TWO GOOD
TO HEAR some people tell it, the Jets were being led by a bumbling, unquotable, uninspiring, clueless fool on the sideline this season. The HC of NYJ was some sort of lost soul incapable of motivating a sadsack team destined to circle the drain during this tank-a-palooza, they said.
The particularly dense contingent went so far as to laughably claim that the Jets might rue the day that they let Amos Alonzo Marrone, the current Jaguars head man, leave One Jets Drive without a job offer a couple years ago.
How dare Woody Johnson hire Todd Bowles instead of that quitter from Buffalo? The outrage!
Bowles beat Marrone and his overrated Jag crew Sunday, prompting many Suck for Sam Truthers to wonder whether to rejoice or curse the moment.
The Jets’ 23-20 overtime triumph over Jacksonville at MetLife Stadium has them even in the standings with – wait for it – the Patriots in second place in the AFC East at the quarter pole of the season.
The team left for dead before the race actually began has a long way to go, but the facts are indisputable: The Jets are 2-2 at a time when plenty of folks figured they’d be six feet under.
“Don’t just mark us off on your calendar as a win,” cornerback Morris Claiborne said of his message to anyone willing to listen. “Because believe me, we’re doing the same thing to you that week. We’re really working. We’re not taking anything for granted. So, don’t come in and think you’re just going to push us over.”
On a day when the Jets practically dared the Jaguars (2-2) to take the win with a pair of fourth-quarter blunders, Vince Lombardi, I mean, Doug Marrone evidently wasn’t willing or able to accept the offer.
The Jets, up 20-10, were marching in for the kill shot five minutes into the fourth quarter when everything went wrong. On first down from the Jacksonville 14, Josh McCown’s backwards pass bounced off an unsuspecting Bilal Powell’s shoulder pads. Myles Jack scooped it up and rumbled for an 81-yard touchdown. Instead of having a 17-point lead, the Jets clung to a 20-17 edge with 10:20 left in regulation.
“It killed our momentum,” McCown said.
Another Jets mistake a few minutes later could have doomed them if the opposing coach actually knew what he was doing.
McCown was picked off by A.J. Bouye at the Jets 35-yard line after Powell slipped on his route with 3 ½ minutes left. Leonard Fournette’s 23-yard catch and run for a touchdown was wiped out by a Jaguars penalty.
Jacksonville was in position to take the lead with a first and goal from the 6, but Marrone & Co. dialed up some curious plays in crunch time. Marrone, who said this summer that he’d prefer if Blake Bortles throw exactly zero passes per game in 2017, signed off on three consecutive pass plays rather than run with Fournette and/or Chris Ivory. You can’t make this stuff up. The Jets defense tightened up and forced a short game-tying field goal. Marrone’s team committed a boneheaded taunting penalty in overtime that set up the Jets’ game-winning field goal. And to think that the Jets passed on hiring this offensive wizard! Just think about what might have been, Jets fans!
“Three weeks ago, we wouldn’t have recovered from this,” Bowles said about pulling out the victory after some fourth-quarter adversity. “They’re growing every week. They didn’t flinch.”
Bowles and his staff have taken a beating from pundits far and wide, but they deserve credit for this unexpected start.
“We played fast, we played hard, we played smart, we played focused, we played driven,” nose tackle Steve McLendon said.
Rookie offensive play caller John Morton’s unit racked up 256 of its 471 yards of total offense on the ground. The Jets averaged 6.8 yards per play.
Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, whose group made life miserable for Bortles (15 for 35 for 140 yards, INT and 52.1 passer rating), delivered a simple message to his troops on Saturday night that resonated: You got to hate losing
After Lachlan Edwards pinned the Jags inside their own 5-yard line, the Jets defense forced Blake Bortles and Jacksonville into a three-and-out. Darron Lee dropped Leonard Fournette for a loss of one yard on first down. Jordan Jenkins stuffed Fournette for no gain on second. Then Bortles misfired on third down. The stand set the Jets up with prime field position for Catanzaro’s game-winning kick.
The Jets pulled off a fake punt late in the first half facing a fourth-and-21. Edwards floated a pass to CB Marcus Williams near the right sideline. Williams ran for a gain of 31. But with 12 seconds remaining, Catanzaro missed on a 45-yard attempt. e just had a lot of people who didn’t believe in us, a lot of people who thought they could bring us down. And we just proved today we can fight through adversity and come out on top.’ more than you love winning.
“No one knows or can determine what a season is going to turn out to be,” McLendon said. “No one knows that but the guys that put in that work.”
The Vegas over/under for the Jets was 3.5.
“I hope someone put a lot of money that we were going to go over,” said tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins. “These people make their predictions and all that. Most of the time they’re on. But sometimes it comes down to the determination of the guys in the room … and how committed they are to each other.” ho knows how this season will play out, but it’s unfair to ignore the present. The Jets are playing winning football with another winnable game against the Browns (0-4) next week.
“We’re growing,” McCown said. “Let’s see how far we can take this thing.”
Imagine how far they’d go if the Papa Bear Marrone were in charge.
W