NY Jets: Mike White mania runs wild in stunning Week 8 victory

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Mike White / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

The NY Jets fans in MetLife Stadium were overcome with Mike White mania in Sunday's 34-31 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Chants of "Mike White" rained down from the rafters as the former practice squad quarterback making his first career NFL start earned the trust and admiration of Jets faithful.

White finished 37-of-45 for 405 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions (both came on tipped passes) becoming the first Jets quarterback to record over 400 yards passing since Vinny Testaverde did so 21 years ago.

The former fifth-round pick started the day off blazing hot with an 11-for-11 start. That marked the longest completion streak by a quarterback making his first career start in 43 years.

The Jets picked up the win over the AFC's No. 1 seed in the unlikeliest of fashions, but the story of the game will undoubtedly be about the man under center who led them to victory.

NY Jets fans were in awe of Mike White's performance in Week 8

Perhaps it was the guts he showed coming back into the game just a few minutes after he was left laying on the turf following a late hit.

Maybe it was his "Mike White special" two-point conversion catch from Jamison Crowder that gave the Jets a 34-31 lead that they never relinquished.

Or perhaps it was his QB sneak on the final non-kneel play of the game to clinch the victory.

Mike White won over a fan base that has been starved for good quarterback play for decades now. A fan base that has seen failed quarterback experiment after failed quarterback experiment.

It's impossible to predict what the future holds. Let's not talk about that. Right now, who really cares?

Let's just bask in the glory that was the Mike White experience. Let's focus on the fact that a Jets team without their starting quarterback, left tackle, top wide receiver, star pass rusher, another stud defensive end, and a host of other players just beat the previously 5-2 Bengals.

A Bengals team that sat atop the AFC entering the week following a blowout victory over the AFC's previous top team, the Baltimore Ravens.

And they did that with a quarterback starting his first career NFL game. A quarterback who had been discarded timed after time with nearly a dozen trips on and off the practice squad.

That's the story of Mike White to this point. But on Sunday, he proved that his story is still being written.

It doesn't matter what comes next. It doesn't matter if this proved to be a flash-in-the-pan, one-time deal.

We will always have this game. We will always have this moment. And the Jets have Mike White to thank for that.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.