The Jets have had a full 24 hours to digest their 26-20 overtime victory against the New England Patriots and one of the main takeaways from Sunday's game is that members of the Green & White really feel that there is something special within the locker room.
"I think we knew that we had a special team even in the beginning of the season, especially how we played," said tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson on a media conference call. "I think it was like, hey, we have something special here.
"I just think of how things came together and chemistry is something always talked about but it was definitely something we felt. We were clicking well and we knew that if we continued to play good football throughout the year that we would have an opportunity to be in a great position."
Even though the Jets started out 4 -1, the team would experience a challenging 1-4 stretch that hit a low point after a 24-17 loss against the Texans. But the Green & White never lost hope.
"It was a point in time where we had to come together or the ship was going to sink," said LB Calvin Pace. "Players weren't focused in on the details enough. And it just kind of happened, it was a no-brainer for us to keep going, for the season to turn around. It was no choice for us to just follow [Head Coach Todd Bowles] and let him take us where we needed to go."
"Even when we lost," added Fitzpatrick, "we went through that stretch in the middle of the season where we lost some games, lost some close games, there was still a ton of belief. And I just think you know, being in the league and having experience that a lot of us do have, you can recognize when you have a good team."
The trip to the Lone Star State would be the turning point for the Jets where Bowles guided his team back to the fundamentals and players started having fun again.
"I think we were just trying to reinvent the wheel," said QB Ryan Fitzpatrick. "We were putting people in a bunch of different positions and situations and I think that was hurting me more than helping me, just in terms of my decision-making."
Simplifying and taking one game at a time has been the winning formula for the Jets heading into the regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Now, the Green & White are in full control of their destiny and are focused on taking care of their business in hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
"I just think that we've got a lot of veteran guys on our team," said Fitzpatrick. "We have a lot of experience. We have plenty of guys that have been in big-time games in the playoffs."
"Now it's just for us to stay consistent and to believe we can be successful against any opponent," added Ferguson. "Everybody really bought into that belief, not because somebody told us that. We were able to see through the games that we were playing and how they were all turning out."
