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There is no such thing as a must-win game in September, but their Week 3 contest feels pretty darn close for the Jets (1-1).
When they face the Patriots (0-2) on a rainy Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium, it will be a chance for them to exorcise some demons and get off to a strong start in the AFC East, even without Aaron Rodgers.
The Jets are looking to bounce back from a rough, 30-10 loss to the Cowboys last week.
Not much went right that day in Arlington, Texas, and now there are questions about whether the Jets can stay afloat with Rodgers sidelined for the season.
The Patriots have beaten them 14 straight times, something most of the Jets have tried to downplay this week.
One player, however, acknowledged that has to flip.
“It’s time that things change around here,” second-year wide receiver Garrett Wilson said on ESPN Radio this week. “I don’t like talking about it too much, but this is one of the first steps. Fourteen straight is unacceptable. That’s unacceptable. I’m 0-2 against them.
“That’s unacceptable.”
The last time the Jets beat the Patriots was 2015.
That was also the last time the Jets started a season 2-1, which will be their record if they win Sunday.
While Wilson spoke about ending the losing streak, head coach Robert Saleh downplayed the idea of focusing on the skid, saying what has happened in the past does not matter to the current team.
“I don’t know if 90 percent of the locker room was in there for maybe two of these losses,” Saleh said. “I guess that’s the point I’m trying to make, it’s acknowledged, it’s appreciated, we understand, but we’ve got to move on. This is the 2023 Jets, and the focus is on today and finding ways to continue to get better, so we can put our best foot forward on Sunday, and that’s all you can focus on.”
The streak may not be important, but winning a division game is.
The Jets can go to 2-0 in the AFC East for the first time since 2012 with a win.
They will need a better effort from their defense than they got last week against the Cowboys. They gave up 382 yards and allowed Dallas to convert 50 percent of its third-down attempts.
“It wasn’t our standard as we all know,” defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said. “Nobody in that locker room or the coaching staff is happy with how we played, but ultimately it was a third-down issue.”
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