The Jets are either overachievers, a tease or a complete disaster depending on your point of view.
For those who entered the season expecting a terrible season, but still rooting for the Jets to win, that the team has four wins at its bye is a pleasant development. For those who started dreaming of the playoffs when the Jets were 3-2, you can view this team as a bit of a disappointment. And then there is the pro-tank crowd who was rooting for 0-16 and Sam Darnold next spring who now view this team hovering around .500 as a total mess.
Whatever your view, this season has been surprising for the Jets. Nearly every “expert” viewed the Jets roster as the worst in the NFL and predicted three or fewer wins. They have already exceeded those expectations.
Still, inside the Jets’ facility, they are not happy with where they are, especially after blowing the chance to get to 5-5 last week in Tampa.
“We’re not happy that we’re 4-6 just because people thought we were going to have zero wins,” defensive end Leonard Williams said. “We still knew who we were and we still wanted to achieve greatness this year. We’re definitely not happy or complacent about being 4-6.”
With six games left against a tough schedule, the playoffs are highly unlikely, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered down the stretch. The biggest being the fate of head coach Todd Bowles. The other big one will be whether Bowles benches veteran quarterback Josh McCown in favor of getting a look at Christian Hackenberg or Bryce Petty.
“When we come back, we have six games to go,” Bowles said. “We have to be ready to go. Some people can get healed over the bye week. We’ll do our own work as coaches. They’ll do their due diligence as players to stay healthy and stay out of trouble. We’ll come back and get rarin’ to go to get ready for Carolina.”
The Jets need to find some consistency in the final six weeks of the season after having several up-and-down weeks.
“We’ve got six more games left. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said. “We have an opportunity to finish strong. We know we’ve got some tough games coming ahead. We know we have to prepare.”
Pre-bye highlights and lowlights:
Ten-game MVP: No one expected much from 38-year-old Josh McCown. There were predictions of him being benched by Halloween (by yours truly) or not lasting because of injury. Instead, he has completed 69 percent of his passes, third-best in the NFL, thrown a career-high 14 touchdowns and done a good job of leading the team.
Ten-game LVP (Least Valuable Player): Buster Skrine has been a walking penalty. He has been flagged 11 times, with nine accepted (tied for second-most in the NFL). Skrine has committed all types of penalties. He has been called for holding three times, and twice for offsides, pass interference, illegal contact and unnecessary roughness. In coverage, Skrine has struggled in several games. Pro Football Focus has him ranked as the 114th cornerback out of 116.
Least surprising surprise: From the day they arrived, rookie safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye have been extremely impressive. It has been no surprise they have played well this season after watching the way they practiced this spring and summer. Both have shown they are excellent tacklers and have been strong in coverage.
Best surprise: The Jets took a flyer on tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins last season after the Buccaneers waived him. He did not do much in 2016, but has been a key part of the Jets offense this year after missing the first two games to suspension. He leads the team with 39 receptions. He has scored three times and been a big target for McCown.
Biggest disappointment: The rushing attack has only had two good games — against the Jaguars and home against the Bills. Other than that, this group has been disappointing. The Jets are 20th in the NFL in rushing, averaging 101.6 yards per game. The offensive line has been inconsistent this year and injuries to Matt Forte and Bilal Powell have slowed them at times.
Best moment: The Jets put together a complete game in a 34-21 win over the Bills in prime time on Nov. 2. The game was not even as close as the score indicated. The Jets ran for 194 yards and allowed 63 yards rushing — a perfect combination for them. They also forced three turnovers and sacked Tyrod Taylor seven times.
Worst moment: The Jets entered the fourth quarter in Miami with a 28-14 lead over the Dolphins on Oct. 22. Then, they fell apart and lost 31-28. The offense could not move the ball, actually losing 4 yards in the fourth quarter, and the defense could not stop backup quarterback Matt Moore. The game ended with McCown’s ugliest interception of the season setting up the Dolphins’ game-winning field goal.
Most revealing stat: Yellow has been the color of the Jets season — as in penalty flags. They have been called for penalties 97 times with 81 being accepted. That is the second-most in the NFL behind the Seahawks. It is driving Bowles mad. He has tried many different tricks in practice to cut down on the flags, but nothing has worked.
Unsung hero: Punter Lachlan Edwards has made a huge leap from his rookie year. He is averaging 47.4 yards per punt and has dropped 21 punts inside the 20, tied for third-most in the NFL entering Sunday’s games. Edwards’ punt in overtime against the Jaguars helped the Jets win the game. He has been a huge plus this year.
Upcoming decision: Will the Jets pull the plug on McCown at some point and give one of the younger quarterbacks a chance? Bowles indicated last week that he is not even thinking about making a move to Hackenberg or Petty yet. Will that change if the Jets lose a few more games and are mathematically eliminated from playoff contention? The quarterback question will linger over the final month of the season.
Upcoming decision, Part II: Christopher Johnson will be watching closely over these final six weeks as he needs to decide on the futures of Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan at the end of the year. At 4-6, the Jets feel like they have overachieved, which bodes well for Jets leadership. But if they lose out or go 1-5 down the stretch, that feeling might just be a memory.