The Jets were on the verge of one of the worst losses in franchise history on Sunday.
If they had lost to the Giants, who had minus-9 yards passing, there would have been hysteria among Jets fans this week.
Instead, the Jets pulled out a 13-10 overtime win that even the players admitted they were trying to figure out exactly how they won it.
But if the Jets are being honest with themselves, they know they are going to need a better effort from their offense than what they got on Sunday to actually make a playoff push.
It is fun to talk about the Jets being in the AFC playoff race at 4-3, but how long can the Jets lean on their defense to hold opponents to 13 or 14 points and then try to steal the game in the final minutes as they have in their last two wins?
“I think it’s imperative that we improve as an offense every single week, every single day,” wide receiver Allen Lazard said. “There’s definitely going to be a game or two by the time the season ends where as an offense we’re going to need to be relied on a lot more to extend a drive, to get a field goal out of it or, more importantly, get touchdown to keep us in the game or extend a lead.”
For 59 minutes on Sunday, the Jets’ offense struggled to move the ball outside of Breece Hall racing 50 yards through the Giants’ defense for a first-quarter touchdown.
They managed just 58 rushing yards, averaging 2.8 yards per attempt.
They failed to convert on their first 12 third-down attempts and ended the game just 2 of 15 on third down.
One of those conversions was a Zach Wilson scramble and not a designed play.
The Jets have been terrible in situational football this season.
They are the worst team in the NFL in both third-down conversions and red-zone touchdown percentage.
Get the insider's view on Gang Green
Sign up for Inside the Jets by Brian Costello, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.
Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett made some strange play calls on Sunday and players failed to execute.
Wilson missed a simple throw to Hall that would have been a first down.
Coach Robert Saleh expressed faith that the offense will figure things out, but we’re about to enter November and the offense is still floundering.
“Everyone can point at reasons why things aren’t clicking the way they are, but it’s a collective effort,” Saleh said. “I have unwavering faith that they are working hard, they are putting things together, and eventually things are going to click and it’s going to look pretty cool.”
So far, the offense has not been cool, just ice cold.
They have the fewest first downs in the NFL (102) and are tied with the Giants for the fewest offensive touchdowns (8) this season.
It feels a whole lot like the middle of last season when the Jets relied on their defense to shut the opponent down, counted on Hall to make a big play and hoped Wilson did not turn the ball over.
That formula worked for a while and the Jets got to 6-3 before everything fell apart and they lost their final six games.
Saleh said the weather was a factor on Sunday in why the offense did not play better.
He also credited the Giants’ defense.
“I think it was more of a defensive deal than it was anything else, but at the same time, from an offensive standpoint everyone knows the deal,” Saleh said. “You still got to score points in this league, but the positive thing is that I know we’ll be in every game. We’re going to fight our tails off, our defense, our special teams, our kicking game, our run game.”