The Jets had a dominating performance on Sunday in London as they beat the Miami Dolphins 27-14.
The Jets showed great resiliency going across the pond to win this win after a subpar performance in a loss against the Eagles the prior week.
The Jets are now 3-1 on the young season and have shown that this can be a special season. They are heading into a bye week and are back in action at MetLife Stadium on October 18 against Washington.
Jets Head Coach Todd Bowles said of the plane ride back from London after the win, “It was long, but it was good. It was good. I slept.”
Bowles said of the mindset of the team right now, “I think it’s mature and we’re working on how to become a cohesive unit and how to win ball games. We still have to get better from a penalty standpoint and our guys know that. We understand that we’ve only played one quarter of the season and all we did was get off to a good start. We haven’t accomplished anything and we know we have a lot of work to do and our mindset is such.”
On if he’s sensed confidence growing within the team, Bowles said, “Yes, I think we’re growing together. I think everybody is starting to realize that we can become a good team, but we have to cut out a lot of mistakes ahead and we’ve got a long haul to go and it’s not going to happen overnight. But, the guys are getting a lot more confident.”
Bowles said of confidence growing within the coaching staff, “Yes, I think the staff, growing together and working together, getting the preseason games out of the way and getting a feel for each other and how they work and who’s the yeller, who’s the teacher and who the screamers are. I think they got a real good feel for each other.”
On if he would have preferred for the Bye Week to come at a different time, Bowles said, “Initially, I would always say Week Eight, but with a couple guys getting banged up yesterday in the game, I would say it came at a pretty good time.”
Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Jets has been the performance of running back Chris Ivory, who ran for 166 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries on Sunday. He missed the Philadelphia game due to a quad injury
Ivory already has 63 carries on the season, an average of 21 per game. Bowles said of monitoring Ivory’s amount of carries to preserve him for the season, “It’s a long haul. After that (the Bye Week) we have 12 straight (games), so, we’re going to monitor (his touches) and make sure that he’s getting his work in, but we’re still giving him some breaks in between, here and there. We know he’s a bell-cow and everything else, but we still have two other guys that can run the ball. In a 12-week season, that’s a long time, so we’ve got to make sure he stays healthy.”
On if Ivory’s running style is cause for concern regarding his durability for the season, Bowles said, “No, it doesn’t. I mean he’s a tough runner. That’s who he is. You’re not going to take that away from him. He takes care of his body and hopefully we can just keep him healthy. But, you don’t worry about how he runs.”
Bowles said of how pleased he is with the performance of the offensive line, which was key to Ivory’s big day, “This week I was pleased. Last week, I wasn’t. They’ve been playing pretty good for the most part. I thought they did a good job yesterday and they stepped up and accepted the challenge and they played physical.”
The Jets will be getting a big boost to their already-strong defense in their next game, when defensive end Sheldon Richardson makes his return from suspension. Richardson was given a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
“It gives us an extra weapon, extra depth down there. I mean, he’s a Pro Bowl player, he’s a heck of a player. (We) have to get him back in football shape and get him in the rotation and keep moving forward,” said Bowles.
On if he has received an indication from the NFL if Richardson will receive extra discipline for vilating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, Bowles said, “No, we still haven’t.”
Bowles said of the the challenge to incorporate Richardson into the rotation with the way Leonard Williams and Muhammad Wilkerson have been playing, “No, you don’t have a challenge finding places for good players to play. You just play them.
On if he’s spoken to Richardson about returning, Bowles said, “I have not spoken to him since last week, before we left to go to London. But, he was here every day in meetings and everything else and working out and he was doing fine.”
On if team will receive a roster exemption for Richardson, Bowles said, “We have about a week. We don’t have to do anything until next week.”
Bowles said of their injury updates on Monday, “Right now, Calvin Pryor has a bruised knee. David Harris has the quad. Leonard Williams has a sprained ankle and Bilal Powell has the groin. All status equals still getting checked out, they’re pretty sore this week so (the bye) came at a good time.”
On if he would anticipate having the injured players back after the Bye Week, Bowles said, “I mean I hope so, but it’s too early to tell. As long as they get treatment and everything heals, hopefully that’s the process. But, I won’t be able to tell until next week, right now.”
Miami fired their head coach, Joe Philbin, on Monday, and Bowles said of being surprised they made a coaching change, “In this league, nothing surprises you. You can just sit back and shake your head one way or the other and move on with your own team.”
There was yet another incident of foul play involving Ndamukong Suh during Sunday’s game, as he was seen trying to kick Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in the head on the play on the sideline. Bowles said of thinking that Suh did it, “No, I don’t think so.”