Where Jets stand as they soar into bye week after surprising start

The Jets hit the bye riding a high. 

They pulled off a stunning 20-17 victory over the Bills last week to go into their bye at 6-3, a start no one saw coming. They have been underdogs in all but one game this year, but they keep finding ways to win. They have won five of their past six games and have found a winning formula — relying on an elite defense, a strong running game and quarterback Zach Wilson being smart with the football. 

The Jets are fun to watch for the first time in a long time. They have a bunch of young stars who look like they could be the foundation of something special for several years. Head coach Robert Saleh and general manager Joe Douglas have pushed the right buttons and have the Jets in great position to make a push for their first playoff berth in 12 years. 

Thrilling victories at Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Green Bay and at home against the Bills highlighted the first half. The Jets will open the second half with a rematch against the Patriots, who handed them their most disappointing defeat of the season. They have intriguing matchups with the Vikings, Bills and Seahawks coming up, and their final game, at Miami, could be for a playoff berth. 

For the first time in a long time, their season is not over by Thanksgiving. Instead, they will have meaningful games to play in December, and fans can watch the playoff seedings instead of the draft positions. 

Most valuable player

Fourth-year defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has always been talented, but he has taken his game to another level this season. Pro Football Focus has graded Williams as the third-best defensive interior player behind superstars Chris Jones and Aaron Donald. Williams leads the Jets with seven sacks, already tying his career high. He also has 33 tackles, six for a loss, two passes defensed, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 17 quarterback hits and a stiff-arm of Tyreek Hill that invigorated his entire team. 

Williams’ future will be a major storyline after the season. He has one more year remaining on his contract, but the Jets likely will try to lock him up with a long-term deal this offseason. It feels like the price is going up every week. 

Least valuable player

The Jets signed tight end C.J. Uzomah to a three-year, $24 million deal with $15 million guaranteed in March with the idea that he could be a nice target for Zach Wilson. Instead, he has been a highly paid blocking tight end. 

Uzomah has 10 catches for 82 yards in eight games played this season. He has yet to reach the end zone. A year ago, Uzomah had 49 catches for 493 yards and five touchdowns with the Bengals. Uzomah is clearly behind Tyler Conklin on the depth chart and does not have a game with more than three catches this season. On the plus side, Uzomah has been a strong blocker and has not griped publicly about his limited role in the offense. 

Biggest surprise

Everyone around the Jets was excited following the draft in the spring. There was a feeling GM Joe Douglas nailed it with this rookie class, but even the biggest optimist could not have thought they would have the immediate impact they have. 

Sauce Gardner is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year and could be a Pro Bowler in his first season. Gardner leads the NFL with 13 passes defensed and has two interceptions. He has been outstanding and looks fearless out there. The No. 4-overall pick is rated as the No. 3 cornerback in the NFL by PFF. 

Garrett Wilson leads the team with 42 receptions and 521 receiving yards. He has also scored two touchdowns. Wilson has had two 100-yard receiving games and is on his way to setting a franchise rookie receiving record. Wilson’s production might be higher if the Jets had not turned into a run-first team over the last six weeks. 

Breece Hall was on his way to being the Offensive Rookie of the Year before tearing the ACL in his left knee in October. Hall is still the team’s leading rusher with 463 yards on 80 carries and four rushing touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 218 yards and a touchdown. Hall showed he can be a star in the NFL before the injury. Now, the Jets will just wait for his return. 

Jermaine Johnson has been overshadowed by the three other high picks, but he has had some good moments as part of a deep defensive line rotation. He has 2.5 sacks and made a beautiful open-field tackle of Josh Allen last week. Johnson missed three games with a sprained ankle, but should get a bigger role now that he is healthy. 

Micheal Clemons and Max Mitchell have also seen significant playing time as rookies. 

Biggest disappointment

There were high hopes for Zach Wilson in his second season, but he has not delivered so far. Yes, the Jets are 5-1 with Wilson at quarterback, but they have won most of those games by playing around him rather than playing through him. Joe Flacco, who has not played since Week 3, is still the team leader in touchdown passes, with five. Wilson has thrown four. 

The Jets are at their best when Wilson is being a game manager and not taking chances. They won games in which he threw for 210, 110, 121 and 154 yards. He also had no interceptions in those games. The Jets lost when he threw for a career-high 355 yards against the Patriots because he also was intercepted three times. 

Wilson’s best game was his most recent game. He was efficient against the Bills, got rid of the ball quickly, did not force any throws and used his legs effectively to run for two key first downs. If Wilson can keep playing like that, the Jets will win more games. At some point, though, a defense is going to take away the run and Wilson will have to put the Jets on his back. Will he be able to do it? 

Best moment

The Jets have had some amazing moments already this season. The miracle win in Cleveland was epic. The fourth-quarter comeback in Pittsburgh was memorable. A win at Lambeau Field was improbable. But the win over the Bills last week feels like a defining moment. There were questions about how legitimate the Jets were. They had beaten some backup quarterbacks and a Packers team that is clearly not as strong as it has been. But the Bills are Super Bowl favorites that many people had rated as the best team in the NFL before the game. Josh Allen is an MVP candidate and their defense is outstanding. 

The Jets did not need anything fluky to beat Buffalo. They intercepted Allen twice and won the game with a drive in which they completely controlled the line of scrimmage. 

Worst moment

Wilson throwing three interceptions in the 22-17 loss to the Patriots sent the fan base into a tailspin for a week. The Jets could have won the game if Wilson had been smarter with the ball, and if John Franklin-Myers had not committed a roughing-the-passer penalty that wiped out a pick-six. The game was a reminder that the Jets are a good team but not good enough to overcome killer mistakes. 

Biggest head-scratcher

The Elijah Moore situation is a tough one to figure out. Moore was one of the Jets’ most promising players in 2021. He was expected to be a big part of the offense this year. Instead, he has been an afterthought and issued a trade demand. Moore has 16 catches for 203 yards and no touchdowns on 30 targets this season. He has not been targeted more than once in a game since Week 5 against Miami, when he had four targets. He has not had more than four targets in game since Week 3, when he had nine against the Bengals. Since Zach Wilson returned from injury, Moore has nine targets, four catches and 64 yards. 

Upcoming decision

The Jets shuffled their wide receiver corps in recent weeks after Corey Davis went down with a knee injury. They moved Garrett Wilson outside and had Denzel Mims playing in place of Davis, with Elijah Moore going into the slot. Wilson looked unstoppable against the Bills last week. Mims has had some good moments in place of Davis. But Davis is expected to return soon from the knee injury. What will the Jets do? Will Mims go back to being inactive? Will Moore be the odd man out with his limited production? It will be interesting to see how the situation is managed.