For the first time in over a decade, the New York Jets had control of their playoff lives going into week 13. All they had to do was beat one of the most talented offensive teams in the NFL with their starting quarterback entering his second week leading his offense. The Narrative following the Browns game was grossly exaggerated in my opinion because the bears were a bottom-of-the-barrel squad with multiple injuries throughout their roster. I am not taking anything away from White, he performed admirably and had the offense humming as it had never been this season. This Vikings team was different. They are offensive juggernauts and possess one of the deadliest weapons at wide receiver in the entire league. To keep up with NFC west leading team the Jets had to play at a high level in all three phases. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
Right off the bat, penalties raised their ugly head with a holding call by Corey Davis and a missed throw by White ricocheted off Davis’s hand into an interception. The game was a collection of missed opportunities and not good enough plays. Mike White showed that he is capable of maneuvering this offense at a higher consistency than Zach Wilson has. He made some great throws but unfortunately, the team struggled in the red zone an issue born out of bad play concepts. Mike Lefluer’s play choices were flash with no substance. He needed to go right at the Vikings both in the run and pass games but he chose to around which the vikes seemed to be waiting for. Four field goals against this team just will not cut it. The Jets pass rush was almost nonexistent in the first half and even when they got there Cousins stood in and delivered.
This is one of the NFL’s elite, I am glad that the Jets can stand in and play to the buzzer with a team like this but they left a lot of meat on the bone. Too many dropped passes, the biggest culprits being Corey Davis, Conklin, and Berrios in the endzone. White had a few missed throws most notably the sure touchdown where he overthrew Garrett Wilson on and stop and go route. The Jets had twice the penalties that they had, lost the turnover battle, and had one of the worst third-down conversion rates I’ve ever seen but still had a chance to win that game. That speaks volumes as to how far this team has come. Yes, they have several issues that need to be dealt with but for now, QB is not one. White has proven that he has what it takes. He should be the starter going forward. New York is not out of the playoff picture completely but they have to win at least 3 out of their remaining 5 games and pray for some help. Let’s also remember as great as this chance to make the playoffs is Robert Saleh and his crew are a year ahead of where we all thought they would be. Count our blessings yes, but let’s grind for the most should be the mantra from now on.
