Fewer than 24 hours after the Jets drilled the Texans, 30-6, at MetLife Stadium, teammates continued to rave about QB Zach Wilson, echoing what head coach Robert Saleh called his best performance as a professional. Wilson directed the Jets to a 30-point second-half explosion and played 60 minutes of good football, hitting on 27-of-36 passes for 301 yards with 2 TDs. It was quite of a response for a player who had been demoted to the team's third QB the previous two games.

"I think more than anything, it was just his mental toughness," said veteran WR Randall Cobb of Wilson. "Just to bounce back and come back given an opportunity and making the most out of it. He made some checks in the game and just played his brand of football. You could tell he was having fun, enjoying himself and I feel like that pressure he's been carrying, it didn't seem to be there. It was nice to see him just play loose and free and having fun and going out there and slingin' it around."

Against a Houston team that had won 4 of 5, Wilson led the Jets to 3 second-half TDs including a toss to Cobb that got the scoring underway in the third quarter. After the Texans appeared to grab momentum on a Devin Singletary TD following a Wilson fumble, Wilson immediately countered with a 10-play, 75-yard march that ended with a 3-yard TD pass to Breece Hall.

"He did awesome, so testament to his character, how much he's developed as a man and as a professional," LG Laken Tomlinson said of the third-year passer. "I thought he handled things well and came out last week juiced up ready for practice and everything, motivating guys in the locker room and it showed. He fought for us and we fought for him too."

Veteran Mike LB C.J. Mosley pointed to Wilson's confident play. Nowhere was that more apparent than the Jets' opening drive in the third quarter when Wilson used his athleticism to escape pressure and throw across his body to Garrett Wilson for a 25-yard completion on a third-and-12 play from the Houston 40. Then he hit Cobb and the damn broke in the rain.

"From the start to the finish, you just saw his confidence with the play-calling, with him throwing the ball," Mosley told reporters. "When he tucked it and got out of the pocket, he wasn't second-guessing himself. He got the ball to his playmakers and when the ball is in their hands — they made plays."

Keep Building
Veteran LB C.J. Mosley, in his fourth season with the Jets, is the signal-caller for a unit that has moved to No. 5 overall in total defense (299 yds/g). Over the past two weeks, the Jets held the Texans and Falcons to 135 and 194 yards, respectively. With four games remaining, the Jets are 5-8 in a conference that now has 11 teams with 7-6 records or better.

"We just have to take it one day at a time," Mosley said. "The past is the past what we have done so far this season. Right now, we're 1-0 so let's make it 2-0 and keep building, keep stacking and let the chips lie at the end."

After the Jets thumping of the Texans, Mosley watched the game and pointed to the celebratory hugs and appreciations the players shared when victory was at hand.

"When one person struggles, everyone struggles. When one person does great, everybody does great," Mosley said. "So we always want to uplift each other when things are going good and also when things are going bad, so we can build through these times and have that camaraderie when it's time to make that play or when we need that one play or we need to lean on somebody that everybody can be trusted and accountable."

Warriors March On
The Jets have started nine different OL combinations in as many games. With rookie Carter Warren (hip) and Wes Schweitzer (calf, injured reserve) out of the lineup, the Jets' right side featured Max Mitchell at RT and Jake Hanson making his first Jets start at RG. Mitchell exited with a stinger and was replaced by Billy Turner.

"Just a series of unfortunate events," said LG Laken Tomlinson, who has made 109 consecutive starts. "Bad luck and it sucks but I'll tell you one thing though — we've got some warriors in our room. We've got some guys coming out every week, giving us a chance to win and I truly appreciate those guys because they bust their tails. It sucks having so many guys go down, but this past game guys came out and we fought for each other. It just goes to show what our group can do when you got guys who come in who are willing to work and willing to do anything to win."

A-Rod Watch
On Wednesday, QB Aaron Rodgers will be 13 weeks removed from surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon. His 21-day practice window was opened on Nov. 29^th and Rodgers last week talked of Christmas Eve (Jets-Commanders game) as his initial target date to return. But he's reiterated that a comeback this season would be determined by his health and whether the Jets are still in playoff contention.

"It's been crazy," WR Randall Cobb said of Rodgers' recovery to date. "I wish we were in better position that would give him more of an opportunity, but I don't know what will come from where we are in the season and his recovery. But just seeing him out there in a helmet and being able to drop back and throw the ball is pretty remarkable, being how recently he had his surgery. It's pretty wild to watch, but I don't put anything past him. He's always trying to exceed expectation."