The horrors might continue for the New York Jets as they host the 6-2 Houston Texans at MetLife in a Halloween matchup on Thursday night.
The 2-6 Jets fell to a heartbreaking last-minute touchdown by Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson in a 25-22 loss on Sunday afternoon.
Spooky season started a while ago for the Jets, who were Super Bowl favorites before the season began and now sit rock-bottom of the AFC East. They are in freefall, having lost all three games after firing former head coach Robert Saleh at 2-1 in hopes of an uptick in results. They find themselves on a five-game losing streak instead, even with the addition of Davante Adams. The cracks in their playoff charge are glaring, and New York will need to win all of their remaining games to have a chance at the postseason.
However, there is a sliver of hope — the last time the Jets were in a similar situation was December where they played the Texans, blazing them by 24 points at home. It’s a quick turnaround from Sunday’s game to tomorrow’s and an opportunity to put the losses behind them.
“It’s a fantastic thing [the quick turnaround] as far as getting the taste out of your mouth,” interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich said. “It’s hard enough to sit [on the loss] for one day so I really believe it’s a good thing for us right now.”
No one is ruled out for Thursday’s game yet, although veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers was struggling to see out the game on Sunday, admitting that he was “hurting”, but is fit to start against Houston.
Gang Green’s offense has come to a stutter, ranking 25th in the league for scoring plays, and 23rd and 29th for passing yards per play and running yards per play, respectively. Veteran QB Aaron Rodgers has struggled with injuries in recent years, but is fit and combining well with WR Garrett Wilson, who is second in the league for receptions at 51, including putting it 100 or more yard receiving performances over the last few weeks.
Ulbrich will also have a selection headache at kicker with Greg Zuerlein placed on the injured reserve list today. He has struggled to put the ball between the uprights recently — blowing a pair of opportunities against Buffalo two weeks ago, and missing his sixth field goal of the season to extend the Jets’ lead at 16-15 against the Pats.
“In the next couple of days, we’re going to see where we are at,” Ulbrich said at yesterday’s press conference. “We are going to create as much stress and as much competition as we can on the guys that are here, and make a decision before the game.”
The Jets were left to rue their chance to notch a win against a rebuilding Patriots side, but will have another golden opportunity as the Texans travel to Big Apple with a depleted squad and without WR Stefon Diggs, who tore his ACL on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts and has been ruled out for the season.
Last year’s offensive rookie of the year, C.J. Stroud will lead Houston out and right the wrongs of last December’s game where he was contained to 91 passing yards.
“The guy that we watched last year, and prepared for last year, amazed me in the sense that he was a rookie,” said Ulbrich. “Just his patience, his composure, his ability to get to the third progression consistently, it’s unheard of for a young guy.”Gang Green will hope to clear their “moment of darkness” tomorrow, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET.
