White-Hot Quarterback Performance Makes History, Breathes Life Into Jets Organization
Sitting down in the corner of the end zone, hands pointed up at the sky, Mike White let out a scream.
He had just caught a pass from Jamison Crowder for a two-point conversion that gave the Jets an improbable 34-31 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Drowning out White’s yell were those of the exuberant Jets faithful in Metlife, whose chants echoed throughout the stadium.
“Mike White! Mike White! Mike White!” they screamed.
In their wildest dreams, nobody could have imagined the scene that was unfolding in East Rutherford.
White’s two-point conversion was the icing on the cake, capping off the best quarterbacking performance the Jets have had in years. The former fifth-round pick out of Western Kentucky completed 37-of-45 passes for 405 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, both of which came on tipped passes. His quarterback rating was 107.9.
White’s outing marked just the second time in NFL history that a quarterback has thrown for more than 400 yards in his first start. It was also the first time any Jet has thrown for 400 since Vinny Testaverde in 2000, 21 years ago.
READ: Mike White Shines in First Career Start as Jets Upset Bengals
And when all was said and done, he needed every last yard to beat the Cincinnati Bengals, the team that entered the day as the top seed in the AFC. He was, in a word, outstanding.
“It’s Mike effing White, okay,” said Ty Johnson at the podium after the game. “He’s a dog. He’s an animal. It’s Mike effing White.”
"I see it every day from him, so I'm not surprised by what he just did,” said Michael Carter, who had 172 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. “Y'all are, but I'm not at all."
The script might have been Hollywoodesque, but the acting from New York’s running backs certainly wasn’t. There’s no getting around the utter shock that White’s performance on Sunday caused. This just doesn’t happen often, let alone in New York. Jets fans won’t forget it for a long time.
The Jets had reached their rockiest bottom a week ago. A 54-13 loss to the New England Patriots had people everywhere questioning the entire future of this football team. The coaching staff took the brunt of the blame, with Saleh being accused of failing to prepare, and Mike LaFleur viewed as incapable of devising a competent gameplan. After five losses in six games, the concerns, while exaggerated, were well-founded. The Jets looked absolutely lost.
Zach Wilson’s PCL sprain added injury to insult. It was supposed to stagnate any potential growth opportunity moving forward, forcing the team to tread water until he could return. It also exposed New York’s supposed failure to acquire an adequate backup quarterback in the offseason, a heavy point of criticism levied on the Jets’ brass.
So when the Jets were forced to turn to White, a 26-year-old no-name without so much as a single start under his belt, belief in an already crumbling organization was at an all-time low. That’s what made the events that transpired on Sunday so unbelievable.
“I know sometimes from the outside looking in, decisions that scouts and coaches make can seem crazy,” said Saleh, who sounded acutely aware of the criticism thrown in the direction of the organization. “But we get to see these guys every day. We get to see these guys operate. And Mike is fantastic. He's poised, he's showed it all throughout camp, all throughout OTAs, that he deserves to be one of those guys and obviously he showed it today.”
The Jets took advantage of the perceived weakness at quarterback early. New York opted to receive, opening the game with five straight passes, all of them completions, to march down the field. A Michael Carter run off-tackle finished off the drive and gave the Jets their first first quarter points of the season.
"Mike [LaFleur] came to me on Saturday and called me, and said he was going to 'let it rip' to start the game,” said White. “I think the decision to cut it loose early kind of caught them off guard.”
LaFleur, to his credit, was masterful. He was a step ahead of Cincinnati’s defense all game, mixing in gadget plays to go along with a short passing game that gave his playmakers the ball in space. The “Philly Special” that gave the Jets the 34-31 late lead was just him showing off.
Part of the reason LaFleur looked so prescient on Sunday was his decision to call the game from the box. He was previously roaming the sidelines in order to streamline communication with his quarterback, but with White in for Wilson, Sunday seemed as good a time as any to move upstairs, where he sat his entire time in San Francisco. After this week’s masterclass, Saleh assured the media that LaFleur would be there for good moving forward.
The Jets may have caught the Bengals off guard out of the gate with their aerial attack, but down 31-20 with just seven minutes to play, the element of surprise was gone. New York was 0-38 over the last five seasons when trailing by 11 points or more in the fourth quarter.
White wasted no time, executing an eight-play, 75-yard drive in less than three minutes, all through the air. Ty Johnson’s tightrope act to get into the end zone on a 19-yard touchdown pass brought the Jets within five.
Needing a stop, the Jets defense then came through with their first interception of the season. Shaq Lawson snuffed out a Joe Burrow screen, tipping the ball high up into the air before coming down with it himself and setting up New York in the red zone.
Just two plays later, White surveyed the field and found Tyler Kroft wide open in the back of the end zone to give the Jets the lead. The pass from Crowder to White tacked on two more points and caused an explosion of cheers from the 67,000 in attendance.
One more defensive stop and a quarterback sneak to run out the clock sealed the deal, giving New York its second win of the season.
White will likely have two more chances to show what he can do at the helm before Wilson returns. And while Saleh left the door open after the game, saying “anything is possible,” it’s unlikely that the Jets won’t return to the No. 2 overall pick when he’s healthy.
The fact that the question needed to be answered, however, is telling. The Jets have been searching for their franchise quarterback for the better part of half a century.
And even if it only lasts a week, they found one in the most unexpected of places.
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