Jets: Week 9 Recap

Jets took on the Colts during Thursday Night Football to kick off week 9 of the NFL and surprisingly, Jets fans were optimistic. Mike White just threw for over 400 yards and led us to our second win of the season, and things looked to take shape. Our offense was scoring in large amounts, our defense has been making the stops they need, what’s not to be excited about? Apparently our defense. This game was probably one of the worst defensive games we have had in a long time. Yes, we gave up 54 points to the Patriots recently; however, part of that was the interceptions we threw that gave the Patriots more opportunity to score, and the Jets just throwing the white flag up in the fourth quarter. Every possession led to a form of points for the Colts in the first half. On top of that, our quarterback Mike White, who has been getting lots of media attention due to his dominance in week 8, got injured in the first half and didn’t come back for the rest of the game. At half, the Jets trailed 28-10, and with our third string quarterback, Josh Johnson, coming in, it seemed like practically all hope was lost. And I was right. All hope was indeed lost. However, Johnson did play very well, throwing for 27 completions, 317 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception, leading the Jets to a rally in the fourth quarter, only losing 45-30. Also, rookie WR Elijah Moore had a career night catching 7 passes for 84 yards, and 2 touchdowns. Down to the negatives of this game, the elephant in the room is the defense. In my 6 years of following this team I have never seen a defensive unit get exposed so badly. Both Colts RBs had career days playing against our defense, especially Johnathan Taylor, who rushed for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. His average yards per carry was 9.1. The other RB, Nyheim Hines, in only 6 attempts rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown. His average yards per carry was 12.3. On top of the rushing game, the passing game was also near perfect, with Carson Wentz throwing 22/30, 272 yards, and 3 touchdowns. It’s safe to say this defense needs some work in the offseason. Arguably, the bigger question after this game is Zach Wilson. After his poor start to the NFL, and the success of his two backups, perhaps the real question could be Is the problem in our offense, Zach? Yes, we did change our play calls heavily, instead of running the ball on most drives we started a trend of mostly passes, which has been working very well for us. Wilson is expected to be back this week, and the team he is facing? Arguably the best defense in the NFL. I’m sure he’s going to have lots of fun. All jokes aside, this game will be important in Zach’s development as a starting caliber QB in the NFL, and we will see if Zach is the problem or not. The Jets will take on the Bills in week 10 in the first inter-divisional matchup these two teams have had with each other this season.