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The New York Jets upset the Philadelphia Eagles at home this week. It was their second straight victory and third of the season. After falling into an early deficit, as usual, the Jets dominated the second half action. A late interception by Tony Adams and a touchdown run by Breece Hall on the very next play gave the Jets the lead for the first time in the game with less than two minutes remaining. Four plays later the Eagles turned the ball over on downs, and the Jets had pulled off a surprising upset of the Eagles despite having three of their top four cornerbacks out for the game. The Jets have now survived the toughest first six games in the NFL with a 3-3 record, including two upsets of Super Bowl contenders and one near upset of the defending Super Bowl champions. The team goes into the bye on a high note, with the schedule getting considerably easier, at least on paper, and a playoff berth seeming possible.
How did the power rankings feel about this win for the Jets? Let’s find out.
21) New York Jets (26)
Does anybody have a clue what to do about this football team? Their offensive line has disintegrated. Zach Wilson is still Zach Wilson. And they are missing multiple critical defensive pieces, including Sauce Gardner, arguably the best cornerback in the NFL.
But this defense plays unbelievably fast and makes the best quarterbacks in the NFL (Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and now Jalen Hurts) look mortal. In fact, two of the Jets’ three wins have come against Allen and Hurts.
Football is insane.
12. New York Jets (3-3)
Last week: win vs. Philadelphia, 20–14
Next week: Bye
Everything is good in Jets world, and I feel like the worst part of their absolutely ridiculous schedule is behind them. There are still a few prime time games left, but the Jets enter the bye week with the Giants on the other side. Games against the Raiders and Commanders are also in the fold. I don’t know if they can play this emotionally topped out for a long period of time, but it is clear this team has bonded around their circumstances. The defensive game plan for Philly was absolutely brilliant. The Jets are also finding ways to get Garrett Wilson involved despite him having way below average separation against a good defense on Sunday.
16. New York Jets (3-3)
Week 6 ranking: 24
Lesson learned: They can function without Aaron Rodgers.
It looked bleak at 1-2, as the Jets played two terrible games in the aftermath of Rodgers’ Achilles injury. There was frustration in the locker room and mounting pressure on QB Zach Wilson. The team was teetering on the brink, but Wilson played well in a loss to the Chiefs and the team has responded with a two-game winning streak. It hasn’t been easy. The Jets have trailed at halftime in all six games, and they’re 3-3, joining the 2022 Colts (3-2-1) as the only teams in NFL history to be .500 or better after trailing at the half in each of their first six games.
15. Jets (21): Per HC Robert Saleh, “(W)e’ve played a gauntlet of quarterbacks. I know we haven’t gotten all wins, but we’ve embarrassed all of them.” Whether or not that’s legitimately true, it’s a fact this defense hasn’t allowed as many as 300 net passing yards since the end of the 2021 season. (And, yes, it was to Tom Brady, who was rarely embarrassed by the Jets.)
It seems much of the media is giving the Jets some respect, ranking them in the top half the NFL. Now that’s a refreshing change. The power rankings range from a high of 12 to a low of 21.
With the obvious proviso that power rankings are stupid, unless they praise the Jets, in which case they’re awesome, what do you think? Where should the Jets rank in the NFL power rankings?
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