Big part of Jets' 3-2 start: Winning the fourth quarter
Braxton Berrios of the New York Jets dives into the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The fourth quarter has been the Jets’ time.
They’re leading the NFL in fourth-quarter points (11.6 per game) and their plus-38 margin is the biggest differential. They outscored Miami 21-0 one week after scoring 14 unanswered late in Pittsburgh. Two weeks earlier, they scored 14 points in the final 1:22 to beat Cleveland.
Braxton Berrios credits the Jets’ conditioning and mental toughness and said they’ve just been “clutch” in crunch time.
“When you get tired, you make mental errors and mental mistakes,” he said. “To that point, we’ve been really clean in the fourth quarter. You want to play your best football toward the end of the year, and you also want to play kind of your best football each and every game toward the end. You want to close strong. We’ve executed at a really high level when it mattered the most. We’ve been clutch for the lack of a better word so far.”
Robert Saleh said it’s about having “a young group that doesn’t flinch.”
Brothers and buds
When the Jets play in Green Bay this Sunday, it will be a family affair. Packers head coach Matt LaFleur and Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur are brothers and Matt is like a brother to Saleh. They were graduate assistants at Central Michigan in 2004 and later worked on the same staff with the Houston Texans. They once were roommates and were in each other’s wedding parties.
“He’s the ultimate in terms of how close he and I are,” Saleh said. “It’s the same thing. I love him. But it’s Game Week. and when the game kicks off on Sunday, it’s all about the Jets.”
Wilson’s effectiveness
Zach Wilson’s last 14 series have resulted in seven TDs, one field goal and no turnovers.
“This is Zach,” Berrios said of the second-year quarterback. “We’ve grown to know and love and expect a lot out of him. He’s a baller . . . This isn’t a fluke. This isn’t a couple of lucky quarters. This is him.”
Inside the numbers
Wilson is the only player in the NFL this season with throwing, rushing and receiving touchdowns . . . Carl Lawson’s seven quarterback hits were a career high and the most in a single game by a Jet since 1970.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
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