New York Jets Bounce Back, but Still a Far Cry from Dominant Early-Season Form

The New York Jets were staring down the barrel of a gun with a bullet labeled "4-4."

Fortunately for Jets head coach Todd Bowles, the Jacksonville Jaguars then turned the gun toward the ground and shot themselves in the foot.

The Jets avoided a perilous three-game losing streak by ekeing out a 28-23 win at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. They rode quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick's two touchdown passes and running back Chris Ivory's two touchdown runs, while also taking advantage of late mistakes by the Jaguars to come away with their fifth win of the season.

Jets	First 5 games	Last 3 games
Record	4-1	1-2
Margin of victory	47	5
Margin of defeat	7	21

As such, they have already surpassed their win total from the entire 2014 season. The bigger question is whether this level of play, which has become all-too normal for the Jets over the past three games, will be enough for the Jets to continue winning games. 

The Jets don't have to wait long to find out, as they have a four-day turnaround to their next game, a Thursday night tilt with the Buffalo Bills and the first meeting between Bills head coach Rex Ryan and his former team, the Jets.

The Jets may be able to rely on a last-minute interception to seal the win, the way they did against Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles. They may be able to rely on a strip sack to stymy a fourth-quarter drive that could very well have given the Jaguars their second lead of the day. They may be able to rely on a revitalized pass rush that notched five sacks of Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles, the Jets' first sacks since the second quarter of their Week 7 loss to the Patriots.

They may be able to rely on dominant performances and freakish catches by wide receiver Brandon Marshall, the way they did on Sunday.

Then again, they may not be able to rely on those things. Because the Bills are not the Jaguars. They are also not the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins or Washington Redskins, whose records are a combined 12-22 on the season. 

One thing they also may not be able to rely on is the gutsy performance of quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The journeyman may have surgery on his left thumb on Friday, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. If that happens, the Jets would have to turn to the shaky Geno Smith to quarterback the team to victory for the foreseeable future.

Another thing they can't rely on is a reliable kicker. With Nick Folk injured, punter Ryan Quigley was the one kicking (low, ugly) extra points and kickoffs on Sunday. 

One thing they haven't been able to rely on is the hard-nosed running game that was the identity of the Jets offense at the beginning of the season. Ivory has totaled 84 rushing yards on 55 carries over the past three games, and while some of that blame falls on the offensive line for failing to open the necessary running lanes, the Jets simply need to find a way to consistently move the ball on the ground.

Right now, though, they'll settle for finding a way to consistently win games. Thus far, it's been a turbulent season for the Jets to say the least. The glow of a 4-1 start was swallowed in the darkness of a two-game losing streak that could have turned pitch-black with the drop of a hat and any number of events that could have led to six more points for the Jaguars.

Who knows, give the Jets a couple or few more healthy players and maybe Sunday's narrow victory turns into a blowout. The way these Jets are playing, they need all the help they can get.