Do you believe in Christmas miracles? Well, the New York Jets must have made it at the last second to Santa’s nice list because they pulled off one heck of victory from the jaws of possible defeat this past Sunday.
Albeit the win came against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a win is still a win in the NFL. With the 26-21 deal, the Jets have doubled their wins from last season. If you thought the Jets’ season was akin to a dumpster fire, the drama the Jacksonville Jaguars have been through this season looks more like an entire landfill dump site burning out of control. With 14 players out and head coach Robert Saleh in the Covid protocol this week, Ron Middleton ended up getting the call to be the interim HC this week and what a Christmas gift he got with a win. In fact, Jets owner Woody Johnson gave Middleton the game ball in the postgame locker room celebration.
In case you missed this game, a few crazy things did happen and I bet the networks would have rather showed this game than the Eagles-Giants or Chiefs-Steelers beatdowns. Braxton Berrios returned a 103 yard kickoff return for a TD and Zach Wilson (remember a few weeks ago when he was sidelined for a busted-up knee?) must be all better because he ran in a 52 yard run for a TD. What’s the big deal about this TD run? Well, it’s just the longest touchdown run by a Jets QB in franchise history. Interim HC Middleton showed his gunslinger side (why wouldn’t you, you’re 3-11 and can afford to take risks) by going for it five times of fourth down including three conversions.
What is even crazier is the fact that not only one but two offensive linemen scored touchdowns in this game. Jets backup OT Connor McDermott ran a pass route that was covered in practice this week and pulled in a well-deserved TD from Zach Wilson and for the Jags, RG Will Richardson Jr. recovered a fumble from Trevor Lawrence in the end zone and got the credit for a TD as well. The stats people are still digging around to find the last time two offensive linemen scored TD’s in a regular season game. Let’s face it, Santa Claus was kind this week and this win was well deserved by the Jets who are desperate for any good news this season. However, the win actually may hurt the Jets draft pick order come April but a win is a win.
It’s been a series of small wins but the New York Jets, being led by a rookie head coach who is coaching a rookie QB, have been an improvement from the 2020 season. Let’s see what happens the next two weeks with final regular season games against the Bills and the Patriots. Maybe the Jets will get healthy and have to play both of these team’s practice squads. I know, wishful thinking. But crazier things are happening each day – former Jets QB Josh johnson started for the Ravens against the Bengals. What will this final week of 2021 bring?
