Keep the fire burning.
This is what the Jets are tasked with as they return to work this week after their bye this past weekend.
When we last saw them, the Jets were euphoric in victory after a rousing 20-14 upset of the Eagles two Sundays ago at MetLife Stadium.
The win was the Jets second in a row and it got them to 3-3 at their break, a record many Jets fans would have signed up for before the season even with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback considering the gauntlet of difficult opponents they faced in the first six weeks — the Super Bowl champion Chiefs, Super Bowl runner-up Eagles and the AFC East favorite Bills among them.
The trick now for the Jets is to play the 2-5 Giants this Sunday at MetLife Stadium with the same hair-on-fire intensity and energy they unleashed on favored Philadelphia.
Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley couldn’t have articulated it better when he said on Monday, “The last thing we want to do is look like we had a bye come Sunday. Once Sunday comes, we should be looking to be exactly where we left off.”
Where the Jets left off was announcing themselves as a legitimate part of the conversation for an AFC playoff berth — even with Rodgers shelved until at least the final game or two of the season because of his torn left Achilles and Zach Wilson at quarterback.
The Jets’ defense played like a pack of crazed dogs against the Eagles, completely disrupting quarterback Jalen Hurts and his array of dangerous skill-position players, forcing four turnovers.
If the defense keeps that standard against a teetering Giants offense that’s been without starting quarterback Daniel Jones for the past two games and on Sunday ended a 220-plus-minute drought without a touchdown in a 14-7 win over Washington, then the Jets will be 4-3, winners of three consecutive games.
Now, for the caution flag: The Jets were 6-3 and winners of five of six games when they entered their bye week last season and they proceeded to lose seven of their final eight games, including their final six, to finish 7-10 and out of the playoffs.
On Monday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh conceded that he’s altered the schedule this season for a third time post bye week in an effort “to see if we could kick-start ourselves coming off the bye week.
“The shame of last year, just offensively, I think we were so depleted, within the first couple of weeks after the bye week, we just couldn’t recover.”
Other than Rodgers being out, the Jets are pretty healthy offensively, particularly at the skill positions around Wilson.
“We witnessed it last year coming off the bye after a pretty decent start and things kind of went sideways,” Mosley said. “We know how that felt. We know what that looks like. Guys came in today with the right mindset mentally. We had a walk-through and everyone was focused, locked in with high energy. We’re excited to get back out there and show that we have what it takes to get that ticket.”
The ticket would be a first playoff berth since the 2010 season.
Perhaps staring at stadium-rival Giants on other side of the field in what will be a Giants home game will help keep the fire burning. The Giants believe they saved their fledgling season with Sunday’s win over Washington and are looking to continue to get right with a win over their co-tenants.
Saleh said his Sunday was occupied not with watching NFL games, but with watching his daughter’s soccer game and two of his sons’ football games. So, he had only an eye on the Giants game watching NFL RedZone on his phone.
“They’re talented, man,” Saleh said. “They’re very, very impressive on the defensive side of the ball. And, offensively, they’re starting to move the ball very well. They look really good. They’re starting to look a lot like that playoff team, the team that made the playoffs a year ago.”
How does Saleh get his team to keep its intensity?
“I feel like that’s been our language,” he said. “Every game is a championship moment. Yeah, there’s a lot of excitement over beating Philadelphia. It was a great atmosphere, everyone was pretty charged after the game, but you don’t approach any game differently than you do any other game.
“Obviously, the Giants, [intra]-city rival, all that good stuff, that’s great, but it’s another championship opportunity.”
Sunday will be the championship of MetLife Stadium and an opportunity for the Jets to reaffirm themselves as a team to be dealt with in the AFC playoff push.
So, play like it’s a championship.
Keep the fire burning.
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