NY Jets: First quarter season review

The NY Jets put up quite the performance during the first quarter of the season but still have some work to do for a tough slate of games after their bye week.

The Jets are 3-1 after the first quarter of the season heading into their bye week in Week 5. A lot of fans and analysts marked this as decision time for new head coach Todd Bowles in terms of the quarterback situation. What would it take a losing record? Poor quarterback play? Or even for the sake of knowing whether Geno Smith can truly be the guy? Well all those questions and speculation is moot, because the Jets are playing their best football heading into the bye and Bowles is sticking with Ryan Fitzpatrick as his starting quarterback.

May not always be pretty. But no #Jets fan wouldn’t have signed for 3-1 before the year started.

— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) October 4, 2015

Greenberg is right, I would have signed up for a 3-1 start (the Jets best start since 2010 when they last made the playoffs). They opened up the season with an impressive and dominating win over the Cleveland Browns. Then the following week the Jets had the first real test of their young season with a primetime match-up with one of the perennial Super Bowl contenders in the Indianapolis Colts, the same result a dominating victory to catapult the Jets into the top-half of NFL power-rankings across the league.

Sep 21, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback (15) Andrew Luck fumbles the ball against New York Jets defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson (96) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Then seemingly when everyone started looking at the Jets as legitimate contenders in the AFC they are thrown back in the age-old category, ‘the same ole’ Jets after a frustrating loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. A desperate Eagles team who was sitting at 0-2 on the verge of implosion, but the Jets didn’t take the Eagles seriously and it cost them.

Now all the hype of the 2-0 start seemed to be on the brink of destruction. But this Bowles led team stayed the course not getting too high after the wins and not getting too low after the losses which brought a new sense of stability in the organization the Jets haven’t had in a while. This blue-collar do the talking on the field approach suits this Jets team perfectly. With the full-slate of the AFC East divisional play in front of them, the Jets really had to win this game to build momentum heading into the bye.

3-1. #JetUp pic.twitter.com/DqgXdFnzdi — New York Jets (@nyjets) October 4, 2015

And they were able to do just that with an impressive win ‘on the road’ in London against a struggling Dolphins team. Now we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves here, but let’s take a peak at the next 4 games (post-bye) for the Jets.

Week 6: Washington Redskins at New York Jets

Week 7: New York Jets at New England Patriots

Week 8: New York Jets at Oakland Raiders

Week 9: Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets

So at first glance for the Jets they have some winnable games ahead of them, but again you’ve got to take it one game at a time. The Eagles looked like a winnable game at 0-2 vs. the Jets and we all remember what happened there. The Redskins have an underrated defense but with an extra week of preparation, the Jets should be ready for them.

The week after that we see the Jets second AFC East game of the season against the New England Patriots on the road which is always a tough game so that’s a toss-up. The only back-to-back road games on the Jets’ schedule is when they play the Patriots and the Raiders in consecutive weeks.

The Raiders have a lot of potential and are an up and coming team in the AFC. Finally getting the Jaguars at home who have been on and off this season with an upset win over the Dolphins and a embarrassing loss to the Patriots.

Oct 2, 2015; Sunbury-on-Thames, United Kingdom; New York Jets coach Todd Bowles at press conference after practice at the Hazelwood in advance of the NFL International Series game against the Miami Dolphins. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

So why won’t this be ‘the same ole’ Jets’? It’s because of Bowles with his soft demeanor and no-nonsense approach which seems like a paradox, an oxymoron if you will. But this subtle combination is a fresh approach for the Jets and something this franchise desperately needed. His level-headed approach down the stretch will let the Jets play the best they can and never getting too high or too low after wins and losses.

The Jets are in the best position they could of asked for and they’re in a prime position to make a run for the division crown. We’ll have to see if Fitzpatrick can play with the big boys when the Jets suit up to play the defending Super Bowl champs, that’ll be the real test for this team.

Next: NY Jets News: A mature look at 3-1 first quarter start

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