The stunning comeback against the Browns, 31-30, led to the Gang Green’s meteoric rise in the NFL power rankings. Robert Saleh’s team is now ranked #25 on average, after being dead last one week ago. This is the higher than what the Jets’ position was at any point last season. Pro Football Talk went as far as ranking them at #19, while CBS Sports and USA Today had the Jets at #23 in the latest editions of power rankings. ESPN was the most skeptical one, placing the Jets at only #29 overall. WR Garrett Wilson is now undoubtedly number one star of the Gang Green’s offense. QB Zach Wilson’s return is still about two weeks away but he should definitely feel excited about his surrounding cast. The unexpectedly winless Cincinnati Bengals (0-2) are next and they are favored by 5 points.
Here’s what different power rankings websites had to say about the Jets:
ESPN: The Jets are too pass-reliant, which explains why Carter and Hall have combined for only 30 carries through two games. And it’s not like they’re not productive — the duo is averaging 5.2 yards per carry. If the Jets want to make serious noise this season, they have to get back to their roots: balance on offense. That will be especially important when quarterback Zach Wilson (knee) returns to the lineup, which could be Week 4.
The Sporting News: Flacco has provided a spark to the passing game minus Zach Wilson, getting the ball to all of his talented receivers and the Jets also got promising rookie running back Breece Hall going for Mike LaFleur. Even though the defense didn’t deliver in Cleveland, the fight and effort for Robert Saleh’s team did.
CBS Sports: Give them credit for rallying to beat the Browns. Maybe Robert Saleh was on to something when he said he would keep receipts.
ProFootballTalk: Garrett Wilson is going to be a star in this league.
Yahoo Sports: It should be full speed ahead for Garrett Wilson, and we’ll look back at Week 1 and wonder why the Jets weren’t featuring him in that game, too. The 10th overall pick of the draft looked great on Sunday, with 102 yards on eight catches. Between Wilson, Elijah Moore and Corey Davis, there’s more than enough for Zach Wilson to work with when he returns.
NFL.com: his misery thing can go both ways, huh? That’s what countless Jets fans were thinking as they watched their eternally star-crossed team wipe away a 13-point deficit in the final 1:55 to stun the Browns, 31-30, in Cleveland. It was a huge day for Joe Flacco, who threw four touchdown passes, including the game-clincher to breakout rookie Garrett Wilson, but none of it would have been possible if not for the special teams. Brant Boyer’s unit had a fake-punt conversion to set up New York’s first touchdown, Greg Zuerlein booted a 57-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and Braden Mann executed a perfect onside kick to set up the winning score. A miracle victory like this can have a galvanizing effect for a franchise that’s spent years in the wilderness — let’s see if the momentum carries into Sunday’s matchup against a desperate Bengals team.
USA Today: One vote for Braden Mann as the AFC special teams player of the week. The NYJ punter connected on a 17-yard pass (rather than punt) to extend a drive that resulted in the team’s first TD on Sunday, and his onside kick set up the game-winning score.
| Preseason | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 | |
| ESPN | 30 | 32 | 29 | ||||||||||||||||
| Sporting News | 24 | 32 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| CBS Sports | 29 | 31 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| PFT | 31 | 32 | 19 | ||||||||||||||||
| Yahoo Sports | 27 | 31 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||
| NFL.com | 26 | 32 | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| USA Today | 27 | 32 | 23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 27.7 | 31.7 | 25 |
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