Eric Decker, Chris Ivory Prove Their Value to New York Jets Offense

What a difference a week makes.

More accurately, what a difference it makes for the New York Jets offense to have two of its three best skill position players on the field.

The Jets offense was anemic in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles en route to a 24-17 loss, but with both wide receiver Eric Decker and running back Chris Ivory back on the field, the Jets bounced back in Week 4 with a 27-14 win against the Miami Dolphins.

The two combined for 212 yards of offense and two touchdowns, which is as many touchdowns and only 14 fewer yards than the entire Dolphins offense posted on Sunday.

But it wasn't just the numbers they posted, it was the manner in which they achieved that production.

Whether it was a one-handed catch or a bulldozing run, it seemed Ivory and Decker were the Jets offensive players making the most highlights on Sunday.

Decker has now played in three games and has caught three touchdown passes in the red zone. Ivory had more rushing yards on Sunday than in his first two games of the season combined. 

In fact, Ivory's 166 rushing yards were a career high.

The Jets had more yards of offense in the first half on Sunday against the Dolphins than they had in the entire game against the Eagles in Week 3.

Last week, the fate of the entire offense rested in the hands of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and wide receiver Brandon Marshall. The pitch-and-catch game between those two was not enough to keep the Jets on schedule and score enough points to win. 

Make no mistake, Marshall may have been held out of the end zone for the first time in his Jets career, but he was still a big part of the offense and once again led the team in receptions (seven) and yards (128). That being said, with more options to attack the defense, the Jets were able to spread things out a bit more. They were much less predictable, and much more productive as a result. 

Who would have thought that the Jets offense could be a strength for the team? That unit has been a punchline for years under former head coach Rex Ryan, as the Jets searched in vain for a quarterback to lead their offense. 

Fitzpatrick may not be the long-term answer there, but he's proving that he can be good enough as long as his supporting cast doesn't let him down. Needless to say, it's much easier for his supporting cast to do its job when he has all of the best players in his supporting cast at his disposal.

That was not the case in Week 3, but it was the case in Week 4. The dichotomy is startling, and not coincidental.

Week	Opp	Pass yds	Rush yds	Points
1	CLE	179	154	31
2	IND	243	101	20
3	PHI	276	47	17
4	MIA	218	207	27

There's only one problem with this offensive revolution for the Jets: They've been productive, but their level of competition has not been exceedingly high. The Jets padded their stats against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1, capitalized on a slow-starting Indianapolis Colts team in Week 2 and came out flatter than day-old soda in Week 3 against the Eagles. 

Then, there's Week 4 against the Dolphins, a team many people expected to be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Through Week 3, the Dolphins were the league's second-worst defense against the run and seventh-worst in total yards. 

The Jets' first big test of the season will be in Week 7 when they travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Patriots. After that, the Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants are the only other threats before a home stand against those same Patriots.