I think the Jets are the second best team in the AFC right now.
I know, I’m as shocked as you are, especially since they’ve yet to secure a playoff spot. Plus, I took shots at New York’s résumé in HHSR’s NFL midseason report. Entering Week 9, the Jets five wins were against the Browns, Colts, Dolphins, Redskins and Jaguars, which would’ve caused anyone to raise an eyebrow. But a few interesting things have happened in the latter half of the 2015 season.
For starters, the Jets win over Jacksonville looks a little better since we learned the Jags are halfway decent. And their win over Washington looks much better because it turns out the Redskins are pretty good (sure, they only won a terrible division…but they won it). The Jets are also one of the most well-rounded teams in football. Todd Bowles’ boys rank in the top 11 in the league in passing yards per game (11th), rushing yards per game (11th), total offense (eighth), points per game (T-10th), total defense (sixth), fewest points allowed per game (seventh) and turnover differential (fifth). The only other team that can say this is the Arizona Cardinals.
Sidebar: Through Week 16, NY’s special teams ranks on the cusp of the middle third of the league according to FootballOutsiders.com. You’ll live with that considering what the offense and defense are doing. While we’re here, they also rank in the top 10 in Football Outsiders’ Total Team Efficiency rating.
Coming into the year, I wrote that the Jets would have a stout defense that could turn this team into a winner if they turned out to be one of the NFL’s best, however the offense lacked the explosiveness to move them beyond 8-8. As it turned out, Bowles and owner Woody Johnson should’ve sent IK Enemkpali a fruit basket for Christmas for dropping Geno Smith in the preseason. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been a godsend at quarterback (knocking on 4,000 yards and 30 TDs), and he’s spread the ball around brilliantly amongst his two stud receivers, Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker. Last week, Marshall and Decker broke a Randy Moss/Cris Carter NFL record for most games with a touchdown reception for a pair of teammates. If that weren’t enough, New York’s Chris Ivory should finish 2015 a 1,000-yard rusher (there will be no more than eight of these players league-wide this year) and Bilal Powell is quietly turning into a lethal third down back.
More importantly, the Jets are healthy (enough) at key positions and are peaking at the right time. A victory Sunday against the Bills will make New York winners of six straight, the longest active streak of any AFC team not named the Kansas City Chiefs, assuming they win on Sunday (Curren$y would be proud). And most importantly, no team can be taken seriously as an AFC contender unless they prove they can play with the New England Patriots, which Gang Green proved twice this season, winning their most recent matchup last Sunday in overtime.
The Jets aren’t an unbalanced team, like the Chiefs and Steelers, and they’re not dealing with questions caused by an injured quarterback like the Broncos and Bengals. They’re not a garbage team that managed to slither into the playoffs on accident like the Texans will, and they aren’t scared of the banged up Patriots. Aside from New England, what team would you rather be a fan of heading into the AFC playoffs?
Let’s hope this piece doesn’t serve as the ultimate jinx. If the Jets fail to qualify for the playoffs, I reserve to right to scrub this article from the website, never to be seen by human eyes again.
Agreed? Cool.