What Took So Long? Jets New Offensive Look With QB White Was Real, And It Was Spectacular
Better late than never.
Jets fans who routinely tune into other national TV games can be forgiven if they’re always wondering whether their favorite team was playing a different sport. Thanks in part to the backwards-thinking offensive system that had been espoused by offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur, New York couldn’t get out of its own way on offense--especially in first halves--in losing five of their first six games.
So it was a shock to them—and to the football-loving nation as well—when Gang Green not only came out with a modern game plan against heavily-favored Cincinnati on Sunday despite being forced to play backup quarterback Mike White, but they finished the job to knock off the AFC’s top seed in a wild affair at Met Life Stadium, 34-31.
A host of embarrassing streaks were halted when LaFleur ditched his idiotic run-first philosophy from Sunday’s get-go—the Jets finally scored in the first quarter, taking the opening kickoff (Head Coach Robert Saleh did not defer after winning a coin flip for the first time this season) 10 plays into the end zone to avoid the ignominy of the 1991 Packers, the last team to be blanked in their opening seven first quarters; White not only was the first Jets QB in about 23 months to exceed 300 yards passing but he later eclipsed the 400-yard mark, something not seen here since Vinny Testaverde in 2000; and New York ended a brutal 27-game stretch where they failed to top 30 points on the final scoreboard.
Who knew that throwing the football works wonders in the NFL? (Thousands of Jets fans raise their hands).
White, stepping in for injured rookie QB Zach Wilson, said afterwards that LaFleur had told him earlier in the week that he would be “cutting it loose” against the Bengals. By that, LaFleur meant that the Jets wouldn’t be waiting until they were behind by multiple scores to throw on early downs. On that first drive, all five 1st-&-10s--and 7 of the 10 snaps in total--were scripted pass plays, including a wide receiver option that resulted in a pass interference penalty prior to Michael Carter’s 8-yard touchdown scamper.
Most of White’s tosses were of the shorter varieties, with an average intended air yards of 4.1, per NFL Next Gen Stats, by far the lowest of any Week 8 QB (Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers had the next lowest at 5.5 air yards). It made you wonder why the Bengals never adjusted to squeeze the field, especially between the hash marks, but since they didn’t, the Jets were able to look like they were employing a functional offense.
By keeping it simple, LaFleur was able to help White avoid the more dangerous third-downs in obvious pass situations. The Jets’ average third-down distance to go on Sunday was 4.8 yards, with only two instances that required more than 10 yards to gain (both of which were converted, the latter thanks to a very generous unnecessary roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit on running back Ty Johnson that extended the Jets’ possession after the two-minute warning. Hey, this franchise has been victimized by so many brutal calls over the years, they are more than due for some makeups.)
Even after White tossed a pair of tip-drill interceptions and slot receiver Jamison Crowder fumbled away a 26-yard catch-and-run as the Jets fell behind, 17-7, in the first half, Gang Green continued, for the most part, to be aggressive, dropping back 51 times compared with 22 handoffs. And even many of the run plays were more exotic than the typical dives into the middle of the line we’ve become accustomed to bemoaning, with LaFleur incorporating a few jet sweeps and misdirected stretch runs into the day’s play call sheet.
As to why Lafleur couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do this with Wilson is beyond me. The Jets had the opportunity to change course during their bye week following their London trip on October 10 but opted to stick with the plan that was producing points at a league-worst rate. The result: a 54-13 thrashing in New England that was embarrassing even for this franchise’s standard.
Something had to be done for Sunday’s game. They finally figured out that they had to ditch the run, run, pass series of downs that had no chance to succeed against the league’s No. 5-ranked defense. Saleh went with the line that LaFleur was moved upstairs to the press box because White didn’t need him on the sideline like Wilson did, even though this was White’s first NFL start since being drafted by Dallas in the fifth round of the 2018 Draft.
What LaFleur had to have learned from the new vantage was that all those White dump-offs to Carter (9 receptions for 95 yards) and Johnson (5 for 71) are even better than handoffs. In space, both running backs, especially Carter, were elusive enough to either get to the sticks or set New York for manageable following downs.
It was like the Jets took a look at what the Patriots are doing with their rookie QB Mac Jones and said, “Hmm, maybe we can do that.” White was just as deadly accurate (37-for-45) as Jones and hit on enough big-time throws, including the one off his back foot to the front of the left pylon for an 8-yard touchdown to Braxton Berrios with 15 seconds remaining in the first half to cut the Jets’ deficit to 17-14.
In the second half, New York put up points on all four of its possessions until it was victory formation time, another first of the season. Johnson took a checkdown 19 yards, tip-toeing the last few steps along the left sideline, to get the Jets (2-5) within 31-26 with 4:36 to go and, 51 seconds later, after a fantastic Shaq Lawson deflection/interception set New York up in the red zone again, White found tight end Tyler Kroft wide open in the middle of the end zone for the game-winner.
The Bengals still don’t know what hit them. As their defensive end Sam Hubbard said afterwards, “It doesn’t seem real.”
You and me both, Sam.