Mike White Cooks, Jets Serve Up a Bears Beatdown

Edition #272

Good morning! ☀️

It's been a hectic week in Jets land, but the old saying of all's well that ends well has never been more apt.

Late in the 4th quarter the camera panned to Coach Saleh on the sideline and his look said everything. A coach who'd just had his decision justified.

Were going to get into some details, but the Jets are now 7-4, right in the thick of the playoffs and have some momentum back after a difficult trip to New England.

🤒 Jets RB Michael Carter has a sprained ankle according to Saleh, which is why Bam Knight took over the rushing duties. The coach added that he wasn't sure about the severity but the team would know more tomorrow.

🔄 James Robinson appearing on the inactive list raised some eyebrows before the game with UDFA Zonovan Knight being preferred. Saleh confirmed it wasn't injury related but that the Jets were looking for a spark having left some “meat on the bone” in the running game recently.

🏆 Mike White became just the 5th QB in history to record multiple games with 300+ passing yards and 3+ passing TDs within his first 4 career starts. Joining Kurt Warner, Patrick Mahomes, Mark Rypien and Austin Davis.

✈️ White also became the 5th QB in Jets history to record multiple games with 300+ passing yards and 3+ passing TDs. Ken O'Brien, Joe Namath, Richard Todd and Dick Wood were the others.

2️⃣0️⃣➕ The Jets had 3 offensive TDs of 20+ yards today, the most in a game since 2018 against the Broncos. Entering the game on Sunday, the Jets had just 4 TDs of 20+ yards this season, so they almost doubled that within 60 minutes.

📢 This quote from Elijah Moore made me laugh: “I was talking to the ball yesterday. I was like damn, you already know how I feel about you. I was kissing it” 😙🏈 It's worth noting the last time I saw Moore with this big a smile on his face was 2021.

🎯 The Jets converted 58% of their 3rd down opportunities, the highest mark under Mike LaFleur and Robert Saleh.

Here's the most important aspect of that game. The Jets won it and they're firmly in contention for a playoff spot. Unfortunately Miami walked all over Houston, but with the Patriots losing on Thanksgiving we're out of the AFC East basement.

Sometimes difficult choices need to be made, in turning to Mike White the head coach of the Jets put the team first, and he was rewarded with a QB who did everything he was asked to do. A QB who brought harmony to a huddle that seemed acrimonious at points this season, and lost at others. I'm not here to say that Mike White is the answer, but I am here to say that Mike White was the answer on Sunday.

Saleh stepped to the podium and explained the situation in one succinct sentence. Mike White made easy look easy. That in a nutshell is why the Jets had no choice but to move away from Zach Wilson in the short term. Due to the mechanical issues Zach has been battling all the way back to the Spring, he started to make the easy look extremely hard and then the hard look impossible. White showed how this offense is supposed to operate and the Jets reaped the rewards. White posted a 91.7 Total QBR against the Bears, the 7th-highest by a Jets QB in a game since ESPN began tracking the stat back in 2006. You can say, well it was a banged-up Bears defense all you like, but that’s still special. White took on average just 2.46 seconds to let go of the football, the 4th fastest mark this week, and the Jets receivers did the rest.

It's far easier to play as a lineman, as a receiver, as a runner when you know what you're going to get out of the QB position. White isn't going to run around behind the line trying to make off-platform miracles. He's going to read the defense and deliver the ball on time and in rhythm, enabling the receiver's the opportunity to pick up yards after the catch. People will watch that and say “Well he just made easy throws”, and I'd reply that's the point. White made the correct reads, he moved up in the pocket and slid away from pressure. It was a clinical example of efficient QB play. Sure he had a couple of moments where he put the ball in danger, he also made two outstanding throws into very tight windows to move the chains.

"Helluva game, man," tackle Duane Brown said. "He commanded the offense really well. Made timely decisions, made some big plays at some critical moments. Great poise. Great day for him."

Here are some stats for you. The Jets totalled 466 yards of offense and 7.5 yards per play. White passed for 315 yards and 3 TDs while not turning the ball over and completing 78.6% of his passes with an NFL passer rating of 149.3. The Jets rushed for 158 yards in total, averaging 4.9 yards per rush. Overall we registered 22 first downs and converted 58.3% of third downs. In short the offense was absolutely humming.

Now we have to point out that the Bears were down several key components and the loss of Eddie Jackson early in the game didn't help their cause. We also need to point out that the Jets offensive line was still banged up and playing linemen who we picked up mid-season, yet they allowed a single sack. The Bears have been hit hard by the injury bug, but the way the Jets played, I think even with the likes of Brisker, they would have found it hard to stop. When executed to perfection, this offense is very difficult to defend.

Although a tip to the Bears, if you see Bryce Huff lining up on 3rd down, you may want to block him.

We'll move into the running game soon but first I wanted to point out another positive of the Mike White experience that will go down well in the locker room. White hit 10 different receivers in the game, distributing the ball across the board. Although Garrett led the team in 8 targets (as he should), 7 other receivers had two or more targets and four of those receivers had 3. Elijah Moore found the end zone for the first time this year and Wilson showed why for my money he's the best receiver in this rookie class.

“It’s just distributing the ball and letting (receivers) be who they are,” White said. “They’re all in that locker room for a reason. This is the NFL, everybody that wears pads on Sunday (is) very good and you just gotta get them the ball, get their confidence going and once someone’s confidence is up, I think you’ll see them go to the next level.”

The run game took a little while to get going but once it did it was hard to stop. Zonovan Knight recorded 69 yards on 14 carries and Ty Johnson registered 62 on just 5 carries, including a big 32 yard touchdown. He also converted some key downs in the 4th quarter to help ice the game. The running game helped the passing game and the passing game opened up things for the running game, complementary football goes a long way in the NFL and that's exactly what we saw from the Jets offense yesterday.

One aspect that went a little unnoticed was the return of rookie Max Mitchell. The Jets started Ogbuehi at right tackle but he suffered an injury early on and Mitchell replaced him, he didn't miss a beat. I'll have to see the pressure numbers today, but I didn't hear his name all afternoon and that's usually a good thing for a starting offensive tackle.

Defensively the Jets were slow out the blocks and their tackling left a lot to be desired, although neither team tackled well and with the conditions it must have been like trying to contain a bar of soap. So we'll put that down to the weather and move on, which is something you can do when you've just won a game by 21 points.

Obviously the Bears were an easier team to defend with Justin Fields watching from the sideline, and after losing Mooney early in the game, the Chicago offense was basically David Montgomery. The Jets pitched a shutout for three quarters and with the Jets offense firing, it gave the defense some time on the sideline to work through the struggles of the first quarter where they allowed 10 points to former Jet Trevor Siemian.

It was a strange day for the special teams unit. Mann mishandled a snap which led to an aborted FG but then had a beauty of a punt that was downed at the one-yard line. Zuerlein nailed a franchise-tying 57-yard FG in the driving rain and then missed a 53-yarder later in the game.

Overall the Jets win a game that they absolutely should have won, and outside the first quarter, it never looked in too much doubt. I don't know what the future holds at the QB position, but one thing I do know is that Mike White was more than enough for the Jets today and far too much for the Bears to handle. Minnesota will be a tougher test next week, but we'll worry about that in a day or two. For now, let's just enjoy this win.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to TJW last week. 50% of the overall total went to Food Bank for New York and that was $52. May not sound like a lot but Food Bank for New York say that for every $1 donated they can generate 10 meals, so that $52 generated 520 meals for people in the five boroughs who are struggling, so thank you!