It is more than a little odd to be in the optimistic role as a Jets fan, but Phil’s assessment below is far too gloomy for the circumstances. If you had told me I would feel this good the morning after Aaron Rodgers’ season ended after four plays, I would have thought one of us belonged in the NFL’s concussion protocol. But a hard-fought win makes everything a little easier to take.

Do you remember the scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, where that poor guy gets his heart ripped out of his chest, he’s made to watch it beat a few times, and then he’s thrown into a pit of lava and his heart bursts into flame? Watching Rodgers get hurt last night felt like that, but a little worse.

But in circumstances where a lot of teams – and a lot of past Jets teams – would have quit, last night the squad kept fighting, play after play. (The previous night in the same stadium, the Giants might as well have gone home at halftime after falling behind early.) The defense really does look good enough to be a Super Bowl contender, running back Breece Hall seems to have made an inhuman recovery from injury, Garrett Wilson reaffirmed his status as one of the best wide receivers in the game, and the special teams managed to pull off the big play to win the game in overtime. Also, Zach Wilson was there, too.

Last night may well be the best the Jets can hope for from the baby-faced Wilson – just enough competent game management, and an occasional flash of potential to offset the infuriating what-is-he-blindfolded interceptions. The Jets will go out and find some currently unemployed quarterback to take Rodgers’ space on the roster, and maybe as a potential replacement for Wilson down the road. (For now, the coaching staff says they’ll ride or die with Wilson, but they more or less have to say that. Coach Robert Saleh couldn’t say in the postgame press conference, “sure, he did just enough to help us win tonight, but no, Zach won’t be starting for much longer. We’ll be signing anybody we can find on the street to take the starting job from him. Did you watch him tonight? He’s terrible. It’s a miracle we overcame his incompetence.”)

If the Jets can go toe-to-toe with Buffalo after the shock of losing Rodgers, they should be able to stay competitive for four quarters with everybody short of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Somehow, the Jets are 1-0. After a brutal opening stretch (at Dallas, New England, Kansas City, at Denver, Philadelphia) the Jets have a much easier second half of the schedule. A finish around 10-7 and one of those lower-rung playoff spots remains within reach, and sad to say, for the Jets that would still represent a serious step in the right direction.