Imagine you were asked a month ago who would be the best option to lead a second-half comeback for the Jets: Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, or the remaining skeleton of Mike White, a player who seemingly could barely breathe, was minutes away from being sent to the hospital and may have left a few ribs on the Highmark Stadium turf.
On Sunday, was there any doubt whom the Jets needed?
Even in defeat — a game in which he struggled, finished just 27-of-44 for 268 yards and had a hard time staying upright in front of a depleted offensive line overrun by a dominant defensive line — White demonstrated that, health pending, Wilson should not see the field again this season.
White seems to be revealing a different quality each week. In the Week 12 win over the Bears, he demonstrated he could lean on his weapons and dink-and-dunk his way to a respectable effort. He flashed his arm strength and threw downfield more often — out of necessity because the Jets were trailing — in the Week 13 loss in Minnesota.
On Sunday, a quarterback who already has proven he has the mind and arm to be in the league showed he has the guts, too.
“He’s got a lot of heart. He’s going to lay it on the line for his boys,” Garrett Wilson told reporters after the Jets’ 20-12 loss.
Michael Carter was more succinct.
“A f–king soldier,” the running back said after the Jets battled the Bills and the elements on a cold, rainy and snowy day in Buffalo.
The pain became evident in the second quarter, when White was blasted, eventually picked himself off the frozen turf and sat out for two plays — one of which was an overthrow by Flacco. White reentered and quickly threw a perfect pass along the sideline to Garrett Wilson.
To start the third quarter, White engineered a touchdown drive that tied the game. Then the pain appeared to become excruciating: Linebacker Mike Milano sliced right through the Jets’ defensive line and, at a full sprint, demolished White in the midsection. It is remarkable he was not split in half.
White remained on the ground for several minutes. He hobbled off the field, went into the locker room and got X-rays that apparently came back clean (or clean enough). And as Flacco showed every bit of his 37 years of age, White came wobbling back in, a Willis Reed in pads.
White showed off his fortitude if not exactly brilliance. He threw several strikes in the fourth quarter and led the Jets to a field goal. With each hit the Bills defense laid on him — and there were a few — there was wonder whether he could unpaste himself from the field. With each throw, you could see White’s body screaming at him. The Bills, maybe the AFC’s best team, were not enough of an opponent. White had to fight pain, too.
Guts don’t always give way to glory. After the Jets’ defense came up with a stop and gave the ball back to White with 45 seconds left, he threw four times without a completion. He walked off the field and soon out of the Bills’ stadium to head to a nearby hospital for further testing. Robert Saleh called the hospital visit “more [out of] precaution than anything.”
If White is OK, will he be the Jets’ quarterback next week against the Lions?
“For sure,” the head coach said.
White has proven he can move the Jets offense with a quick release. He has proven he has the arm strength when the Jets need to stretch the field. He has proven he can dissect opponents, even if Buffalo’s was the first imposing defense he has seen this season. Now he has proven his heart won’t fail him when his body threatens to.
Even when he was a third-string quarterback, White consistently said he believes he can be a capable starting quarterback.
Maybe he will prove that, too.
Today’s back page
Read more:
? VACCARO: It’s up to Jets to back up Robert Saleh’s unshaken playoff confidence
? O’CONNOR: Brian Daboll failed to have Giants ready to compete in high-stakes game
? Jalen Brunson exits with sprained ankle … Julius Randle ejected … and Knicks keep rolling with commanding win over Kings
The downside of ‘meaningful games’
Imagine you were asked in mid-November about the playoff forecast for the 6-3 Jets and 7-2 Giants.
On Sunday, a sunny New York football season became overcast.
The Giants are not just losing; they are getting destroyed. By the time the Eagles had completed their 48-22 destruction of the Giants at MetLife Stadium, the audible portion of the crowd was filled with invaders from Philadelphia, and the magic the Giants had found was nowhere in sight. They padded their record by establishing themselves as an excellent fourth-quarter team that could steal close games. The problem is, these games are not close.
In their past four weeks — three losses and one tie with Washington — the Giants have been outscored, 127-80. Their defense has been exploited without safety Xavier McKinney and cornerback Adoree’ Jackson. Their offense has been silent with Saquon Barkley clearly not 100 percent.
The Giants (7-5-1) would be the last NFC team to qualify if the playoffs began today, but the Seahawks (7-6) and Lions (6-7) are lurking. Through a tiebreaker, the Giants are behind the Commanders (7-5-1), whom the Giants visit next week in what will be a critical game for both teams’ playoff hopes. Can a team that started 7-2 really be done playing in early January?
The Jets are wondering the same.
Way back in August, general manager Joe Douglas said the goal is to play meaningful games “down the stretch.” They have achieved that much, but the aim changed after they beat the Bills in Week 9, winning six of their first nine games without receiving much from the quarterback position.
After two straight losses and the Chargers’ win Sunday night, the Jets have been knocked from the seven-team AFC playoff field — and would fall to ninth place if the Patriots beat the Cardinals on Monday night.
Remaining on the Jets’ schedule are home games against the Lions and Jaguars and road games in Seattle and Miami. If they don’t win three, it is a growing possibility a thrilling autumn for New York football will lead to a short and unhappy winter.
Old money, new money
If Giancarlo Stanton were a free agent, how much would he be looking at right now? In a market in which the Mets just re-signed Brandon Nimmo for eight years and $162 million, the Yankees star would have offers that exceed the five years and $150 million that is still due to him, right?
As Major League Baseball thrives and contracts are ballooning this offseason, the mega-deals of yesterday don’t look quite as mega.
DJ LeMahieu, whom the Yankees are optimistic will avoid foot surgery, is making just $60 million over the next four years. The Mets paying $58.5 million over the next three years for Starling Marte seems like a steal.
Even Francisco Lindor’s 10-year, $341 million pact might end up appearing quaint. Lindor’s extension kicked in when he was 28 — three years younger than Aaron Judge will be next season — and Lindor will be making about $6 million less per season than Judge, the $360 million man.
Sure, Steve Cohen has been the biggest spender, using his wallet to turn the Mets into a contender until the team’s farm system is well-stocked enough to do so. But the spending has been rampant across the league, blowing past expectations for so many top free agents.
Suddenly, the deal that Stanton signed with the Marlins in 2014 seems quite reasonable.
Source: New York Post
