What We Learned from New York’s 21-13 win

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1. Wilson’s freaky catch propels Jets, whose season is alive for now. Garrett Wilson‘s unbelievable landing and a relentless Jets move rush have been simply sufficient in Thursday’s win over the Texans to maintain the Jets treading water and faint playoff hopes alive at 3-6. Early within the fourth quarter, Wilson made one of many all-time nice catches, a one-handed-cross-body seize with a foot and a shin (barely) inbounds to offer the Jets a 14-10 lead after a painful evening to that time. The landing got here whereas Davante Adams was being assessed for a concussion after falling laborious a couple of performs earlier. Adams had been Aaron Rodgers‘ go-to man early, however Wilson stepped into that function whereas Adams was out, catching 4 massive passes within the ultimate 16 minutes. Adams returned to place the cherry on prime of a much-needed victory, catching a fairly Rodgers throw for a 37-yard rating. Rodgers had solely 32 first-half passing yards, tied for the fewest he’s ever had in a half, however his big-play receivers each stepped up within the second half.
2. Texans’ move safety was a nightmare. The Texans knew they’d must dig deeper offensively with vast receivers Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs out, and Joe Mixon and Tank Dell stepped as much as assist fill a few of that void. But it surely was undone by a Texans offensive line that struggled all evening, with C.J. Stroud being sacked eight occasions, getting up slowly greater than as soon as after contact. Stroud was solely 11-of-30 passing for 191 yards, battling till the tip and scrambling a number of occasions efficiently, however it was usually out of self-preservation. Dell caught six of Stroud’s passes for 126 yards, and Mixon ran for 106 yards and a rating, however offensive errors did the Texans in. Offensive holds worn out Mixon runs of 10 and 17 yards. Stroud misplaced a fumble within the crimson zone early on. Six offensive linemen allowed a number of pressures, together with each Greens (Kenyon, who left with harm, and Kendrick, his alternative). Along with that, the Texans missed two field-goal tries, together with a 27-yard miss by Ka’imi Fairbairn after he’d made a 43-yarder minutes earlier that noticed New York flagged for pointless roughness. The Texans accepted the Jets penalty, and it backfired.
3. Corley, Watts errors don’t come again to chew Jets. On an evening when many issues have been going flawed, it was straightforward to check both Malachi Corley‘s senseless fumble or Eric Watts‘ essential late penalty coming again to thwart the Jets’ comeback hopes. Ultimately, each have been absolved. The Jets’ greatest play name of the primary half was an end-around to Corley, who appeared to attain a 19-yard landing. But it surely formally went down as an 18-yard achieve as a result of Corley dropped the ball previous to the objective line. It rolled by way of the tip zone for a Texans touchback. It was Corley’s second NFL contact, and it ought to have been his first TD — and a Jets 7-0 lead — however he price his staff dearly. He was the most important goat till Watts vaulted over the Texans’ lengthy snapper on a late field-goal attempt, with the Jets up 14-10. The kick was good, however the Texans took factors off the board and tried to take the lead after Watts’ 15-yard penalty. Fortunately, Watts was off the hook when Fairbairn’s 27-yard attempt doinked off the upright. Earlier, the Jets’ new kicker, Riley Patterson, doinked in an additional level. Possibly the soccer spirits have been trying down on the Jets on All Hallows’ Eve.
4. Texans fell aside within the second half. The Texans took a tenuous 7-0 lead into halftime, however the excellent news was that the Jets regarded worse than they did. However issues modified within the second half, with the offense stalling out, the protection coming unglued and even the particular groups costing them factors. Stroud led the Texans on a field-goal drive to begin the second half, however they wouldn’t rating once more till the ultimate minute, getting shut sufficient simply to lose by one rating. DeMeco Ryans has coached this staff to plenty of shut victories, however his resolution to take factors off the board backfired. The largest downside, nonetheless, was on protection. That unit was in Rodgers’ head early, holding the Jets to 69 first-half yards, however their battered unit drove 70, 70 and 80 yards for touchdowns of their solely three possessions of the second half. Rodgers was sacked twice within the first half, however he had a superb second half, finishing 15 of 18 passes for 179 yards and three TDs. 
5. Jets’ stress was distinction. The Jets’ protection allowed a 98-yard landing drive by the Texans earlier than the tip of the primary half, giving Houston a halftime lead and spoiling Tommy Townsend‘s sensible 75-yard punt. However aside from that drive, New York regarded extra just like the elite unit it was pegged to be earlier than the season than the one we’ve seen extra usually this common season. The Jets racked up eight sacks and a whopping 33 pressures, with Will McDonald IV, Haason Reddick, Quinnen Williams and Micheal Clemons dominating up entrance and Jamien Sherwood coming in as a well timed blitzer. The Jets didn’t must carry additional stress with Reddick making a transparent distinction, though the Texans’ shoddy blocking had one thing to do with it. However both manner, Stroud accomplished solely 11 passes in 38 dropbacks, so the Jets did their job, even on an evening when the Jets’ tackling was not nice and Sauce Gardner struggled and was banged up.

Subsequent Gen Stats Perception for Texans-Jets (by way of NFL Professional): Joe Mixon carried the ball 15 occasions for 86 yards (5.7 yards per carry) and a landing when going through a lightweight field (six or fewer defenders), together with +31 dashing yards over anticipated.

NFL Analysis: Aaron Rodgers was 7-of-14 passing for 32 yards within the first half in opposition to the Texans, which have been the fewest passing yards Rodgers has ever had in a primary half and tied for the fewest move yards in any half (minimal 10 passes). He threw for extra yards on the primary drive of the second half (47) than in your entire first half (32).