The Jets will disperse for their bye week happy with what they have done through the first nine games and eager to prove they can do more over the final eight games.
After Sunday’s shocking 20-17 win over the Bills, the Jets are 6-3 and are a half-game behind the Bills in the AFC East and in the thick of the conference playoff race.
“Even the most optimistic Jets fan wouldn’t have had us at 6-3,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said Monday.
Saleh’s message on Monday was it is great that the Jets have shocked everyone but they have not really achieved anything yet. The story of the 2022 Jets will be told with how they finish this season after getting off to such a shocking start.
“We’re excited with where we’re at, but we know there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” quarterback Zach Wilson said. “So, I think because of where we’re at, guys are taking this bye week very seriously, as far as understanding where we need to be when we come back, the improvements we still need to make, and how we can just keep this thing going.”
The Jets talked this offseason about playing meaningful games in December and they have set themselves up to do that for the first time since 2015. The Jets season has felt like it was over before Halloween the past few years. Now, Jets fans can debate their team’s playoff fate as they dig into their Thanksgiving turkey.
“I’d be remiss not to say that we do have an opportunity,” Saleh said, “but if we try to look at the long game, we’re going to miss the most important day which is the one that we’re present, where our feet are right now. We’ve got to attack every moment, so even on this bye week just challenging our players, don’t just go home or go to the beach and sit back and have a cocktail and relax for a week.”
The outside expectations were low around the Jets entering this season. They were viewed as a young team with a tough early schedule that was probably still a year away from contending. But they have sped up the timeline with some stunning victories in the first nine weeks. They beat the Browns with a miracle finish, stunned the Packers at Lambeau and then Sunday knocked off the Bills, who many view as a Super Bowl favorite.
After the upset, the Jets said no one in their locker room was shocked.
“We knew how good those guys were, but we understand how good we are,” Wilson said. “So, it’s such a cool challenge for us to go out there and compete with those guys and get the win, but besides that, I think it’s understanding that we have something special.”
Expectations are now raised for the Jets and the playoffs are a realistic possibility. The Jets have not made the playoffs since 2010, the longest postseason drought in the NFL. It has been seven years since they have had a winning season and were in contention in the final week of the season. For the last division title, you have to go back to 2002.
Everything is now in front of the Jets. Wilson was asked if the players talk about the postseason being a possibility.
“Not in that way, kind of almost in the way that you’re saying it, almost kind of feels like we didn’t expect to be here, but hey, wow, we are, so let’s see if we can keep doing it. But for us, we expected to be here,” Wilson said, “and the mindset we had up to this point was taking it one game at a time, so let’s do the exact same thing. Let’s not put any expectations on ourselves and just play good, clean football, and taking care of the rock and then each and every play, one play at a time.”