Do you enjoy rooting for an underdog? Are you tired of the New England Patriots? Well If you answered yes to either those go ahead and root for the New Jack City. The New York Jets don’t have the most talented roster but do have some appealing pieces. What about the Rookie, Sam Darnold? Or the new tackling machine, Avery Williamson? Not to mention a top 10 rush defense last season. The Jets really do have some talent on the roster and I know they can compete in the NFL with the best of them. If you dig into it, the facts will show.

Let’s start with the identity of this Jets squad, the Defense, aka New Jack City. On ESPN’s All-Under 25 Defense, Jamal Adams and Leonard Williams made the cut. Adams, 22, and Williams, 24, combined for 85 tackles and 4 sacks. That is more than the reigning Super Bowl champions defensive tackle and Safety combo. Philadelphia Eagles’ Fletcher Cox and Malcolm Jenkins combined for just 72 tackles. Then you look at the new team captain on the Defense side, Avery Williamson. Williamson, who signed a 3yr/ $22M deal on March 14th, had 73 tackles alone in 2016. Now we take a look at the young secondary in New York. Trumaine Johnson gave up just one touchdown in 932 snaps. That’s amazing and Trumaine also got paid this offseason. 5yr/ $72.5M. Only hole I see in the Jets D is they lack a pass rusher. However, David Bass is coming off a career year with 3.5 sacks and Bass is only getting better by the year. Then on the other side you have young edge rusher Jordan Jenkins. Jenkins had 3 sacks in his sophomore season and looks more poised than ever to be the Jets standout pass rusher. For these reasons and stats states, this defense will be able to maintain any offense.

Sam Darnold. How else would I start talking about this offense without naming the Golden Boy, Sam Darnold. Darnold officially named the starter on September 3rd ahead of week 1 against the Lions. Experts say Darnold is going to turn the ball over a ton due to his USC troubles. Well you look at film of Darnold’s preseason and he is a different QB. Sam threw just one interception and it was a 4th down so he had to force it either way. When Darnold rolls out of the pocket, he now has 2 hands on the ball and holds it tight. If the offense doesn’t turn the ball over then the Jets can win some games with the defense doing their thing. He has weapons to get the ball to. As a rookie, Darnold is made and in my opinion will be the OROY (Offensive Rookie of the Year). Now off my Sam Darnold wagon and now gonna jump on these receivers in the green and white. Jermaine Kearse, Robby Anderson, and now Quincy Enunwa, who is returning from injury. Robby and Kearse combined for 1,751 yards and 12 touchdowns. Enunwa in 2016, before he was hurt, had 58 receptions for 857 yards and 4 TDs. But everyone still talks about the Patriots offense right? What about the fact that the Patriots top 2 receivers this year combined for just 748 yards with 5 touchdowns last season. Jets even have the edge with backs in the backfield. Jets have running backs by committee while the Patriots seem to just be relying on Rex Burkhead. Burkhead had  264 yards on the ground. Bilal Powell and Isaiah Crowell of the Jets both had over 750 rush yards. As the facts continue to speak, be on the watch for this Jets offense jump into the top 15 category under Darnold, which should be enough to get them into the postseason, after finishing as the 27th best offense a season ago.

The Jets were a 5 win team last season but there were 6 different games where they lost by a touchdown or less (vs. NE, @ MIA, vs. ATL, @ TB, vs. CAR, vs. LAC). With a new QB under Center, an improved defense, and just a more mature team, they could easily take 3 of those wins back. That’s makes them an 8 win team. Buffalo got in last year at 8-8. Also with a better team, things can go your way so that may also add 1 or 2 more victories. With a weaker AFC this season, 9 or 10 wins should for sure get a team into the postseason. For these reasons, I say the Jets, in the 2018-19 season, will be a playoff team. Down below I give my game by game predictions for the season and how they sneak into the playoffs.