Happy Victory Monday, New York Jets fans. Yesterday’s win was one of the best the Jets have had in quite a while.
This young football team responded well following a tough loss. The win yesterday puts the Jets at 6-3, a half-game behind the Buffalo Bills for the top of the AFC East. In the division, the Jets now have a 2-1 record.
The Jets are tied for the third-best record in the AFC and have the fifth playoff seed at the moment. They are also one of just nine teams in the NFL with six wins.
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New York Jets Week 9 Recap:
Starting with the key team stat categories, the Jets did a good job for themselves. They were much better in terms of time of possession in comparison to the last two weeks. The Jets possessed the ball for 32:44, and both teams ran 61 total plays.
The Jets won the turnover battle 2-1. Penalties were split even as both teams committed only three for 30 yards.
On third down, the Jets went 5-13 (39%), which was worse than the Bills’ 8-13 (62%) but still nearly converted 40% of the time. The Jets did go 2-2 on fourth down, which made a big difference. They did also fall just short of the Bills in the red zone, going 2-5 (40%) to their 1-2 (50%) but had more than double the opportunities from within their opponent’s 20-yard line.
Lastly, the special teams of the Jets, while not perfect with a botched kickoff and punt coverage penalty, was better than a week ago and did enough in this one.
Jets’ defense has another dominant day:
The Jets’ defense had one awesome game against a premier Bills offense that ranks first in football. They limited the Bills to 317 yards and 17 points, only three in the second half.
Aside from Josh Allen’s 86 yards on the ground, the rest of the Bills rushing attack had 13 carries for 48 yards (3.7 per rush). In the air, Allen only put up 205 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. The elite Jets defense shut Allen down to a 46.8 rating, by far his worst of the season, and it was his first game without throwing for a touchdown.
Starting up front, the Jets’ pass rush had five sacks. Quinnen Williams, Jermaine Johnson, Bryce Huff, and C.J. Mosley all had one. Kwon Alexander and Jamien Sherwood split one. The Jets recorded eight quarterback hits, John Franklin-Myers led the way with two.
On the backend, the Jets’ pass defense held Stefon Diggs, Gabe Davis, and Dawson Knox to just 151 yards. Six pass breakups were recorded on the day. Jordan Whitehead had the most with two, C.J. Mosley, and the Jets’ top-tier cornerback trio of Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed, and Michael Carter II all had one. Gardner and Whitehead had the two interceptions. Both now have two on the year.
After yesterday, the Jets’ defense ranks seventh in the NFL, allowing just 312 yards per game. Their run and pass defense, points per game allowed, sacks, and interception ranks are all in the top 10 of the league right now.
Good outing for the Jets offense:
The Jets’ offense had 310 total yards of offense yesterday. A great rushing attack propelled them. The Jets ran the football 34 times for 174 yards (5.1 per carry) and had one touchdown.
Mike LaFleur did a stellar job keeping the attack balanced. Michael Carter and James Robinson combined for 25 carries and 124 yards (five per rush) with a touchdown. Carter had 12 runs go for a season-high 76 yards (6.3 per carry) and a touchdown. Robinson ran it 13 times for 48 yards (3.7 yards per run). Both had runs for over 15 yards. Add in their combined receiving production of three catches for 15 yards and a touchdown, the two had 139 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in the win.
Zach Wilson had a near mistake-free game with one fumble, his decision-making and accuracy were much-improved. He completed a season-best 72% of his passes, going 18-25 for 154 yards and a touchdown. Wilson also had his best rating of 2022 so far, finishing with a 101.1.
It was the second-straight week in which the Wilson-to-Wilson connection was on display in a big way. Garrett Wilson had eight catches for 92 yards (11.5 per catch) with a longest reception of 24 yards. He accounted for 60% of the Jets’ yards attained through the air. Wilson had yet another big, exciting game for the Jets.
Denzel Mims also delivered, contributing with a big, clutch third-down catch right before the two-minute warning.
Lastly, the Jets’ offensive line was fantastic all throughout this sixth win. They paved the way for the running game, especially on the game-winning drive. The way they dominated the Bills front at the end was something special to watch. They also slowed the Bills’ pass rush down to three sacks and two quarterback hits.
The Jets have a talented, exciting football team more than deserving of their 6-3 record heading into the bye.