AFC East is a tough division for Jets, but 'they've all got to play us, too'
Jets head coach Robert Saleh against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 6, 2022. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Jets last won the AFC East in 2002, a stinging fact of which coach Robert Saleh and the players are well aware.
But they really don’t care.
“These guys don’t care about what happened 20 years ago,” Saleh said on Wednesday. “They’re focused on the moment. It’s acknowledged, but it’s not their story. Their story is about to be written.”
That story begins on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 11 against defending division champion Buffalo at MetLife Stadium.
“The good thing is, yes, we are in a really tough division,” Saleh said, “but they’ve all got to play us, too. So the mindset is always about us. It's about what we can bring and it's about whether they can step up with us. Sounds cocky, I get it. But you can't think of it any other way. It's not about the opponent. It's about what you do every day to be the best version of yourself.”
Last season, the Bills went 13-3, followed by the Dolphins (9-8), Patriots (8-9) and the Jets (7-10). Virtually no one is picking the Jets for last this time, and many experts have hopped off Buffalo’s Super Bowl bandwagon, which has been noted in Orchard Park.
“There are people that sit at their desk, eat Twinkies and eat all type of stuff, order DoorDash and [have] never been on a football field,” Bills tackle Dion Dawkins said, according to the Associated Press. “Some have. Respect it, but who cares? I don’t care. We’re in the now. You can honestly only focus on the now. We don’t have to be your favorite, but we’re going to be our favorite and we’re going to win games.”
The Jets, of course, have Super Bowl dreams of their own. For a franchise that has a 12-year postseason drought, it’s heady talk, but that’s what happens when you bring in Aaron Rodgers.
“I'll be honest,” Saleh said. “I know there's been so much talk about Super Bowls and divisions outside the building, and there's even talk in the building about embracing those possibilities, [but] it's not something that's [often] talked about. Everybody knows what the goal is. Everybody knows what we're trying to accomplish. What's talked about in this building is, ‘Are you doing everything you can to get better? Are you doing everything you can to go to bed better when you wake up?’ And that's it. The results will take care of themselves.”
Saleh joked about the Jets last season snapping a “300-game” division losing streak when they beat Miami, 40-17, on Oct. 9. It was actually a 12-game division losing streak. Overall, the Jets went 2-4 in the East, with their other victory a 20-17 win over Buffalo on Nov. 6.
“We talked about owning the East,” Saleh said. “You’ve got to win your division games. The easiest path to the playoffs is to win the division, right? But, again, it's one game at a time. Obviously, the division games, you want to perform well in the division. Last year, we wanted to show that we can win a game. I think we were in like a 300-game losing streak or whatever it was in the division. We won a couple and this year we want to win a couple more.
“When you’ve got six games, two against New England, who is going to be sound and perfect in what they do, and you’ve got Miami, who’s just so dynamic with playmakers all over the field on offense, defense and special teams, and you’ve got Buffalo, who’s got all the experience with an unbelievable quarterback, you’re going to get tested week in and week out with our division. It does prepare you for everything else that the league has to throw at you."
Jets re-sign pair. Yes, the Jets will have a punter this season. On Wednesday, they re-signed punter Thomas Morstead. The Jets' initial 53-man roster was punter-less after Morstead was waived on Tuesday. The Jets also re-signed FB Nick Bawden and placed T Carter Warren and TE Kenny Yeboah on injured reserve.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
