Right now, it seems like the New York Jets may be cursed.
After decades of mostly ineptitude, they traded for future Hall-of-Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers and signed four-time Pro Bowl Dalvin Cook during the offseason, which led to them having true Super Bowl aspirations.
Alas, Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles very early in the Jets’ first offensive possession on Monday in their season opener versus the Buffalo Bills, and kaput went their Super Bowl hopes.
But head coach Robert Saleh says not so fast, and that they have so much talent elsewhere that no one should be counting them out, per Ari Meirov.
#Jets HC Robert Saleh: “I don’t get why people are putting an obituary on our team name. Aaron is an unbelievable piece to this whole thing and we love him, but there are 52 other guys here and 16 more on the practice squad.”
Saleh mentions the championship-caliber defense and… https://t.co/hbXnIKBQbA
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 12, 2023
That talent was on display as New York overcame a deficit to win in overtime, 22-16.
They did it with defense, as they forced Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen into three interceptions, and their running game came through with 172 yards of offense, 127 of them coming from second-year stud Breece Hall.
Meanwhile, while Zach Wilson, Rodgers’ replacement at QB, didn’t have a dazzling game, he did enough by completing 14 of 21 passes.
The Jets’ win was called the classic Pyrrhic victory — a victory that comes at such a cost that it might as well be considered a defeat.
The rest of the AFC, especially the AFC East, is so deep and talented that holding opponents down defensively won’t be enough for New York to have a shot at the division title.
In the AFC, teams need to put points on the board, and unless Wilson displays something on a consistent basis he has yet to show in the NFL, the Jets simply won’t be able to put enough points on the board.
NEXT: Analyst Makes Bold Projection For Jets, Zach Wilson
