The Jets were supposed to be dead by now. The focus now was supposed to be on coach Rex Ryan’s job security, the plan for 2014 and playing out the string.
One problem: no one told the Jets.
Gang Green pulled off another stunner Sunday in a 26-20 victory over the Saints at MetLife Stadium to improve to 5-4 entering their bye week. The Jets have beaten two of the best teams in football — the Patriots and Saints — over the last three weeks.
Believe it or not, the playoffs are a real possibility as November begins. The Jets would hold the second wild card if the season ended now. While there is still a long way to go, this is no longer about rebuilding but making a run.
“That’s up to us,” linebacker Calvin Pace said. “If we can go out and play 60-minute ball games then we can go to the playoffs. If we come out like the bad Jets, then obviously we won’t make it. We just have to be consistent, man.”
Consistency is the key for a Jets team that has alternated wins and losses all season. Sunday’s game was another up in the up-and-down season. One week after getting embarrassed by the Bengals, the Jets delivered a convincing win over the Saints.
The Jets used the formula that made them so successful in Ryan’s first two years with the Jets — running the ball for 198 yards, forcing two turnovers from Drew Brees and not asking rookie quarterback Geno Smith to do too much. Smith finished 8-of-19 for 115 yards. He rushed for one touchdown and had no turnovers.
The Jets defense frustrated Brees, who still threw for 382 yards. The Jets front pressured Brees all day, led by the rush of Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Quinton Coples. Brees threw two interception — one to Demario Davis and one to Antonio Cromartie — that led to 10 Jets points.
On offense, the Jets leaned on running back Chris Ivory, dealt by the Saints to the Jets in April. Ivory ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries against his former team.
The 6-2 Saints had Jets fans holding their breath as they made a few comeback bids in the fourth quarter, but the Jets answered every one.
Now, a team that was expected to win three or four games by some prognosticators is 5-4 and in the thick of the playoff chase.
“Anybody that made those predictions about this team did not know this team,” Ryan said. “I know one thing: we get everything they have from our players, period. I don’t know if it’s good enough or whatever, but I know what we get from our guys and they care about each other a great deal and they care about our fans. … We know we’re a better team than people thought.”
The Saints hit a few big plays early on. Brees and tight end Jimmy Graham connected for a 51-yard touchdown over Jets safety Jaiquawn Jarrett that put New Orleans up 7-3. Brees struck again in the second quarter when he found Robert Meachem for a 60-yard pass after Cromartie tripped while covering him. Cromartie was then victimized by Graham on a 10-yard touchdown that gave the Saints a 14-6 lead.
The Jets offense kept up with the Saints, though, thanks to Ivory. He broke a 52-yard run early in the second quarter that set up a Nick Folk field goal. He kept running hard and scored a 3-yard touchdown a few minutes later. Ivory downplayed facing his former team, but his teammates said you could see a difference in Ivory this week.
“Chris is a beast,” Pace said. “I think he had a little extra motivation today playing against his old team. He fits what we do. It was a pleasure to see him go out there and put a beating on his old team like he did.”
Cromartie gained a measure of redemption for his earlier gaffes when he picked off a Brees pass that bounced off Saints receiver Nick Toon’s hands with 2:12 left in the half. Four plays later, Smith ran in from the 3 and the Jets took a 20-14 lead.
Folk stretched the lead to 26-17 early in the fourth quarter and the crowd at MetLife Stadium waited for the Saints to make their run. Brees took the Saints to the Jets’ 36 with about 8 minutes left in the game. After Jed Collins dropped a third-and-1 pass, Saints coach Sean Payton made a strange play call. On fourth-and-1 he called for an end around to tight end Josh Hill. Coples sniffed it out and tackled Hill for an 8-yard loss to give the Jets the ball back.
The Saints would cut the Jets lead to 26-20 after a Garrett Hartley 43-yard field goal with just over three minutes left. But the Jets defense stopped Brees and the Saints once again with under two minutes to go to seal the win.
The Jets now get the bye week to get healthy and figure out how to string some wins together. It starts in two weeks in Buffalo against the Bills.
“Right now all eyes are on Buffalo and how we respond to that,” guard Willie Colon said. “We’re going into the month of November and December where good teams take off and if we want to be contenders, we’ve got to take off.”