It’s been a while since the Jets have played meaningful football this late in the season, but that’s exactly where they stand as they flip the calendar to January and take a cross-country trip to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Seahawks.
Buy Jets TicketsAhead of their Week 17 showdown, let’s take a look at some of the top storylines surrounding this game.
Win or go home in Week 17
It’s a note that’s been nailed down all week, but it’s worth repeating. The Jets must win Sunday or their postseason hopes will officially be laid to rest. (A tie plus a Miami win also eliminates New York).
On the heels of a four-game losing streak, the Jets have been in postseason mode already, but offensive stumbles over the past two games against the Lions and Jaguars have put the Jets at 7-8 and now are at the mercy of also rooting against their old friends, the New England Patriots.
When the ball is kicked off at 4:05, the Jets will have an idea of whether they just need to win their next two games or if they’ll need to root for Buffalo in Week 18.
It’s all moot if they can’t take care of business in Seattle.
Mike White is back...but will he in 2023?
After missing the last two games with fractured ribs, quarterback Mike White is back in the starting lineup with a chance to lead the Jets into the playoffs for the first time since 2010. He could also be auditioning for the starting role in 2023.
Speculation has already run rampant on who will be behind center for the Jets in 2023 now that it’s all but assured it will not be Zach Wilson. Many believe it will be a veteran quarterback such as Jimmy Garoppolo or Derek Carr, or even shooting high for Aaron Rodgers.
But if White can win these last two games and the Jets make their way into the playoffs, could that cause the Jets to take a step back and try to talk themselves into re-signing White as the full-time starter next season? At the very least, it would earn him a shot to start, either with the Jets or somewhere else in 2023.
The likely No. 1 and No. 2 candidates for Defensive Rookie of the Year on the same field
Two of the top rookie cornerbacks this season, and perhaps the two favorites for Defensive Rookie of the Year, will be on display Sunday in Seattle.
For the Jets, you have Pro Bowler Sauce Gardner, who has 65 total tackles, two interceptions and 16 passes defended. Gardner leads the league in passes defended.
The Seahawks have Tariq Woolen, their fifth-round diamond in the rough out of Texas-San Antonio. Woolen has 53 tackles, six interceptions and 14 passes defended. Woolen is tied with Eagles’ safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson for the league lead in interceptions.
Could Sunday’s game help decide which cornerback takes home the hardware? Regardless, fans are in for a treat watching two of the top rookies from the 2022 draft in action.
Jets facing old friend Geno Smith, who resurrected his career in 2022
Once upon a time, a man named Geno Smith was under center for the New York Jets. The 2013 second-round pick started all 16 games as a rookie, going 8-8 before things fell apart in 2014. Smith went just 3-10 in his second season. He would play in just three games between 2015 and 2016 before making stops with the Giants and Chargers in 2017 and 2018 before landing in Seattle in 2020.
After sitting behind Russell Wilson for two years and making three starts in place of an injured Wilson in 2021, Smith beat out Drew Lock for the starting job in 2022 and started in Week 1 for the first time since 2014.
He now faces his former team, but says there isn’t any extra motivation because he’s facing the team that drafted him.
“Not anything for me, I just feel like the importance of it is that we need a win to get to the playoffs,” Smith said this week. “Obviously, there will be some speculation and talk about that, it comes with the territory. It is to be expected. I have a lot of love for the Jets, the organization and the people that are still there that were there when I got drafted. For me and this team, it’s business as usual, another week to prepare and a tough challenge for us to go out there and try to get this win. We need it.”
Deep down, you have to think Smith would also love to deal the knockout blow to the Jets’ playoff hope Sunday. He won’t come out and say it, but he’s likely at least thinking about it.
