New York Jets: What we learned in the loss to Browns

The New York Jets proved a lot of things in the game against the Browns Thursday night, but they proved they can compete with anyone.

The New York Jets went in with a plan against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday. They executed it to perfection, and they saw the Browns be forced to go to Baker Mayfield before they planned to after an injury to Tyrod Taylor. The problem is, they allowed a rookie to get comfortable by calling off the dogs.

The game ended in a loss, but there is something the Jets can glean from this game. They played good team defense and generated a pass rush through team defense rather than needing one dominant guy.

It may be “just the Browns” in the minds of many, but there’s something else this game proved. They are capable of beating anyone in this league with that pass rush.

Many people wanted to bet the farm on a player like Khalil Mack, and we can see why looking at his performance so far in Chicago. That said, football is the ultimate team game, and the Jets have played great team defense in the last two games.

Everyone points to the time of John Abraham. However, the Jets have been on the doorstep of the Super Bowl without having the dominant pass rusher, and they were never that close with Abraham. What we learned is that this defense is capable of getting to the opposing quarterback without the one dominant pass rusher.

Another thing we learned is that there needs to be patience. Offense is always behind defense at the beginning of the season, especially with a rookie quarterback. The game plan looked simplified, but there were enough times that Sam Darnold didn’t see open receivers downfield and settled for checkdowns. It’s going to be a learning process with Darnold.

The Jets offseason focus should be on the offensive line. The Jets can’t afford for Darnold to turn into the second-coming of David Carr. That was a result of multiple seasons ignoring the offensive line.

The Jets showed us a lot in the loss to the Browns. As in every game, we can glean positives and negatives from this game. It’s just another step in the climb up the mountain.