It was a fun offseason, but it ended four offensive plays into the regular season with Aaron Rodgers going down with a torn Achilles. He is not going to be the savior of the 2023 New York Jets.

That doesn’t mean that the season over. That doesn’t mean that the playoffs are not a possibility. The Jets have a stout defense, arguably the best in the league, a good running game that will need to carry the offense and Garrett Wilson who can make any throw look good.

The focus turns to Zach Wilson for now who will look to lead the Jets better than he was able to the last few years. And while we would all like to wish the Rodgers injury never happened, there is still a game to play on Sunday and it won’t be an easy one.

The Dallas Cowboys coming off a 40-0 beatdown of the cross-town New York Giants will open their home schedule against the Jets Sunday at 4:25 ET. The Cowboys are sporting a top defense of their own to go along with a well-balanced offense.

Most sportsbooks have the Jets at about a 9.5 point underdog and will need to follow my three keys to the game in order for the Jets to pull off the upset. 

Three Keys to a Jets Victory

1- Run the damn ball

Rex Ryan called it ground and pound. Others call it “three yards and a cloud of dust”. Whatever phrase you want to use, it all means the same thing. Run the football. This one is obvious.

Dalvin Cook might be regretting his decision to join the Jets seeing as how Aaron Rodgers was the leading factor that led him to New York, but he is here now, and he might as well make the best of it.

The Jets have four capable running backs, two of which are elite or close to it. Get creative in the running game. People make the mistake of thinking a creative offense is only in the passing game. Offensive minds like Matt LeFleur or Kyle Shanahan run very creative run games.

The Jets offensive line can move people off the ball. Even as much as I don’t trust Mekhi Becton, I know he is a mauler in the run game.

Run the ball. Control the clock. Put the pressure on Dallas’ offense.

2- Make Dallas uncomfortable on offense

Pressure breaks the dam. The Cowboys will want to feature a balanced attack with Tony Pollard running the ball and Dak Prescott hitting Ceedee Lamb and Brandin Cooks in the passing game. The Jets have the personnel to shut both down.

Unlike a lot of teams that feature a true number one corner, the Jets have two guys that they are comfortable matching up with anywhere on the field in Sauce Gardner and D.J. Reed.

Quincy Williams was a mad man in week one making tackles all over the field. That is how he is going to have to play going forward. The Jets will need to win the turnover battle weekly going forward in order to give themselves a chance to win.

The defensive line has been a wrecking crew and will have to continue to make opposing quarterbacks nervous to hold on to the ball.

3- Find a way to get Garrett Wilson involved.

Did you see the catches he was making on Monday night? He has clearly stepped his game up even more than his rookie season and was poised to breakout with Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

For some reason, the chemistry has never been there between two guys named Wilson (Only 440 yards in nine games together), but for the Jets to have any sort of chance at a mediocre passing attack this season, Zach will have to find a way to get Garrett the ball.

In order to get Wilson the ball, Zach Wilson has to be efficient and more importantly, the gameplan needs to account for star LB/Edge Micah Parsons. Robert Saleh called Parsons a “game wrecker”.

When asked “how do you slow down Micah Parsons?” Jets OC Nathaniel Hackett literally laughed and said, “you can’t”. That is a good sign for the Jets going into the game. They won’t be caught thinking they can beat him with one of their less than stellar tackles.

If Zach can get adequate time in the pocket, use his athleticism, and find ways to get the ball to Garrett Wilson, that will help open some holes in the run game.

---

The Jets will not win many games “pretty” this season now that Rodgers is out. The worst spot for the Jets to be in is going against a top tier defense on a short week while turning to Zach Wilson, but those are the breaks.

I like the Jets to keep this one close on the backs of their defense.  

Now what for the Jets at quarterback?

The Jets are interested in adding a quarterback after Aaron Rodgers and there are some options they clearly need to stay away from.

Featured image via Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK