NY Jets stun the Rams and win their first game of the season

The NY Jets have stunned the Los Angeles Rams and won their first game.

The NY Jets did it. They accomplished the impossible. They achieved the unachievable. And in doing so, they disappointed a large sector of their fanbase that didn’t believe they could take any more disappointment.

The Jets won their first game of the season on Sunday defeating the Los Angeles Rams by a final score of 23-20. Their luck finally ran out. In the waning moments, it was running back Frank Gore who sealed the deal on a Jets victory.

For the players, this is certainly a long time coming and something to take pride in. But for the Jets organization, the ramifications of such a win could haunt the franchise for decades.

The race for the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft is no longer within their control. With two games remaining in the season, the Jets need to hold out hope that the Jacksonville Jaguars defeat either the Chicago Bears or Indianapolis Colts.

And thus, their chances of securing one of the greatest quarterback prospects in the history of the NFL, Trevor Lawrence, are slipping away. By the looks of things, this win may have sealed their fate.

The NY Jets played a near-complete football game

Incumbent quarterback Sam Darnold played his best game of the season by a long stretch finishing 22-of-31 for 207 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over once.

Darnold spread the ball around on offense hooking up with the likes of Jamison Crowder, Denzel Mims, running back Ty Johnson, and even tight end Chris Herndon three or more times apiece.

But it was the defense that truly led the way for Gang Green. A Bryce Hall interception and a game-saving Marcus Maye pass deflection were the highlights, but there were plenty more impressive standouts.

Quinnen Williams picked up his seventh sack of the season, on his birthday nonetheless, before exiting with a head injury. Nathan Shepherd and John Franklin-Myers each tallied sacks as well.

Ultimately, the Jets simply outcoached the Rams. As crazy and unbelievable as that may sound, Adam Gase and Frank Bush coached circles around the great Sean McVay and potential head coach candidate Brandon Staley.

It was unlike anything we had seen before this season. And in many ways, it was a performance we should have seen coming.

The Jets should have won both against the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders earlier in the year. They continued to lose based on their own sheer incompetency, but their luck — or rather ineptness — was bound to run out eventually.

This week, it ran out.

The Jets were competent, confident, and an overall good football team. And it might haunt the organization for years.

Unlikely things happen all the time. But this was more than an unprecedented outcome. This was a miracle — a Christmas miracle.

Only this miracle feels more like misery. Pure, unbridled misery.