The New York Jets’ 21-13 victory over the Houston Texans on “Thursday Night Football” was a tale of two halves. If you just watched the first half, the Jets looked like one of the worst teams in the NFL whose second-worst record in the AFC seemed fitting.
But if you just watched the second half, New York looked like a legitimate contender. Let’s break down this team’s Jekyll and Hyde performance on Halloween.
Aaron Rodgers’ Stats Go From Terrible to Good
The Jets were held scoreless in the first half, which featured the worst first-half passing output of Aaron Rodgers’ NFL career and an embarrassing blunder by rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley that took a touchdown off the board.
Rodgers entered halftime with just 32 passing yards, going 7-of-14 and averaging just 2.3 yards per completion. This was the worst first-half passing output of his NFL career (minimum 10 passes), and it was tied for his lowest yard total in any half.
In fact, this was the fifth-fewest first-half passing yards of any quarterback this season:
- Bo Nix (Week 4 at Jets): -7
- Trevor Lawrence (Week 2 vs. Browns): 16
- Bryce Young (Week 2 vs. Chargers): 22
- Bo Nix (Week 6 vs. Chargers): 22
- Aaron Rodgers (tonight vs. Texans): 32
“I was way off. I was as bad as I could be in the first half,” Rodgers acknowledged during Amazon’s postgame show.
Jets fans were extremely frustrated, wearing brown bags, holding up critical signs, and chanting “sell the team” at owner Woody Johnson.
“Sell the team” chants have broken out at MetLife stadium pic.twitter.com/qF6WHqKXS8
— JetNation (@JetNation) November 1, 2024
Then, everything changed in the second half.
The Jets scored 21 points — seven in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth. Rodgers followed up the worst first half of his NFL career with one of his best halves of the season.
Rodgers finished the game with 211 passing yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Despite his first-half struggles, the four-time NFL MVP finished the game with a 62.7 grade (B-) in PFN’s QB+ metric, making this Rodgers’ second-best performance of the season, just slightly behind Week 6.
Garrett Wilson (nine receptions, 90 yards, and two touchdowns) and Davante Adams (seven receptions, 91 yards, and one touchdown) dominated in the second half, doing whatever they wanted against Houston’s secondary.
Wilson had arguably the catch of the year on his second touchdown, recreating the Air Jordan logo as he barely stayed inbounds.
CATCH OF THE YEAR 🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/OazSpBhHpp
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 1, 2024
What was said at halftime to turn things around so drastically?
“‘Let’s have the best half of the season,'” Rodgers relayed. “First drive was important, [a] six-minute drive. I was so bad in the first half, especially the first play of the game — threw a cannonball five yards out of bounds. It was a rough first half, but the defense stood on their heads.”
As Rodgers mentioned, the Jets’ defense did their job all evening, holding C.J. Stroud to just 191 yards and zero touchdowns on 11-of-30 passing (36.7%). This was Stroud’s third-worst performance of the season based on PFN’s QB+ metric, as he finished with a grade of 44.3 (D+).
It’s worth noting that the Texans were without wide receivers Nico Collins (hamstring) and Stefon Diggs (torn ACL), who are both on injured reserve. The bulk of Houston’s offensive production came from Joe Mixon, who finished with 24 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown.
Will the Jets Make the Playoffs This Year?
Entering Week 9, the Jets were way out of the playoff picture in the AFC.
Before Thursday’s win, the Jets had a 22.3% chance of making the playoffs. Now, after defeating the Texans, New York’s postseason odds have increased to 37%.
MORE: Simulate the Rest of the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
While New York still has a long way to go to snag a playoff berth, this is a huge step in the right direction for a team that has been struggling mightily recently.
This Jets team entered the year with Super Bowl aspirations, so missing the playoffs would be a huge letdown. Also, this is a franchise that has made aggressive moves such as acquiring Rodgers, Adams, and Haason Reddick and firing head coach Robert Saleh after the team’s 2-3 start.
Are the Jets Still Relevant in the AFC Playoff Picture?
The 2-6 Jets had the second-worst record in the conference entering tonight’s game. Now, with a 3-6 record, they climbed from 15th in the AFC to 10th.
The Jets currently have the second-best record in the AFC East behind only the 6-2 Buffalo Bills.
This win puts New York ahead of the Miami Dolphins (2-5) and New England Patriots (2-6) for the time being.
It remains to be seen if the Jets can build on this win and gain some momentum, but they are more talented than their 3-6 record indicates since they recently added Adams via trade and Reddick via his holdout ending.