The above link will take you to a recap of the New York Jets overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns yesterday.
SportsReaction
Helluva game! The outcome was not what I was hoping for as a Patriot fan, but there’s no denying yesterday’s contest between the Jets and Browns was a great one.
So how good are the Jets? Do we look at winning two straight games on the road in overtime as lucky? After all, they are the first team ever to do that. Or do we look at it as a sign of resiliency, and the sign of a great team? I lean towards that latter. The bottom line is that it is hard to win any game on the road in the NFL; heck, it’s hard to win on the road in any sport regardless of the quality of the team.
So, when you consider that the Jets are tied for the best record in the NFL, and that they’ve beaten the Patriots in their lone head-to-head match up it’s not tough to say they are the best team in the NFL. Let’s have a look at some of their team statistics and see if they back this claim.
| Category | Stat | NFL Rank |
| Total yRds/game | 362 | 11th |
| Pass yards/game | 211.3 | 20th |
| Rush yards/game | 150.7 | 3rd |
| Yards allowed/game | 306.7 | 5th |
| Pass yards allowed/game | 217.1 | 15th |
| Rush yards allowed/game | 89.6 | 5th |
| Turnover differential | (+6) | t-2nd in AFC |
| 3rd down conversion % | 38.2 | 20th |
| Opponent 3rd down conv. % | 37.2 | 13th |
The Jets are an old school team if there ever was one. They are winning games by running the ball, and stopping the run; an age-old philosophy that never goes out of style. But, will their inability to stop the pass, and pass the ball themselves hurt them as the season progresses? Maybe a little bit, but not so much that it will prevent them from winning at least eleven games and easily making the Playoffs.
After all, there’s a reason that the aforementioned "run the ball/stop the run" philosophy has always worked, because it can help a team overcome deficiencies in other areas--like the passing game. When the Jets face better competition in the Playoffs it may hurt them, but against the competition they’ll face for the remainder of the season they will be fine. Aside from games on the road at New England and Pittsburgh, there isn’t a game on the schedule left that the Jets shouldn’t be favored in. This schedule includes games at home against the 1-8 Buffalo Bills, and the 2-7 Cincinnati Bengals.
The Jets definitely aren’t a “perfect” team like the New York Giants were before yesterdays home loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but their areas of weakness can be overcome by their areas of strength. I am not scared to declare them the best team in the NFL right now, but only by a thin margin over the New England Patriots (who looked dominant last night in Pittsburgh), the Indianapolis Colts (did you forget they were 6-3?), and the Baltimore Ravens (even though they beat the Jets in Week one).
But, as tweeted by Chris Mortenson yesterday, as soon as a team is declared the best, they lose…so maybe this isn’t a good thing for the Jets.
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