rodgers seems now only just getting warmed up, finding his confidence after a year away from playing.
“During training camp, it was all there,’’ coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “I would stand in front of him and say, physically he’s ready to roll. It’s just mentally he’s got to get through hurdles. He’s human.
“I think with every passing day and every rep he gets … he’s getting more and more confident in himself and what his body is still capable of. We all know that he has it in him still, and I think for him it’s just those affirmations that are allowing him to build some confidence.’’
More affirmation for Rodgers is a tantalizing prospect.
“I said after Week 1 [that[ I felt like I was going to progress and be able to move around a little bit more,’’ Rodgers said. “I did that maybe a little bit against Tennessee, and then obviously moved around a lot more effectively in Week 3.’’
Rodgers is starting to feel like his old self again, and that’s fun.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said Rodgers’ confidence “is going to grow every single game, just being able to get experience.
“I mean, it had been a long time since he played football, since he had gone out there in front of a crowd, so I just want him to continually get comfortable. He’s been doing this a long time, and I think that any time that you’re able to be on the sideline and look at him in the eye and see him truly having a good time and having fun is something that got me more excited.
“I’ve seen him make some absolutely stunning throws throughout his career in my time with him, but I think for me it was just more he was enjoying being out there with the guys and was just playing ball, and I think that’s what we all want.
“That’s what the NFL wants.’’
No one wants it more than the success-starved Jets fans who’ve been denied this kind of fun for too long.
This all begins, though, with Rodgers and the Jets taking care of business Sunday in their house. Because the degree of difficulty increases after Sunday.
Saleh often refers to a famous Bill Parcells quote about the vibe in New York sports being either “euphoria’’ or “disaster’’ and never anywhere in between.
“It’s week-to-week,’’ Saleh said. “Our moment is this moment. It’s owning our moments.’’
So, Jets, own the moment Sunday. Take care of business. Take off.
