Believe it or not, the Jets were due. They had scored on their first possessions in each of their last eight games, including Sunday’s contest against the Rams, and in seven of those eight games, the Jets scored the first points of the game — only the Chiefs beat them to it in Week 8. Of course, it was everything that happened after those first scores that had Adam Gase’s team at 0-13 on the season, and most of that has been Gase’s fault.
Believe it or Not: New York Jets score on their eighth-straight opening drive
So, here were those 0-13 Jets, up against a 9-4 Rams squad at SoFi Stadium. A Rams defense that had been the NFL’s best in Defensive DVOA since Week 10, and whose head coach (Sean McVay) and defensive coordinator (Brandon Staley) were each on Touchdown Wire’s list of the league’s best play-callers. The Rams were playing for something here, as well — with Seattle’s earlier win over Washington, McVay’s team was trying to stay on top of the NFC West here.
So, what happened? Of course, a Jets team that had scored 183 points all season — a league-worst 14.1 points per game — put up 23 on the NFL’s best defense from a “right now” perspective, and a defense that had allowed 30.2 points per game allowed just 20 to McVay and his cadre of weapons.
What happened? New York’s defense, freed from the constraints of Gregg Williams, played solid ball and forced Jared Goff into mistakes. The offense kept drives going. Quarterback Sam Darnold completed 22 of 31 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown, and Frank Gore ran 23 times for 59 yards and a score. It’s not that the Jets did anything spectacular; they simply played to their talent and didn’t make their usual string of soul-crushing mistakes.
There is a frustration for Jets fans, though. Based on strength of schedule, if the Jets and Jaguars each lose out, Jacksonville now has the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. As for the Rams, they are now behind Seattle in the NFC West, and we expect the next week to provide all kinds of soul-searching opportunities before they take on the Seahawks next Sunday.
