Robert Saleh sees playoffs in Jets' future -- now it's on his players to get there

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — This was no slip of the tongue. It’s the message Robert Saleh wanted to get out. Mission accomplished on that one.

The Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, 20-12. It’s their second straight loss and third in the last four games. They sit at 7-6 on the season. It would be ignorant to say the season is beginning to slip away, but the outlook is a bit more grim than just a few weeks ago. The pressure, with four to play, is undeniably on.

So Saleh, among the more calculated and meticulous when it comes to speaking with the media, took it upon himself to set the course for the rest of 2022.

“We’ll see these guys again,” he said.

Those words won’t supplant Joe Namath, but Saleh clearly sees the postseason in New York’s future.

Now it’s on his players to make it happen.

As far as hot takes go, Saleh’s words check in around a 5.5. The Jets lost their best defensive player (Quinnen Williams) and their most savvy veteran wideout (Corey Davis) to a calf and concussion injury, respectively, early in the game. Right tackle George Fant left for a chunk of time and quarterback Mike White was in and out of the lineup. New York turned it over twice, allowed 21 quarterback pressures and did not score a point in the first half.

And they still only lost to Buffalo -- one of the three best teams in the entire league -- by eight points on the road in the rain, sleet and snow.

The Jets aren’t just capable of making the playoffs. You can make an argument that, aside from the Kansas City Chiefs, they’re capable of beating any team in the conference. A run is not out of the question.

But it is imperative they clean up the issues that have plagued them these last two weeks. If they don’t, Saleh’s words will be nothing more than a broken promise.

“We have four games to still make something happen,” said running back Bam Knight, who ran for 71 yards and a touchdown. “Coach Saleh and the players in this locker room believe we can pull it off, so it’s just a matter of making it happen.”

The least of the Jets' issues right now is quarterback. White, whose postgame trip to the hospital was precautionary, solidified that as he kept firing, and firing and firing in the face of relentless Buffalo pressure. Twice White had to leave the game after getting crushed. Both times he returned. The 27-year-old completed 27 of 44 passes (61.4 percent) for 268 yards.

White’s performance earned the admiration of his teammates. Running back Michael Carter called him a “f--king soldier,” while center Connor McGovern told SNY White was staying in “as long as he was breathing.” Veteran tackle Duane Brown heralded White’s toughness and lamented the Jets need to improve the protection, which is exactly where this starts.

The NFL is a copycat league. You best believe the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars, the Jets' next two opponents, are going to take this Bills film and do everything in their power to replicate it. Buffalo’s defense harassed White and Joe Flacco (who replaced White when he left) throughout the game. Aside from the 21 pressures, they hit Jets quarterbacks eight times and had four sacks. More alarming: The Bills had 14 of their 21 pressures when rushing just four defenders.

“No excuse, we have to protect better,” Saleh said.

The Jets were lucky White was able to return against Buffalo. They’re fortunate all signs point towards him being healthy enough to start against the Lions. It’s hard to imagine that remains the case if White takes a beating like that again.

The Jets have also started to develop a late-season propensity for back-breaking errors. Wideout Braxton Berrios, among the more reliable players inside New York’s locker room, dropped a would-be game-winning touchdown last week against the Minnesota Vikings. Against the Bills, it was a fourth quarter fumble from the usually-sure-handed Carter that thwarted New York’s last real chance to win.

Were both mistakes flukes that won’t be repeated? Potentially. But crucial errors late in games have now happened in back-to-back weeks.

One more makes it a streak.

And streaks like that are near impossible to consistently overcome.

“We ran power and it opened up like Disney World,” Carter said of his fumble. “I just tried to score a touchdown. I tried to run him over, crank him up. He (Taron Johnson, who forced the fumble) made a good play.”

Among the reasons the Jets have had to scramble these last few weeks is because their early-season trend of starting slow has again reared its ugly head. The Jets have scored six points in the first half of their last two games. They scored 17 (Chicago Bears), 3 (New England Patriots), 10 (Bills), 10 (Patriots), 10 (Denver Broncos) in their previous five.

New York’s defense continually stands on its head. They’ve withstood their offense's early struggles to keep them in games -- as they did again against Buffalo. But that style of play is just not sustainable.

The Jets’ victory against the lowly Bears (led by Trevor Siemian) was their most complete game of the season.

“I know the dudes we have in here,” said wideout Garrett Wilson, who caught six passes for 78 yards, breaking the Jets’ single season rookie receiving record with 868 yards. “We feel like we have a great squad, a great team.

“We’re going to be in position to win games. We have to finish. We’re going to go this week, put the work in, make sure we try to start finishing games the way we should, and start games the way we should as well.”

Saleh didn’t lay it out, but the path for the Jets to reach the postseason is obvious. They have seven wins. They need 10. That means winning three of their final four. The Jets host the red-hot Lions and hot-and-cold Jaguars before traveling to face the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins.

New York has a chance in every one of those contests. There’s no reason to believe the Jets can’t win not just three of the four, but every one of those games.

But that’s assuming they fix these issues.

Because if they don’t?

Saleh will have a receipt kept on him.