It’s crunch-time for the New York Jets

The New York Jets had hoped this would be the year that they re-announced themselves on the biggest of stages. However, that idea and hope began to change just a few minutes into their opening game of the season. 

Their loss to the Chargers confirms that they have reached a crossroads for this season. Their next game is a must win versus the rejuvenated Las Vegas Raiders but is looking like an uphill battle for a team that is lost offensively. 

Something has to change in order for them to keep their season alive, but what can they actually do? OC Hackett is working with a QB that he certainly wasn’t expecting to be on the field and I personally feel he can still adjust the game plan to help Wilson be more successful, but more importantly to limit the errors. Their passing game is weak and apart from Garrett Wilson, the talent is limited. There isn’t a proper number two to play across from Wilson.

There have been issues with penalties and drops which continue to cost them. The Offensive line is weak – the loss to the Chargers highlighted this. They can’t give Wilson any time and were easily overwhelmed, which is a tough problem to fix at this stage of the season. Breece Hall is the touchdown threat but the Jets continue to go at a high passing rate and they need to go heavier on the run game. They have to get creative because the O-Line aren’t going to create the best running lanes for Hall, but Hall has shown he can create them out of nothing. 

Third downs are a serious problem, the Jets are dead last in success percentage on third downs. It doesn’t matter if they need 15 yards or 1, the Jets have struggled to get the necessary yardage and that has resulted in so many 3 and outs or missed opportunities to put points on the board. This is a category that they can change and if they can find improvement on third down scenarios then they at least give themselves a better chance. 

Zach Wilson hasn’t been perfect but he also hasn’t been awful, there have been some glimpses of a player that could lead in the future – the issue is there is zero consistency. He needs to make sure that when he has easy completions that he makes them, when he has someone open that he is accurate and precise. The good is followed by bad and that is creating so much doubt on whether or not Wilson does have a future in New York. He has had success when getting the ball out of his hands quickly which is something he needs to focus on for the remaining games.

He can’t keep the ball in his hands for long, if he does he is just asking for trouble as he knows that the big men upfront can’t block for long and he is taking too many unnecessary sacks and in some cases turning the ball over. He needs to look for his first and second option, if they aren’t available then he needs to take off and use his legs to pick up some yards.

He is an athletic QB but you can clearly see that he is still majorly adjusting to the system and he needs to realise that he is going to have to come up with some plays that are off schedule. If he can improve on some of these aspects he can buy himself some more time and maybe turn a few of the doubters into believers. 

Defensively the Jets are stacked with stud after stud after stud and they must be furious after some of the displays they have put on. They know that their offense doesn’t have to be great, they could even be just average and that would be enough to take them a long way. However, at this current moment in time the defense are going to have to play flawless football moving forward. They need to stop teams from the get go and put some points on the board themselves. If the defense doesn’t take over then the Jets look increasingly likely to fall short this year. 

The next three matchups are all or nothing. They face the Raiders and then back to back divisional matches against the Bills and Dolphins. After these games we will know if the Jets have any chance or not. We will also know if there is anything for Rodgers to return to this season or if he is better just focusing on 2024. 

It’s a tough task for the Jets but tough doesn’t mean impossible. They have to approach these games differently, they have to add in some creativity, they need to start scoring touchdowns and most importantly they need to play turnover free football. 

Head coach Robert Saleh and General Manager Joe Douglas will have had some choice words in their team meetings this week. They know that this is it now. It’s time to put up or shut up, each and every player needs to show character and resilience to keep them in with a chance of reaching the playoffs.