With four games behind them, the Jets have nearly reached the quarter mark of 2024 NFL season. With a 2-2 record and a bout with the Vikings in London in Week 5 on Sunday, HC Robert Saleh is encouraged by his team's trajectory.
"We would have obviously loved to finish it with a win on Sunday, but it didn't happen, Saleh said, referring to the 10-9 loss to Denver. "However, we are 2-2 and the NFL is built on chaos. There is a consistency that we are trying to find with this group and with regard to this team, and this start is definitely something that we can build off of."
Against the Broncos, the Jets struggled to overcome a slow start on offense, failing to score a touchdown in a game for the first time this season.
Prior to Week 4, the Jets offense had scored 3 touchdowns in each game and ripped off a pair of victories, over the Titans and the Patriots. Future Hall of Fame QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 849 yards, 5 touchdowns and 1 interception this season and spread the ball around.
Led WR Allen Lazard, who has 16 receptions for 206 yards and 3 touchdowns, the Jets have 5 players with 120-plus receiving yards this season and 4 with double-digit receptions.
And on the ground, despite an uncharacteristic performance versus Denver rushing for 64 yards on 23 attempts, RBs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen have combined for 304 rushing yards and 5 total touchdowns.
Saleh is confident in their group of playmakers and optimistic about the offense's progress.
"It has been good to see Mike [Williams] come to life, and I think Allen has had a really good year," Saleh said. "Xavier Gipson has added some versatility to the group and Garrett [Wilson] is obviously drawing a lot of attention."
"Breece has been batting 100 percent in goal-line situations this year and he has been doing great in short yardage as well. I am not worried about any of our running backs."
Talking to reporters Wednesday morning, Saleh also addressed the team's raft of penalties against Denver. They were penalized 13 times, including 5 false starts, and 2 occurred on consecutive plays backed up on their 1-yard line.
Heading into Week 4, the Jets had been averaging 6 penalties a game, 10th fewest in the NFL. Saleh & Co. plan to address the recent issue.
"In film, we show it, we talk about it, and we address it when it happens," Saleh said. "It hasn't been a problem up to this point and we're not concerned with it being an issue going forward."
Turning the page to Week 5, the Jets will face a familiar foe Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in QB Sam Darnold, the former No. 3 overall pick by the Jets in 2018. Darnold leads the NFL in passing touchdowns (11) and passer rating (118.9) while leading Minnesota to 4-0 start.
"Sam's gritty, he's tough, he's got tremendous arm talent," Saleh said. "He's another guy, like we talked about last week, that you build around. You build a good offensive line, you build good skill guys, you build a good run game, and you allow them to give him the time. They're doing a great job protecting him, and if you give a guy like him that time, he's going to kill you."
Saleh hopes to get back DL Leki Fotu, who missed the first four weeks of the season on IR with a hamstring injury. The Jets plan to open Fotu's 21-day practice window Wednesday and list Rodgers on the injury report with a knee injury, an issue Saleh is "not concerned at all" with.
In addition, Sunday will mark the second time the Jets play in London during Saleh's tenure. In 2021, the team fell to the Falcons, 27-20, and Saleh came away with several lessons on how to approach the travel and unique gameday experience, that he plans to use this week in '24.
"There are some things that we learned and feel like we can and cannot do," Saleh said. "I feel like we have a really good plan as far as from a sleep standpoint. It's my fifth trip there, so there's a lot of banked history and things that we're trying this year to see if we can be a little bit better and more efficient."
