The effort was commendable. The tenacity was indicative of a squad coming into its own. It was fantastic that a 17-point deficit early in the game was effectively 36 inches away from being a decisive victory.
All of these were promising indications for the Jets in Minnesota on Sunday.
The most significant aspect of the aftermath of the Jets’ nerve-wracking and ruggedly entertaining 27-22 loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis was best summed up by the players whose three-hour quest fell painfully short.
Quarterback Mike White: “We are in no way approaching moral triumphs.” In the NFL, moral wins do not count.”
Cornerback Sauce Gardner: “We should not have let this opportunity pass us by.”
Receiver Garrett Wilson: “Extremely frustrating. We must complete that.”
Unendingly, in the locker room and on the postgame podium. This is the Jets’ current mentality. That is the benchmark. The fact that the Jets (7-5) have already won more games this season than they did in the previous two seasons combined is insufficient. The rostered players did not sign up for baby steps, just as they have refused to wear the dated green uniforms of the “Same Old Jets.”
Robert Saleh, the team’s head coach, stated, “If we play like that, we will win more often than not.”
Saleh, whose story the team loves so wholeheartedly, continued, “It wasn’t sufficient today.”
Mike White and Kirk Cousins after the Vikings’ Sunday victory against the Jets.
It was insufficient because the defense experienced a rare first-half lapse, allowing 20 points in the opening 30 minutes as the Vikings grabbed a 20-3 halftime lead. It was insufficient because the offense entered the red zone six times but scored only once, a dreadful touchdown percentage. Braxton Berrios had the ball in his hands and was a few feet past the goal line, but he was unable to bring it to the ground.
It was a game that left 66,973 residents cheering and screaming their Viking trumpets as they celebrated the Vikings’ sustained lead in the NFC North.
And the game left 53 Jets sour and hungry to prove, in seven days at Buffalo, that they actually belong among the NFL’s elite, as it appeared in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
With 1:43 remaining, Berrios bemoaned the play during which he bobbled and then dropped a fourth-down ball from White in the end zone. “It was present. Mike placed it in the only available location. I’ve had to take that one down.”
It was a locker room awash in accountability, which is somewhat ironic given that one of the defining moments of the season occurred two weeks ago when Zach Wilson almost volunteered to give up his QB1 letter sweater for sideline civvies by refusing to accept any responsibility for the gruesome defeat in New England.
Even without considering the fact that White has thus far exploited his opportunity with back-to-back games of 300-plus passing yards, it was evident why Saleh had so little choice but to replace quarterbacks.
The Jets’ Garrett Wilson goes up for a reception.
Not only did Wilson sound like a spoilt child pointing fingers at everyone else, but he is the only one in the room who would have contemplated pointing a finger at anybody other than “The Guy in the Glass,” Bill Parcells’ old pal. It creates a cohesive team. As well as one who, you must think, will undoubtedly appear next week in Orchard Park, eager for a battle.
Gardner said, “We can handle anything comes our way.”
White stated, “This squad fought its absolute tail off.”
Garrett Wilson stated, “Today was the epitome of a game of inches. Over and over and over.”
In fact, thirty-six of them, with the Jets sitting in the shadow of the Vikings’ goal line, poised for a hallmark victory. It didn’t happen. Nonetheless, instead of a sense of pleasure for a valiant attempt, they opted for a desire for a second chance. Next Sunday, they will get their opportunity.
»The Jets’ refusal to be satisfied with coming close against the Vikings says a lot«