Two weeks ago, wideout Laveranues Coles helped the Jets' offense to their first breakout game of the season, grabbing three second-quarter touchdown receptions.
This time it was Thomas Jones' turn.
Today's 26-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals marked Jones' first three-touchdown game of his career.
"First and foremost I am happy about the win," Jones said. "We came together as a team and put together the plays we needed to get the win. I'm happy to be able to contribute."
"You have to have a balanced offense to be successful and score points in this league," he said. "We have the weapons on offense to do both, in the running game and the passing game. You never know how the game is going to come out."
Two weeks ago against the Cards, Jones said, "We threw the ball really well and scored a lot of points. Today it wasn't that exact same situation. We kind of had to grind it out a little bit more. The good thing is, we're able to do both."
Jones, who caught a 2-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and rushed for a 7-yard score in the second and a 1-yarder with 2:22 to play, explained why maintaining balance with the pass game and run game is so significant.
"It's very important," he said. "If you throw the ball well one game, obviously the next week the defense is going to prepare for the pass and try to stop that, so you have to be able to run the ball. It's the same thing for the defense trying to stop the run.
"Both of them complement each other. If you're throwing the ball well, safeties have to back up and it gives us more room to run the ball. If we're running the ball well, safeties are up trying to stop us, so we can throw the ball deep."
Jones, who finished with 65 yards on 17 carries and added 13 more on three catches, has received praise from coaches and teammates for his leadership on and off the field. Fellow running back Leon Washington told reporters about a motivational pregame ritual among the backs.
"Before the game, me, him, Jesse Chatman, Tony Rich [Richardson], we put it on ourselves to go out there and give a winning effort to give this team a chance to win.
"We do it every game, right before we go in after warmups. We meet before we have team warmups, we say, 'Hey, let's give a winning effort,' and Thomas usually leads that."
That veteran leadership was only one reason the Jets traded for Jones in 2007, following his first Super Bowl appearance.
"To play football and to really win, you have to be able to run the ball," said Jones. "When I was in Chicago and we went to the Super Bowl, we were able to run the ball regardless of what defense we were going against, whether it was eight or nine guys in the box, we were able to run the ball. I think it's the same situation here.
"We know that we have to be able to run the ball successfully. It's demoralizing to a defense when you can run the ball, especially on the 1- or 2-yard line. So it's important for us to be able to run the ball and coaches understand that.
"We're lucky enough to have a lot of weapons at receiver, quarterback and tight end, guys that can make plays down the field. We're lucky to be in that situation where we could do both well."
Coles was happy to see Jones score as many points as he did for the Jets today.
"That's exciting not only for him but the offense as well," said Coles. "One week it was a wide receiver, one week it was a running back. Now all we need is a tight end. It surely helps us out at wide receiver."
Jones welcomes any opportunity to help the Jets by catching passes, grinding out tough yards and putting points on the board.
"It always feels good to score touchdowns," he said. "That's the whole point of being out there with the ball in your hands. It definitely feels good to be able to score touchdowns, get in the end zone and contribute to the team winning. Today was definitely a team win."
