Jets could have reign forecast for November
Head coach Todd Bowles of the New York Jets looks on before an NFL game at O.co Coliseum on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. Credit: Getty Images / Thearon W. Henderson
That's two losses in a row, one more disheartening than the next, wiping out nearly all the promise of a 4-1 start.
At 4-3, the Jets still are in reasonably good position as they approach the halfway mark of the season.
But November in the NFL is moving month, and the Jets now need to make their move as the soft underbelly of the schedule awaits.
If they can get on a roll here -- and there's no reason they shouldn't, given how few truly good teams they will face in this upcoming stretch -- then Todd Bowles' first season most likely will extend into January.
If not, his debut will end up the way so many other seasons have before him: in bitter disappointment.
"It is a moving month in football, because everybody has gotten the kinks out of the way in September and October," Bowles said. "You try to focus on what you are and in November. You want to see if you have a shot and you have to win those games in November."
The Jets nearly upset the unbeaten Patriots two weeks ago with a masterful game plan from their defensive-minded coach, and they might have been a dropped touchdown pass away from tipping the balance in a division that has been owned by New England the past decade and a half.
Deny it as they might, they were pancake-flat against the Raiders a week later, at least in part because of the emotional hangover from their near-win in Foxborough. It was the first clunker of the Bowles era, a game that provided no redeeming qualities for the losers, only justifiable self-recrimination.
But after two road losses to quality opponents, it now is time for the Jets to go on a run.
Of their remaining nine games, only one is against a team that currently has a winning record. That would be the Patriots, who visit the Jets on Dec. 20. Other than that, no team has a better record than the 4-4 Giants, who "host" the Jets on Dec. 6.
The stretch of eminently winnable games begins on Sunday at home against the Jaguars, a franchise that has been floundering the last several years. Their only wins this year have come against the Dolphins, before Miami fired coach Joe Philbin, and Detroit, after the Lions fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi.
If the Jets, in clear bounce-back mode after two straight losses, can't beat the Jaguars at home, they've got problems that run deeper than we thought. In fact, if the Jets can't win six of their next nine games and get to 10-6, which should be good enough for a playoff spot, their 4-1 start will have been one giant tease.
That's why the Jets know they're in virtual must-win territory for this one.
"I think it's huge," said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who will play despite suffering torn ligaments in his left (non-throwing) thumb. "We kind of want to get back on the field and show that that wasn't us and we're a better team than that . Sunday can't come soon enough in terms of getting back out there and getting that winning feeling back."
And there's no reason the Jets shouldn't beat Jacksonville and start playing the way they're capable, especially on defense. They haven't produced a turnover the last two games.
"We lost two weeks in a row, so clearly we have to create turnovers to have some type of chance of winning," said defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, one of the few Jets who actually did his part against the Raiders.
Bowles understands the significance of winning, especially now that the schedule works in their favor. Especially now that it's moving month.
"It's very important," he said. "It's the middle of the season. You lost two in a row. You don't want to lose three in a row. It's important and everybody understands that we have to try to get back on track."
Home to the Jaguars on Sunday. Home to the Bills on Thursday for Rex Ryan's return to MetLife Stadium, then at Houston, home to Miami, "at" the Giants, then home to Tennessee. They're at the Cowboys, who might have Tony Romo back by then, and home to the Patriots before finishing things off in Buffalo on Jan. 3.
If they're not either in the playoffs or competing for a postseason spot by the end of that run, a season that began with so much promise will end in misery.
Bob Glauber retired in 2022 after covering the NFL for nearly 40 years. He was selected in 2021 for the Bill Nunn Career Achievement Award by the Pro Football Writers of America, and is a three-time winner of the New York State Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. President of the PFWA for the 2018-20 seasons, he is the author of “The Forgotten First” and “Guts and Genius.”
