It’s not about how you start, but about how you finish. And so far, the Jets have been finishing games on a high note.
The Jets are now 3-2 after dismantling the Miami Dolphins, 40-17. That includes outscoring the Dolphins, 21-0, in the fourth quarter. Remember, this game was 19-17 going into the fourth quarter and the Dolphins had life. The Jets quickly sucked all the life out in the fourth with a strip-sack from Carl Lawson and a subsequent Breece Hall touchdown that pretty much iced the game.
With that 21-0 fourth-quarter margin, the Jets are now outscoring opponents, 79-20, in the fourth quarter (H/T Eric Allen of Jets 360 Productions).
In their other two wins, they outscored the Browns, 17-13, and the Steelers, 14-7. They even outscored the Ravens, 6-0, back in Week 1 in a 24-9 loss. There was no score in the fourth quarter for either the Jets or the Bengals in Week 3.
Think about it for a minute. The Jets are giving up an average of less than a touchdown, really a shade more than the field goal, per game in the fourth quarter. As Allen notes, that’s an average margin of 16-4 in the fourth quarter. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has gotten his fair share of shade, and some of it deserved. But you can’t argue only giving up 20 points in the fourth quarter in five games.
Typically, when you win the fourth quarter, you win football games. The Jets are doing that and that’s why they sit with a winning record through five games and are right behind the Buffalo Bills atop the AFC East.