Well, the hype is officially on. The New York Jets won two games in a row and have a winning record for the first time since 2018. TheGangGreen dismantled the Dolphins 40-17 in Week 5, as they won their first division game since 2019. PFT has Robert Saleh’s team as high as #12 in their latest rankings, while Yahoo Sports appears to be the only pundit who does not think that the Jets are worthy of a place in the top 20. Everyone else has the Jets in the top 20, giving them an average of 16.6, their highest power rankings position in literally forever. The Packers (3-2) and Aaron Rodgers are next. They are rightfully favored by 7.5 points and expected to be a real test for Robert Saleh’s young up-and-coming team.
Here’s what different power rankings websites had to say about the Jets:
ESPN: The Jets need high-level quarterback play. To be fair, Zach Wilson is 2-0 since returning from his knee injury and has put together five good quarters in a row, but he has yet to demonstrate that he can carry the team for a full game. He still doesn’t have a 300-yard passing game or a three-touchdown-pass game in his career. The Jets are built to be balanced on offense, reducing the burden on the quarterback, but there will be games in which they need Wilson to bail them out. Can he do it?
The Sporting News: The Jets are becoming a sneaky feel-good story with Robert Saleh seeing his team’s major wholesale changes around Zach Wilson and the defense paying off. The reward was ending a win drought in AFC East plays, taking full advantage of the Dolphins’ misfortune.
CBS Sports: Rookie Breece Hall showed in beating the Dolphins that he might be ready to take off and roll up some big numbers. He was that impressive. They are a real shock to be this high.
ProFootballTalk: On their way to improving enough to become contenders next year, they could end up becoming contenders this year.
Yahoo Sports: The Jets caught a break against Miami when Teddy Bridgewater left the game in the first quarter due to the concussion protocol and an elbow injury too. And that’s OK, nobody was feeling sorry for the Jets when their injuries were happening. The Jets are 3-2 and not many people saw that happening. In particular, rookie running back Breece Hall looks like a future star. He had 197 yards in the win on Sunday.
NFL.com: The Jets closed out Sunday’s 40-17 win over the Dolphins like a young team that’s starting to believe in itself. New York used a dominant rushing attack and big-play defense to reel off 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, snapping a 12-game losing streak versus AFC East opponents. Carl Lawson sealed the win with a strip sack of Dolphins third-string QB Skylar Thompson (a play that allowed Quinnen Williams to stiff-arm “disrespectful” Tyreek Hill into another time zone), while Breece Hall announced his arrival as an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate with 197 total yards and a score. Returns have been exceedingly positive on a 2022 draft class that includes instant-impact starters in Hall, cornerback Sauce Gardner and wide receiver Garrett Wilson. Tip your cap to Joe Douglas.
USA Today: Hate to pour any cold water on their 3-2 start. But we have receipts showing the NYJ have beaten one backup quarterback and two rookie passers. Let’s see how it goes against Rodgers in Lambeau Field this Sunday.
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| Sporting News | 24 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 22 | 16 | |||||||||||||
| CBS Sports | 29 | 31 | 23 | 27 | 26 | 14 | |||||||||||||
| PFT | 31 | 32 | 19 | 24 | 16 | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Yahoo Sports | 27 | 31 | 28 | 32 | 27 | 24 | |||||||||||||
| NFL.com | 26 | 32 | 25 | 31 | 26 | 17 | |||||||||||||
| USA Today | 27 | 32 | 23 | 28 | 22 | 17 | |||||||||||||
| 27.7 | 31.7 | 25 | 28.7 | 23.1 | 16.6 |
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