This is where the Jets can and should take off.
Sunday's home game against the Broncos at MetLife Stadium will be an important game for the Jets, who are 2-1.
Yes, we know the NFL creed. “One week, one game, one down.”
But the fact is this. They have a game in England next Sunday against the Vikings, followed by a home game against the AFC East Bills and a road game against the Steelers.
All three of these teams enter this week at 3-0.
The Broncos are 1 win and 2 losses. They are a young team with a rookie quarterback, Bo Nix. And the Jets have to respond with force. From the opening kickoff.
If trends are to be believed, the Jets look like the team to come. After a rough season opener against the 49ers, they had an inelegant but gritty road win over the Titans, followed by a resounding victory over a weak Patriots team.
The Broncos are better than the Patriots, but not as good as the Jets.
Four-time league MVP and Super Bowl champion Aaron Rodgers and Knicks, the Broncos' rookie quarterback who has skill and drive but is still a rookie and prone to mistakes.
Who will you take?
Take Rodgers, for example, especially after watching him slowly start to find his footing after his season was ruined by an Achilles injury.
That's interesting. The Jets scored nine offensive touchdowns in three games, exactly half the number of touchdowns they had in 17 games last season.
Rodgers has been impressive by human standards through three games. He completed 67.4 percent for 624 yards, five touchdowns, and just one interception (on a deflection) for a 103.1 rating.
These are quarterbacking stats that predict 28 TDs, 5 INTs, and 3,536 yards. It's the kind of number Jets fans have been dreaming of ever since…well, almost forever.
Vinny Testaverde threw for 29 TDs, 7 INTs, and 3,256 yards in 1998, when the Jets went to the AFC Championship. They haven't had many quarterbacking seasons like that season or one where Rodgers is in the early stages of producing.
And the problem is, it feels like the Rodgers are just starting to clear their throats. It feels like it still has a lot to offer, which is pretty exciting if you're a fan.
Rodgers is just warming up and seems to be finding his confidence after a year away from playing.
“Everything was in place during training camp,” coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “I'll stand in front of him and say physically I'm ready to roll. I just have to get over the hurdle mentally. He's a human being.
“I think with each passing day, with each repetition, he's becoming more and more confident in himself and his body's potential. I think he still has that in his mind. We all know that, and I think that affirmation helps him build his confidence.”
Further affirmation for Mr. Rodgers is an attractive prospect.
“I said after the first week [that[ I felt like I was going to progress and be able to move around a little bit more,’’ Rodgers said. “I did that maybe a little bit against Tennessee, and then obviously moved around a lot more effectively in Week 3.’’
Rodgers is starting to feel like his old self again, and that’s fun.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett said Rodgers’ confidence “is going to grow every single game, just being able to get experience.
“I mean, it had been a long time since he played football, since he had gone out there in front of a crowd, so I just want him to continually get comfortable. He’s been doing this a long time, and I think that any time that you’re able to be on the sideline and look at him in the eye and see him truly having a good time and having fun is something that got me more excited.
“Throughout my career with him, I've seen him make some really great throws, but for me it was just him enjoying being with the players and just playing with the ball. I think it was ours.'' We all want it.''
“That's what the NFL wants.”
No one wants it more than success-starved Jets fans who have been denied this kind of enjoyment for far too long.
But this all starts with Rodgers and the Jets working from home on Sunday. The difficulty will increase after Sunday.
Saleh often quotes Bill Parcells, who famously said that the atmosphere in New York sports is either “euphoria” or “disaster,” with nothing in between.
“It's a weekly thing,” Saleh said. “Our moment is this moment. It's about owning our moment.”
So, Jets, own the moment Sunday. Mind your business. Take off.
