New York Jets: Bye week comes at the right time

Heading into the bye week, the New York Jets look to get back on the right side of things and start anew from their 0-3 start.

Going into the season, there were high expectations for the New York Jets. After having a strong offseason, things started to fall into place. All looked good for the first three quarters of the season but injuries and mistakes have plagued the team since. With the team idle in Week 4, having the bye week fall this early in the season is the best thing for the Jets right now.

The offense has not lived up to the hype that was present going into the season. Through three games, the Jets have only one offensive touchdown. Only one other team is in the same boat — and that’s the Miami Dolphins. The Jets have also yet to break 300 yards of total offense.

The carousel of quarterbacks hasn’t helped the situation. Starter Sam Darnold went down after Week 1 with mononucleosis. In Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, backup Trevor Siemian was taken out of the game early with an ankle injury and will be out for the rest of the season. The Jets had to then resort to third-string quarterback Luke Falk.

Falk has looked decent in the two games he played, throwing for 296 yards and completing 68 percent of his passes. However, the offensive line has struggled to keep Falk on his feet, allowing him to get sacked seven times. Moreover, the offensive line has allowed 26 quarterback hits through three games.

The defense hasn’t looked bad thus far, ranking in the top five with seven turnovers. But they haven’t looked good either. With how much more the defense has been on the field than the offense, fatigue and subsequent mistakes have been a factor. It also doesn’t help that the defense has more touchdowns than the offense.

One of the main bright spots for the Jets has been running back Le’Veon Bell. Through three games, Bell has 284 total yards of offense and the team’s only offensive touchdown. The Jets have made it clear they’re going to rely on Bell heavily this season, as he has a league-leading 76 touches.

The Jets have faced a lot of early-season injuries. A total of eight projected starters heading into the season were not on the field against the New England Patriots in Week 3.

Quincy Enunwa is out for the rest of the year with a neck injury, C.J. Mosley has been battling a groin injury since leaving early against the Buffalo Bills, rookie Quinnen Williams has been dealing with an ankle injury and newly acquired Demaryius Thomas continues to see limited action due to his injuries.

A lot of the Jets early struggles can be traced back to injuries. Given that issue, having the bye fall in Week 4 is incredibly fortunate in regards to timing as players can take the week off and get back to 100 percent health.

The Jets can go into the bye week with a focus on getting their star players back onto the field. Darnold, Mosley, Williams and Thomas are all trending towards playing in the Jets’ Week 5 bout against the Philadelphia Eagles.

What’s also good about the early bye is the chance to refocus as a team and get on the same page. On the roster currently, the Jets have 28 players new to the team. This gives everyone an opportunity to get together as a unit without having to worry about a game.

Depending on how the Jets come out of the bye, it can make or break the season. The team could head into the Eagles game reverting to their early-season struggles and mistakes or the Jets can come out firing on all cylinders and look like a brand new team, one much more competitive.

If I was a betting man, I’d bet on the latter happening.