WINNER GREEN
JETS CAN MOVE ABOVE .500 WITH VICTORY IN CLEVELAND
CLEVELAND — It was admirable when defensive lineman Kony Ealy stood in the center of the Jets’ locker room last Sunday after the 23-20, overtime win over the Jaguars and declared: “This is not the same Jets team that’s been in the past.”
“Same old Jets.” That’s what everyone was thinking after the first two games, when the Jets lost to the Bills and the Raiders. But after dominating the Dolphins 20-6 and outlasting the Jaguars, the Jets are trying to shred their loser label.
Indeed, coming back to beat Jacksonville after blowing a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead isn’t the pattern of the “Same old Jets,” who traditionally find a way to lose winnable games. Back-to-back triumphs have evened their record to 2-2, but it’s a bit premature to declare these aren’t the “Same old Jets.”
They can take a huge step toward proving their point Sunday when they face the winless Browns (0-4) at FirstEnergy Stadium. This is the kind of opportunity the “Same old Jets” would ruin, a chance to win their third straight game and improve to 3-2 before what will be a true litmus test against the Patriots next Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
The “Same old Jets” will show up in Cleveland, feeling overconfident, lacking focus and allow an inferior team to ruin their momentum. These Jets still need to prove they won’t do that. “We know what we have in this locker room,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said. “It all comes down to us. It’s all about us. The guys have that belief in this locker room and we have to continue to have it, continue to play for one another and stick with one another. We can take this season as far as we want to take it.”
There is a lot of talk about unity and playing together and for each other on the Jets. Coach Todd Bowles and his staff have done a solid job of rebounding from two early losses to mold a team
that believes it can have a much better season than many expected. “We stick together,” center Wes Johnson said. “We don’t let the locker room get mad at each other. We win together. We lose together. The first quarter of the season is over, and from here on we’re going up.” That’s the plan, but the Jets are still a flawed team will little margin for error. In fact, many fans were on board with the notion of tanking the season in hopes of landing the top draft pick, and presumably grabbing USC quarterback Sam Darnold. Winning too many games, but not enough to become a serious playoff contender, could land the team in no-man’s land come draft time, losing out on the top QBs — which would be a new wrinkle in the storied history of “Same old Jets.” The players, though, to a man, dismiss talk of tanking. They want to win games. But even their path to winning thus far has the team on a more traditional path toward “Same old Jets.” The defense is allowing 144 yards rushing per game to rank 29th in the NFL. The Jets have generated just six sacks, with Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams still looking for their first. Complicating matters, Ealy, who had a monster game last week with four passes batted and one interception, won’t play because of shoulder injury. His presence will be missed.
Offensively, t he Jets have allowed 12 sacks, including five allowed last week against Jacksonville. They’ve also been outscored 40-07 in the fourth quarter, when games are normally won or lost. They have survived mainly on the big play, balancing a ranking of 30th in first downs earned.
Former Brown Josh McCown has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes with the Jets, but he has never led a team to three straight wins at any point during his 15-year career.
Though they might profess not to be the “Same old Jets,” these Jets aren’t good enough to take anything for granted.
“I approach every single game like we are underdogs and we are,” offensive coordinatordi JJohnh Morton said. “That’s the way I approach it. Don’t fool around wwith the football gods. You have to prepareprepar like your back is against the wall every single game.” TheThe playersplayers need to do this same. “No one knows what the season is going to turn out to be,” defensive linemanman Steve McLendon ssaid. “But we’re playing as a unit. We have one goal, one team and one mindsmindset, and that’s to win.”
Not the same old Jets? Prove it.