The New York Jets have won 3 games in a row and are 4-2 for the first time since 2015. The Gang Green are surging and football pundits are taking notice. Both CBS Sports and ProFootballTalk placed Robert Saleh’s squad at #7 in their latest power rankings, while ESPN has them at #9. The Sporting News, who placed the Jets at #14, ranked them the lowest but it was still way higher than entire last two seasons. On Sunday the Jets will take on the surprisingly poor Broncos (2-4). The betting line opened with Denver being a 3.5-point favorite but has shrunk to only 1.5 points since then.
Here’s what different power rankings websites had to say about the Jets:
ESPN: The rookie class is developing quicker than expected. Cornerback Sauce Gardner and running back Breece Hall, in particular, have made such an impact that they have to be considered candidates for Defensive and Offensive Rookie of the Year, respectively. Gardner has eight pass breakups, one interception and has allowed only one reception in man coverage, per NFL Next Gen Stats. Hall replaced Michael Carter as the RB1 and is ninth in the league with 609 yards from scrimmage. Growing pains? Not at all.
The Sporting News: The Jets joined the crosstown Giants in stomping the Packers. They are played inspired defensive-minded football for Robert Saleh with rookie Sauce Gardner and many other changes paying off. The run-heavy offense keeps rocking with rookie Breece Hall to lift Zach Wilson.
CBS Sports: Can you believe they are 4-2? Winning at Green Bay the way they did validates them as a potential playoff team. The defense is getting good.
ProFootballTalk: Ten years after the Butt Fumble, they may be ready for NBC prime time, again.
Yahoo Sports: The Jets’ defense is pretty good. Rookie running back Breece Hall is really good. The passing game is a work in progress, but you can win games with defense and the running game. The Jets did not look good early in the season, but a decisive win at Green Bay is a massive one for a young team. Very few teams this season have been consistently decent, so why can’t the Jets have a nice season with this formula?
NFL.com: The Jets went to Lambeau Field and secured their biggest win in years. The 27-10 beatdown of the Packers was stunning in how easy it felt for New York, a former doormat that entered the season with the NFL’s longest postseason drought at 11 years. Robert Saleh’s young playmakers impacted the game at every level: Sauce Gardner was a constant menace in the secondary, Breece Hall went for more than 100 yards on the ground with the clinching touchdown run, while Quinnen Williams and a surging front four punished Aaron Rodgers and lived in the backfield all afternoon. When it was over, Gardner jogged around Lambeau wearing a Cheesehead — an act of defiance and a message to the league: The Baby Jets have arrived.
USA Today: They were 1-2 and averaging more than 50 passes per game with QB2 Joe Flacco. Since Zach Wilson’s return, the NYJ have gone 3-0 – and he’s not attempting half as many throws as Flacco. Conversely, the suddenly soaring Jets are averaging 137.3 rushing yards during their win streak, an improvement of 50+ per week with Wilson in the lineup.
| Preseason | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 | W10 | W11 | W12 | W13 | W14 | W15 | W16 | W17 | W18 | |
| ESPN | 30 | 32 | 29 | 31 | 23 | 16 | 9 | ||||||||||||
| Sporting News | 24 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 16 | 14 | ||||||||||||
| CBS Sports | 29 | 31 | 23 | 27 | 26 | 14 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| PFT | 31 | 32 | 19 | 24 | 16 | 12 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Yahoo Sports | 27 | 31 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 24 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| NFL.com | 26 | 32 | 25 | 31 | 26 | 17 | 13 | ||||||||||||
| USA Today | 27 | 32 | 23 | 28 | 22 | 17 | 12 | ||||||||||||
| 27.7 | 31.7 | 25 | 28.7 | 23.1 | 16.6 | 10.6 |
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