Evaluating the first month of the NY Jets 2023 season

Shocking Week 1 win

Following the Rodgers injury, it seemed like the game was already over. Wilson looked bad in the first half, the defense struggled, and the Bills ran out to a 13-3 lead.

However, behind four Josh Allen turnovers, a great touchdown grab by Garrett Wilson, and a “good enough” day from Zach Wilson, the Jets found themselves up 16-13 with just a few minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Nonetheless, Josh Allen led the Bills on a tremendous final drive, kicking a field goal as time nearly expired. The Bills would win the overtime coin toss, and it appeared that the Jets were headed to a crushing defeat.

But the defense answered the call. After forcing a 3-and-out on the Bills' first drive, rookie free agent signing Xavier Gipson caught a low, wobbly punt at about midfield.

After avoiding the first wave of Bills defenders, Gipson found himself in the open field headed for the endzone. Spinning away from the punter, Gipson jogged into the endzone, waving goodbye for the winning score, delivering the most improbable 22-16 win in Jets history.

Despite the Rodgers injury, the Jets found themselves at 1-0 and in first place in the division.

Cowboys steamroll the NY Jets

The energy from opening night was lost by Week 2. The Jets, heavy underdogs versus the Super Bowl-contending Dallas Cowboys, played about as badly as possible across all phases of the game.

The defense gave up a plethora of easy, short-yardage passes that allowed Dallas to drive the field early. They also failed to capitalize on any Dallas mistakes, failing to recover a fumble and dropping an easy pick-six opportunity.

The offense did not make things easier, either. Wilson struggled early before leading the Jets on back-to-back impressive drives to bring the halftime score to just 18-10. However, the second half would get much worse.

On the Jets' first possession of the half, Dalvin Cook fumbled the football, leading to a Cowboys field goal. Quarterback Zach Wilson would also throw three interceptions in the second half with the Jets down multiple scores and trying to make a play.

The result was not pretty. It was a 30-10 Jets loss, dropping the team to 1-1. Although expected, it was uglier than fans and coaches wanted, leading to Wilson starting to get some heat for his play.