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Mike White’s first start for the Jets at MetLife Stadium was a scintillating experience that featured over 400 yards passing, three touchdowns and a thrilling upset of the Bengals.
His second start in East Rutherford wasn’t nearly as good.
The Bills got the best of White on Sunday, picking him off four times and limiting him to 251 yards. White led just one drive that resulted in a touchdown in the Jets’ 45-17 loss to the Bills, struggling to emulate his success against Cincinnati while taking on a Buffalo defense that entered Week 10 ranked first against the pass with just 177 yards allowed per game.
“They’re a really good defense,” White said. “They had a lot of pre and post-snap rotation and gave us a lot of different looks. We just didn’t execute at the end of the day. That’s going to happen and you gotta be able to adjust to those things. This is the NFL. Guys are good. You have to be able to make adjustments.”
White’s afternoon got off to a fortuitous start, as he almost threw an interception on New York’s first drive of the game before firing one on the following possession. White had some temporary success moving the ball down the field in the second quarter, but the Jets did not get into the end zone.
The Bills ruled the second half, as White tossed three interceptions before departing with an injury with 4:53 left in the fourth quarter. Buffalo turned all of its second-half picks into eventual points, helping it extend its already commanding lead into blowout territory.
“It’s very tough,” White said. “Not just for me personally, but for the team as a teammate. Guys are fighting their tails off for four quarters and you turn the ball over four times, it’s tough. The only thing we can do is get better from it and not let this beat us twice.”
Is White’s tenure as the Jets’ starting quarterback over after his disastrous performance against the Bills? Robert Saleh left that open-ended, saying that Zach Wilson is “still dealing with some things” in his recovery from a sprained PCL. That might give White one more week to get back on track.
Either way, White’s first NFL struggles cast serious doubt over his ability to consistently produce. It’s one thing to sneak up on a team and win for one weekend. It’s another to face the best of the best and get the job done.
“You just gotta get better and learn from it and how teams are going to attack you and just turn the page and get better,” White said.
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