NFL Power Rankings, Week 9: Rams avoid first loss, Texans white hot

26. New York Jets (22)

Heading into Sunday’s game away from home, the New York Jets knew they were going to be in for a difficult battle when facing the Chicago Bears for numerous reasons. Not only were the Jets facing a hungry Bears team looking to get back on the winning track after two tough losses in a row, but also the Jets still appear to be a team going through some growing pains.

Back in April, New York managed to land the quarterback they seemed to want all along in Sam Darnold when considering he was one of the top players at his position from the draft class for a reason. But like most quarterbacks in their first year of action, Darnold has seen his fair share of ups and downs, although Sunday’s performance against a top defense like the Bears wasn’t all that awful.

At the end of the day, the Jets deserve some credit for keeping this one closer than most football fans expected since it was still a one-possession game in the middle of the fourth quarter. Without question, these are the games that will benefit Darnold and company in the long run from a learning experience since this is what was expected from the rookie for the most part.