Maybe Robert Saleh was on to something earlier this week when he said his team is not “the same old Jets.” It seemed like a bold declaration after the New York Jets' 24-9 Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens but appeared more telling after an improbable 31-30 comeback win against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2.

Saleh was not taking a victory lap after his team erased a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter to upset the favored Browns. But there’s no doubt the Jets coach and his players took immense pleasure in the special victory after he said this week that he was taking receipts from the team’s critics.

“We’ve gotta’ win a helluva’ lot more to cash in (on the receipts),” Saleh said postgame.

Indeed, that’s true. But it’s hard to remember the last time the Jets were this resilient. Down 13 points with two minutes to play, they took advantage of Nick Chubb's decision to run for a touchdown instead of running out the clock and made the Browns pay with a quick touchdown, successful onside kick and a game-winning TD pass from Joe Flacco to Garrett Wilson with 25 seconds left to play.

While there are probably thousands of words to write about this game, let’s focus on four takeaways from the Jets' Week 2 win against the Browns.

4. Garrett Wilson is going to be a star for the New York Jets

Selected with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Wilson was the focal point of the Jets' offense Sunday. The wide receiver was targeted a game-high 14 times in the passing game and had eight catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns, including the game winner.

Not bad for your second NFL game.

The Ohio State product caught a two-yard fade from Joe Flacco late in the first quarter for his first career touchdown, tying the game 7-7. He then ran a perfect route over the middle for the 15-yard game-winning TD.

Perhaps most impressively, he rebounded from a thunderous hit to the back after leaping for a pass to show his toughness physically. And then he displayed his mental toughness by shaking off a bad third-down drop early in the fourth quarter that killed a Jets drive.

3. Joe Flacco turns back the clock to be “Joe Cool’ for the New York Jets

The 37-year-old quarterback was calm, cool and collected in leading the Jets' fourth quarter comeback Sunday. He made a perfect read and took advantage of a busted coverage to throw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Corey Davis with 1:32 remaining in the fourth quarter. When the Jets recovered the ensuing onside kick, Flacco went to work, leading the Jets to three first downs. Then on third down from the 15-yard line, he found Wilson for the game-winning TD.

Flacco threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns on 26 for 44 passing. His offensive line did a decent job keeping him clean, though there was a crucial strip sack deep in Browns territory in the first half. But Flacco was also much more decisive and quicker with his throws than in Week 1.

As much as Jets fans screamed for Mike White to get the Week 2 start, it’s hard to imagine the less-experienced White or Zach Wilson, the Jets injured QB 1, rallying the team in such a cool manner as the veteran Flacco did Sunday.

2. New York Jets break some long-standing trends

Let’s just say you don’t see comebacks like the one the Jets engineered Sunday too often in the NFL. It had been 21 seasons and 2,229 consecutive NFL games since a team trailed by at least 13 points in the final two minutes and won.

The victory also snapped the Jets 13-game losing streak in the month of September. They last had won in September in Week 1 of the 2018 season against the Detroit Lions. That skid tied an NFL record for futility in September.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
New York Jets general manager Joe Douglas standing between University of Georgia tight end Brock Bowers and former Philadelphia Eagles edge defender Haason Reddick

Ben Strauss ·

Jets' 3 best players to target with 2024 NFL Draft first-round pick

Shervon Fakhimi ·

Brock Bowers in a Jets uniform next to Aaron Rodgers (Jets) with a heart emoji between them and an NFL Draft background.

Tim Crean ·

The win was Flacco’s first as the Jets starting quarterback. He had been 0-6 in three seasons filling in for Wilson and Sam Darnold. It was also his first win in his last nine starts dating to the 2019 season with the Denver Broncos.

1. New York Jets kickers Greg Zuerlein, Braden Mann rebound after Week 1 struggles

One week after each was a culprit in New York’s mistake-filled loss to the Ravens, Greg Zuerlein and Braden Mann were front and center in the fourth-quarter comeback Sunday.

Zuerlein was perfect against the Browns, drilling a 57-yard field goal in the third quarter and nailing each of his four extra point attempts. That final extra point with 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter was the difference in the one-point win where Browns kicker Caden York missed an extra point less than two minutes earlier.

The veteran had a rough Jets debut in Week 1. He missed a 45-yard field goal and an extra point against the Ravens. But he bounced back nicely against the Browns, just as Saleh expected.

Mann averaged 47.3 yards on four punts and landed a pair inside the 20-yard line. He also had a clutch fourth-down completion for 17 yards to Jeff Smith on a fake punt in the first quarter. Most importantly he delivered a perfect onside kick that set up the game-winning touchdown drive for the Jets. This after Mann shanked a 20-yard punt in Week 1 that set up a short Ravens TD drive and struggled with back pain this past week.