The Jets need to get on a run and it starts with the Texans on Thursday Night Football

The term “must-win game” might be the most overused cliché in sports.
But in this case it does accurately describe the situation the Jets (2-6) face ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Texans (6-2) at MetLife Stadium.
After beginning the season 2-1, the Jets have lost five consecutive games. They now find themselves with their backs against the wall with no margin for error in the season’s final nine games.
“I know for Jet fans, I know this season is probably crazy watching this,” Jets cornerback D.J. Reed said. “I know the talent of this team, it doesn’t make sense. I know that’s how the fans feel. They are probably flabbergasted.
“My mindset and my perspective on life is to finish whatever I start. Right now, we are 2-6, which is horrible. It’s horrible. But my mindset, I feel like we can still win out, which might sound crazy to a lot of people but that’s how I approach it. I feel like we can still win out because we have the team to do so. Does everyone feel like that? I don’t know, but that’s how I feel. Obviously, we can’t lose, but I still feel like it is possible to make this right. It starts with winning this Thursday night game.”
Win out is what the Jets might have to do to keep their playoff dreams alive.
Beginning the season 2-6 has historically been the kiss of death for NFL teams. In the Super Bowl era, which started in 1966, only three teams — the 1970 Bengals, the 2020 Commanders and the 2022 Jaguars — have made the postseason after beginning the year with six losses in eight games. Of those three teams, all of them won their respective divisions.
The Jets’ chances of winning the AFC East are slim to none. They trail the Bills (6-2) by four games and have already lost the first meeting against Buffalo in Week 6. However, the Jets are only two back of the Chargers in the win column (4-3) for the final wild-card spot in the AFC.
But if the Jets are going to make an unprecedented run toward the postseason, it has to start against the Texans on Thursday Night Football. The good news is that the last time the Jets had a five-game losing streak, they ended it by crushing the Texans 30-6 last season.
“I mean, it’s always tough, but I think Thursday night, as tough as it is on your body, it’s good on the mind because you can just move on,” Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “Brick [Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich] did a good job of kind of cleaning everything up and then moving on. We hate these games because they’re a short week, but we love them because of the weekend. They feel a lot better when you win.”
During their five-game losing streak, the Jets have fired their coach Robert Saleh, traded for Davante Adams and changed offensive play-callers, but the results have remained the same.
Gang Green’s offense was supposed to improve with Rodgers’ return from a season-ending Achilles tear he suffered last season. However, the Jets are 24th in yards (310.6) and 25th in points per game (18.8). Speaking of Rodgers, 40, he has not been 100% after battling an ankle, a knee, and now a hamstring injury, for most of this season. He ranks 23rd in QBR (50.4) and is on pace to record the highest number of interceptions in his career.
“Not as good as I would’ve hoped,” Rodgers said about his performance this season. “I got to play better.
“I just got to be more efficient, not turn the ball over too many times. Interceptions can be misleading at times, but I’ve definitely had my share of poor throws.”
Rodgers and the Jets offense will face a stiff challenge against a Texans defensive line featuring Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. These two players have helped the Texans register 27 sacks, which is third in the league.
The Jets’ defense has also not performed up to standards. Although it ranks fourth in yards allowed (286.8), it has allowed 27 points per game in its last four games.
The defensive low point of this season was during the final drive in the loss against the Patriots. Gang Green allowed New England to drive 70 yards and score the game-winning touchdown, which included Jacoby Brissett‘s 34-yard pass to Kayshon Boutte that set up Rhamondre Stevenson’s one-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds remaining.
“Energy was obviously the big topic last week,” Ulbrich said of the Week 7 to the Steelers. “We talked about making sure that the energy was right. I felt the energy was right.
“The preparation last week, and then that carried into the game. What it ultimately came down to was the execution … and that’s something that’s on everyone. Not just players, not just coaches, but the collective group.
“We’re not executing like we’re capable of executing, and until we do that, this thing will not change. So we’ve got to get better in all that we do when it comes to performing the plays and performing the techniques, performing all the base principals that we know and we own at the deepest level, so that’s got to get better.”
Now, the Jets will face C.J. Stroud, who, in just his second year, is already one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. This year, he has thrown for 1,948 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.