Amidst a five-game losing streak, which they finally broke in a stroke of luck with a win against the Texans on Thursday, the Jets have been talking about making a playoff push. But here’s the thing about “runs”—you have to win games to make one. One game at a time. When you string a few wins together, that’s when you’re actually on a run.
Aaron Rodgers and the Jets picked up an important win against the Texans last week
So far, the Jets haven’t proven they’re capable of making that kind of run. Of course, that could change, but for now, we’re still in wait-and-see mode.
The Jets, who just lost a game two weeks ago to a struggling Patriots team in New England, managed to pull off a win that many didn’t expect. Sitting at 2-6, with the season on the line, they defeated the 6-2 Texans on Thursday night. After a disastrous first half, they played as well as they have all season during the last 30 minutes of their game against Houston.
With a short break after their victory over Houston, the Jets will be back at practice on Wednesday to prepare for Sunday’s game against the Cardinals in Arizona.
It’s worth noting that, given their recent struggles, the Cardinals might be seen as a “winnable” game for the Jets. However, the Cardinals are currently 5-4, leading the NFC West, and they’re far from an easy opponent for a Jets team aiming to get back on track.
The best thing the Jets can do now is focus solely on winning Sunday’s game. A victory over the Cardinals would boost their record to 4-6 and potentially put them in the conversation as an AFC playoff contender.
Garrett Wilson played a huge role in the win over the Texans
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, speaking on his weekly segment on The Pat McAfee Show, was asked about the season’s bigger picture and their current standing.
“I think you have to,” Rodgers said. “The league, and the cliché they always tell you, is ‘one game at a time, one day at a time.’ It’s human nature to focus solely on the task at hand, but you also have to understand what’s ahead.”
Rodgers’ statement is fair and honest, but it’s also on shaky ground coming from a team that has only managed to string together back-to-back wins once this season—against the Titans (2-6) and the Patriots (2-7).
The key for the Jets this week is to replicate the level of play they showed in the second half against the Texans, where they scored three offensive touchdowns and applied heavy pressure on Houston’s offense. Rodgers completed 15 of 18 passes for 179 yards and three touchdowns in that flawless second half. The defense held Texans quarterback CJ Stroud to 11 of 30 passes and sacked him eight times.
“We said it [last week]—just one win to get things going, and we did it,” Jets right tackle Morgan Moses said this week. “Now we’ve got to keep that momentum.”
Week 9, and even Week 10, might be too early to start scoreboard-watching, but the Jets enjoyed a great Sunday of rest with a few AFC playoff hopefuls, including Indianapolis (4-5) and Denver (5-4), taking losses.
This week could bring more good news for the Jets’ playoff hopes, with competitors like the Bengals (4-5) facing the Ravens (6-3), the Colts facing the Bills (7-2), and the Broncos facing the undefeated Chiefs (8-0). All three teams are the underdogs in those matchups, and a loss by each of them would benefit the Jets—but only if they handle their own business and beat the Cardinals.
