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After Sunday's 42-34 victory over the Colts at MetLife Stadium, the Jets spent a lot of time criticizing their old man – or what they saw as their old man – while exposing what they hoped for.
"Last year, if we were in the same situation, we would not have won," said linebacker Jordan Jenkins. "Now we want to work to get out of the middle of the pack and get to the front of this case."
The Jets led the Colts 30-13 until 8:44 remaining in the third quarter. The Colts narrowed the gap to 33-27 with 14:52 to play. But they never got close, because the Jets put them away.
Is it a new team of Jets, able to finish his opponents and manage success by piling up victories?
Jets coach Todd Bowles, at least, does not think his team would have won this game even "a few weeks ago".
But here the Jets have their first run of consecutive wins since weeks 3 to 5 of last year, as they prepare to welcome the Vikings and quarterback Kirk Cousins (do you remember him?) Sunday next. Upon entering the Colts game, the Jets were at 4-12 from Week 6 of last year to Week 5 of the season. Three times since their last series, they have not managed to turn a win into two, twice last year, once this year.
Now they are 3-3, having reacted to a series of three consecutive defeats that put them in a 1-3 hole. Now, they think that they could be right in the AFC playoff race. In the east of the AFC, they are not so far from the pace, with the Bills at 2-4 and the Dolphins and Patriots at 4-2.
"We will not stand there and let adversity hit and just pull us out and quit," Jenkins said. "We will continue to answer."
That's what they did when the Colts reduced their lead on Sunday.
"Nobody panicked," linebacker Darron Lee said. "Maybe if it was last year, everyone would have panicked."
Cornerback Morris Claiborne said, "I have the feeling that in the past our team was not mature enough to take that bump, win those games like the good football teams do. It was a demonstration of that. "
Things will get tougher over the next three weeks against the Vikings, Bears and Dolphins in the last two games. But if the Jets can continue to force the numbers as they did Sunday against the Colts, they should be in shape.
Studs, misfires from Colts-Jets
The Jets had four takeaway Sunday. They had five in their win of Week 1 in Detroit. Last season, there were no more than three takeaways in any game – and they had only three times all year. On Sunday, they scored 20 points to go, including the choice of Claiborne.
"It shows how much this defense has evolved since last year," Jenkins said. "We must make a bow after having [four] turnarounds, but we still have to settle the little things. "
Darryl Slater can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DarrylSlater. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.
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