Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets snapped their five-game losing streak with a 21-13 win over the Houston Texans in Week 9.
The Jets are now 3-6 on the season and are still alive in the race to the playoffs. Nick Wright, who has been a big critic of the Jets since the start of the season, still does not believe that Rodgers and Co. can make the playoffs.
Nick Wright Does Not Believe in Aaron Rodgers and the Jets
During a segment on Fox Sports’ “First Things First,” Wright mentioned that, of all the teams that have had a five-game losing streak at some point in the season, only a fraction have made the playoffs. This is a strong argument, as the Jets still need a miracle to have any chance of proving Wright wrong.
“Since we have a 17-game season, there isn’t a game midpoint of the year now,” said Wright. “But if there were, it would be halftime of your ninth game. And so at halftime, at the exact midway point of the season, the Jets appeared to be one of the four worst teams in the entire NFL by any measure.”
“Now, they were really good on both sides of the ball in the second half, and I give them credit for that. … But the thing is this: They’re still a bad team. … Teams that have had a five-game losing streak at any point in the year, 2% make the playoffs. Teams that have the ability to lose five games in a row don’t have the ability to then, all of a sudden, win seven of eight, which is the type of thing the Jets are going to need to do.”
“They’re still a bad team… Teams that have the ability to lose 5 games in a row don’t have the ability to then all of a sudden win 7 of 8.”
— @getnickwright on the New York Jets pic.twitter.com/BZqrkSkSqh
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) November 1, 2024
The FS1 analyst pointed out that the Jets did not play well in the first half but had an excellent second half on both sides of the ball. He also praised Quinnen Williams for his performance but hinted that it might have been due to the Texans’ poor offensive line.
This was the Jets’ first win since the franchise fired Robert Saleh. The defense stepped up in last night’s game as the Texans quarterback, C.J. Stroud, completed only 11 of his 30 throws and was sacked eight times. Williams finished the game with 1.5 sacks and four QB hits. Haason Reddick, who recently ended his holdout, also made his first impact as a Jet by recording half a sack and one QB hit.
Can the Jets Still Make the Playoffs?
The Jets are 3-6 on the season and need to win at least six of their last eight games to make the playoffs. These are their remaining fixtures:
- Week 10: at Arizona Cardinals
- Week 11: vs. Indianapolis Colts
- Week 12: BYE
- Week 13: vs. Seattle Seahawks
- Week 14: at Miami Dolphins
- Week 15: at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 16: vs. Los Angeles Rams
- Week 17: at Buffalo Bills
- Week 18: vs. Miami Dolphins
If the Jets play like they did against the Texans, they are more than capable of defeating any team left to play against. However, based on the season they have had so far, playing consistently well is an unrealistic idea for the Jets.
They need to win against the Cardinals and the Colts to have a record of 5-6 by their bye week. Both these games are winnable for them, and even if they drop two out of the three games against the Rams, Dolphins, and Bills, New York will still be in touching distance of making the playoffs.
In the win against the Texans, Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for a touchdown, his first as a Jet. These two need to play at an elite level for the rest of the season so that the team can make noise this year.