Robert Saleh on watching Jets from hotel room: 'It was a weird experience.'

Robert Saleh watched the Jets-Jaguars game on Sunday from a New Jersey hotel room, still quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19.

Saleh has been in that room that he refers to as "my little cubby" since Wednesday. As far as he knows, no hotel guests complained about the noise coming from his room, even after the Jets’ goal-line stand in the closing seconds secured a 26-21 win over the Jaguars.

The victory made it a little easier for Saleh to miss the game.

"It was frustrating," he said via Zoom from that same room Monday afternoon. "Just, one, not being there. It seemed like an awesome game. The guys played their absolute butts off. But at the same time, it was awesome to see the ending.

"It was a weird experience. At the end of the day, it was a cool experience because we won."

Saleh said he feels much better and that all of his levels are trending in the right direction. He hopes he’ll be cleared to rejoin the Jets in the "next day or two."

During the game, Saleh was FaceTiming with Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur’s brother. Matt LaFleur also was watching the Jets’ game, but his feed was about five seconds ahead.

"I’m yelling at him to stop telling me what’s happened," Saleh said.

During that call, Zach Wilson threw the 1-yard touchdown pass to offensive lineman Conor McDermott that put the Jets ahead by eight in the fourth quarter.

LaFleur didn’t tell Saleh in advance. He just said, "Oh," and Saleh knew something was coming.

"When he caught it, I was just laughing, like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe that happened,’ " Saleh said.

It was a gutsy performance by the Jets, who had 20 players on the COVID-19 list and were without six starters on defense and two on the offensive line.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said the thing he’ll remember most about the week was wondering if he would be added to the list.

"You just never knew if it was going to be you," Rankins said. "There were times we’d be standing there practicing and all of a sudden trainers or staff are coming to grab guys off the field because they tested positive."

Saleh praised everyone’s performance on Sunday. He thought acting coach Ron Middleton did a tremendous job and followed the plan of being aggressive. The Jets went for it five times on fourth down, converting three of them.

Middleton also fired up the team with what he said at halftime.

"I thought he did a great job keeping energy on the sideline, keeping everybody engaged," Saleh said. "When you get the W, you’re the man."

Saleh also loved the way Wilson played. He ran for 91 yards on four carries, including a 52-yard touchdown, and made some big throws.

The biggest came on third-and-9 on the Jets’ final drive. Wilson got rid of the ball quickly to Braxton Berrios for a 12-yard gain to keep the series alive and set up a field goal.

"I’ll argue with [Mike] LaFleur that that was probably the best throw he’s made all season," Saleh said. "It was awesome. Clutch throw . . . Clutch catch."

The Jets ran for 273 yards, the highest total in the NFL this season, on 36 carries.

"If we need Ron Middleton in Mike’s ear to yell at him to run the ball more," Saleh said, "I’ll be more than happy to give him the headset when the offense is up."

Saleh couldn’t have been happier with the fight his team showed in his absence despite missing many key players.

"It was a really cool thing to see," he said. "It’s a testament to this group and it’s a testament to [general manager] Joe Douglas and the men he brought in this locker room. It’s a youthful group and it’s an exciting group. It’s definitely something to build off of."