Jets quarterback Aaron RodgersCooper Neill/Getty Images
After the second half blowout against the Texans, will the real New York Jets please stand up?
If ever there was a game consisting of two halves, it was the Jets’ 21-13 win over Houston at MetLife Stadium.
Through the first 30 minutes, the Jets offense was on offense. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was 7 of 14 for 32 yards. The Jets had fewer than 70 yards of offense, fewer than 10 minutes of possession and five first downs. They fumbled a ball out of the Houston end zone for a touchdown on their best drive.
This is the stupidest rule in the NFL. But that’s a conversation for another day.
Everything that was wrong with New York during its 2-6 start was on full display. The Jets need Jet. The team was fortunate to only trail 7-0.
Then, in the second half, a completely different team entered the field, especially in attack.
Rodgers followed that dismal first half with a crisp second that included three touchdown passes – two to Garrett Wilson and one to Davante Adams. The team’s star players totaled 16 catches, 181 yards and those three scores.
One of the Wilsons was the guy you’ll be seeing a lot of in the days and weeks to come.
Running back Breece Hall passed for over 80 total yards. The defense stiffened, allowing only two baskets after intermission.
It was a true display of Jekyll and Hyde football, Halloween style.
When the Jets play like they did after halftime, New York looks like the team that fans get excited about before the season. Yes, the Texans have been hit hard by injuries. But they were still a first place team with two losses.
If the Jets could actually put together a few 60-minute efforts like this second half, they might just be able to get a struggling 2024 campaign back on track.
But after nine games, it’s optimistic, if not delusional, to expect that to happen.
CJ Stroud’s Week 9 implosion shows he can’t carry the Texans’ offense
The Houston Texans have been hit by injuries. Receiver Nico Collins is on injured reserve with a strained hamstring. His compatriot Stefon Diggs finished his year after tearing his ACL last week. No. 1 linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair missed several games with a knee injury.
All the injuries have increased the pressure on second-year quarterback CJ Stroud to carry the team, at least for a while. Last week, Houston managed to sneak past the Indianapolis Colts.
But Thursday night at MetLife Stadium, Stroud relented.
His passing numbers against the Jets were… not good. Only 11 successes in 30 attempts for 191 yards. 126 of those yards went to wide receiver Tank Dell, who is the proverbial last man standing at his position.
Against the Jets, Stroud looked less like the star many expect him to be and more like a second-year player unsure of what to do. There were some errant throws. The forced ones. Stroud held the ball far too long and too often — the Texans allowed eight sacks, including a strip-sack turnover deep in Jets territory.
Houston will have to learn to live without Diggs. At best, Collins will be back next week. But if he’s not ready to go, the Texans have no chance against the surging Detroit Lions with the game plan we saw Thursday.
Until they reach the spread, the Texans must rely on running back Joe Mixon, who had yet another 100-yard game with a touchdown. Put things back together. Grind wins.
Because it was painfully obvious in Week 9 that for all his talent, Stroud couldn’t carry the offense. Not yet.
