Mike White, ‘Bam’ Knight among Jets’ reasons for optimism as Vikings await

It will be December on Thursday, and the Jets’ games still matter — and not for draft positioning. That was general manager Joe Douglas’ stated goal this offseason: To still be playing meaningful games in December.

The Jets are 7-4 and seventh in the AFC standings, which would give them the final wild-card spot in the playoffs.

“It’s great to be where we are,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “We expected to have a competitive football team, but at the same time we haven’t accomplished anything. There’s still six games left. … It’s awesome to be where we are right now, like we said, playing meaningful games, it’s fun, it gives you purpose, it allows you to play for something more than just a paycheck. But at the same time, we’ve just got to focus on our moment.”

The Jets are feeling good after blowing out the Bears in Week 12, but it only gets harder from here, starting Sunday in Minnesota against the Vikings. It’s a game that will be crucial for any potential Jets playoff push.

Here are six reasons for optimism and two for concern as the Jets head into this final six-game stretch.

Six reasons for optimism

1. Quick passing — and what it means for the O-line

On paper, the offensive line had its best game of the season in Week 12. According to Pro Football Focus, the group allowed only two pressures, both by right guard Nate Herbig. All five linemen to play the majority of the game graded out positively as pass blockers, and as a team the Jets had their best pass-blocking grade (85.3) of the season.

The group should be applauded for keeping Mike White clean, but White deserves some credit here, too.

A few factors to consider: The Bears are the worst pass-rushing team in the NFL, per PFF. They have only 16 sacks, tied for the fewest in the league. But White got rid of the ball much faster than Zach Wilson ever did. White averaged 2.46 seconds to throw, per TruMedia, the fourth-fastest of any quarterback in Week 12. Wilson averaged fewer than 2.5 seconds to throw just once this season (Week 9 against the Bills) and took more than three seconds in five games.

Wilson, when throwing the ball in more than 2.5 seconds: 40.8 percent completions, 54.5 passer rating. Now, it should be noted that much of Wilson’s time to throw was the result of him using his mobility to evade pressure. White was pressured so infrequently against the Bears that we still don’t really know how he’ll handle those situations, though he did complete an impressive 16-yard pass to Ty Johnson as he was about to get hit.

There is some evidence that White is more likely to stand strong in the pocket and deliver a quick pass before he gets hit than Wilson, whose first instinct (sometimes right, sometimes wrong) is to scramble.

And the quick passing isn’t an outlier, either: White averaged 2.54 seconds to throw last year, which ranked 10th-fastest among QBs with at least 100 pass attempts. His ability and confidence to get rid of the ball quickly should be a boon for the Jets’ offensive line. The next two weeks, the Jets face PFF’s 10th-best (Vikings) and third-best (Bills) pass-rushing defense.

2. Wide receiver connections

It’s no secret the Jets’ wide receivers weren’t happy with how they were being used (or targeted) with Wilson at quarterback. Things changed with White against the Bears, who admittedly had a secondary decimated by injuries. Elijah Moore, whose story of displeasure has been well-told by now, even got involved.

Garrett Wilson was targeted early and often and finished with five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. He’s scored four touchdowns this season, none thrown by Zach Wilson. Moore had only two targets, but they were good ones: a 42-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter, and a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

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After the game, Moore was feeling himself.

“I missed it. I was talking to it (the football) and it was like, damn, you already know how I feel about you,” Moore said, holding both of his hands out. “I was kissing her and I was telling her it’s going to be soon, it’s going to happen soon. It’s just being patient. You don’t weather the storm, you become the storm.”

With Corey Davis (one catch, 9 yards) back in the lineup, the Jets look loaded at wide receiver — and maybe White is the right quarterback to get them the ball when they’re open.

3. Rookie edge rushers

A trio of Jets rookies who already look like stars — Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall (before he got injured) — have earned plenty of attention. That has helped two other Jets rookies, defensive ends Jermaine Johnson and Micheal Clemons, fly under the radar.

Jermaine Johnson was a first-round pick, at No. 26, for the Jets in April. (Vincent Carchietta / USA Today)

They haven’t been stars, but both have flashed their potential and tend to make a crucial play or two every week, none bigger than Johnson’s sack of the Bills’ Josh Allen in Week 9. Johnson missed three games with an injury but returned against Buffalo and has flashed the talent that made the Jets so excited to trade up and draft him in the first round. He has 2 1/2 sacks and has been surprisingly effective on run defense.

Clemons has played a crucial role on special teams, but has contributed on defense too, playing 26 percent of the defensive snaps. He stands out as a run defender, ranking second among all edge rushers in PFF’s grading.

All told, Clemons is PFF’s best-graded rookie edge rusher and Johnson is third.

4. Bam!

The Jets had lacked explosion at running back since Hall went down — Saleh admitted they had left some “meat on the bone” in the running game in recent weeks — but the solution might have been in their building the whole time.

Undrafted rookie Zonovan “Bam” Knight made his debut against the Bears, and whether Michael Carter (low ankle sprain) plays against the Vikings or not, he’s earned a role in the offense going forward — even ahead of James Robinson. Knight was the first player in Jets history to total more than 100 scrimmage yards (69 rushing, 34 receiving) in his debut. He forced nine missed tackles, per PFF.

“He was juicy as a runner, getting north and south,” Saleh said. “He’s a one-cut runner, which is kind of the staple of our scheme, and he played fast, he played physical.”

5. Getting healthier on the O-line

The Jets brought back rookie tackle Max Mitchell against the Bears. They hadn’t planned to play him on offense yet, but then Cedric Ogbuehi suffered a groin injury. Mitchell played the rest of the game — and played well. He didn’t allow any pressures in 24 pass-blocking snaps. Expect him to hold onto the starting job at right tackle at least until George Fant (knee) returns from injured reserve — which could be soon, since he started practicing last week.

6. Upcoming schedule (for pass defenses, at least)

The Jets’ remaining slate certainly won’t be easy, especially this two-game road swing against the 9-2 Vikings and 8-3 Bills. But in terms of the defenses White will be facing, it could be worse. Here’s how each opponent ranks in pass defense (yardage), PFF coverage grade, DVOA (via Football Outsiders) and EPA/dropback (via TruMedia):

Two reasons for concern

1. Tackling issues

For as good as the Jets’ defense has been this season, tackling inconsistencies linger. Bears running back David Montgomery had a 26-yard run in the first quarter and Chicago moved quickly into Jets territory on its first two possessions largely because of missed tackles.

All told, the Jets missed nine tackles against the Bears, per PFF, after missing 11 against the Patriots last week. Three of their five worst tackling performances of the season, per PFF’s grading, have come in the last four games. The biggest culprits this season: safety Jordan Whitehead (12 missed tackles), linebacker Quincy Williams (12) and linebacker C.J. Mosley (11).

“Obviously, we have to fix this tackling,” Saleh said Sunday.

There are some strong runners on the upcoming slate, including Dalvin Cook (Vikings), Jamaal Williams (Lions) and Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks), plus the Bills’ Allen again.

2. Scheduling quirk

NBC Sports’ Peter King recently noted a schedule quirk for New York’s next two opponents: Both the Vikings (who played on Thursday in Week 12) and the Bills (who play on Thursday this week) will face the Jets, at home, on 10 days’ rest.

Maybe that won’t amount to anything, but it’s just one more thing for the Jets to overcome.

(Top photo of Zonovan Knight: Al Bello / Getty Images)