Jets’ vibe quickly changing as offense teases potential

The Jets are Controlled — They beat the Patriots, 24-3, in their home opener on Thursday night.

Then, about 20 minutes after the game ended, deep inside MetLife Stadium, a buzz erupted around the entrance to the Jets' locker room as celebrities, including Ice Spice and his entourage, streamed in and out to shake hands with the winner.

Afterwards, Jets co-owner and vice chairman Christopher Johnson left the room and headed home, his face looking more relieved than celebrating.

When I congratulated him, he smiled wearily and suggested that years of losing to the Patriots “still give me PTSD.”

Surely, there are plenty of hurt Jets fans out there who feel the same way: They're not sure whether to be happy about having a team that might actually contend for more than just their first playoff spot since 2010.

Of course, it's still early.

And with the days of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick now long gone, the Patriots are a young, rebuilding team that will likely finish in the bottom five of the league by the end of the year.

However, you should never apologize for winning, regardless of the strength of your opponent.

“It was good to win a game like that,” coach Robert Saleh said after the win over New England. “Obviously, I know we've been through similar things, you know?”

right.

The Jets had the weekend off and returned to work on Monday to prepare for their Week 4 matchup against the Broncos on Sunday, but the story right now is how they navigated their first three games in 11 days, winning two of them.

The Jets were supposed to win two of those three games and were not expected to travel to San Francisco and beat the defending NFC champion 49ers.

But they were expected to win against the Titans, who are burdened by shaky second-year quarterback Will Revis, and the Patriots, who lack talent.

And they did it. That's what good teams do. They give their all in the games they have to win.

“The schedule gives us a tough schedule the first three weeks, three games in 11 days. If we can go 3-0, that's great, but if we're 2-1 before we go into the mini-bye week, I think that's pretty good,” Aaron Rodgers said.

The Jets are far from great, but with Rodgers at quarterback and a strong roster surrounding him, they have the potential to be great.

The Jets have scored three offensive touchdowns in each of their first three games, after only doing so three times in 17 games last season and five times in 2022.

They're averaging 22.3 points per game this season, a modest 14th in the league, which is a statistic that's being twisted, but if they'd scored 22 points in four of their 10 losses last season, they would have won those games and gone 11-6 instead of 7-10.

One of the things that's taking hold from this Jets team, and it's mostly because of Rodgers, is that they're not satisfied after two wins.

For example, receiver Garrett Wilson is arguably the team's most dynamic player but has yet to break out — he has 15 receptions for 150 yards and one touchdown, and his chemistry with Rodgers is still building.

The Jets have never had a running back duo as versatile or dangerous as the elusive Breece Hall and rookie nemesis Braylon Allen, and they've proven to be a formidable duo, combining for 266 rushing yards and three touchdowns through their first three games.

Rodgers has improved immensely as a Jets center for as long as anyone can remember, but he hasn't been anywhere near his peak through the first three games, and after missing the entire 2023 season with a torn Achilles tendon, he's still getting used to the players around him.

That's remarkable considering his stellar numbers: completing 58 of 86 passes for a 67.4% completion rate, five touchdowns, one interception and a rating of 103.1.

“It was kind of the first step, I played like I know I can play,” Rodgers said of Thursday's game. “I felt like I played like myself. [from] This was quite a few years ago.

That's quite a statement coming from a four-time league MVP.

There can and should be better things to come for the Jets, as their schedule gets more difficult after playing Denver on Sunday.

“If you expect to win, celebrate it, but you should expect to win,” Rodgers said. “The next step is to expect to win in a landslide victory.”

If the Jets get to that point — consistent dominance — the PTSD that players like Christopher Johnson have suffered from will slowly fade and be replaced by a completely different feeling.