They asked the question – I’m going to give my answer . . .

Jets posed this question on their website – “What Can the Jets Learn From Sunday’s Rams-Bengals Super Bowl Matchup?”

This question was posed to their staff writers. Here are some responses and then my take.

“In Week 7 at MetLife Stadium, Jets backup QB Mike White had the game of his life while throwing for 405 yards and 3 TDs in the Jets’ 34-31 win over the Bengals,” wrote Eric Allen. “That outcome was another example of anything can happen on a Sunday in the NFL and this Bengals’ run is an example of how quickly things can flip. Burrow has done special things early in his career and the Jets believe Zach Wilson, the No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, will take a significant step forward in Year 2.”

We have no idea if Wilson is going to take that step in Year 2. Time will tell. Burrow was better as a rookie before he hurt his knee than Wilson was this season. Yes, the bottom line is that Burrow was the key to the Bengals turnaround, but nobody knows right now if Wilson is going to be a franchise QB. You can’t will that into happening with social media posts. If he becomes that, then the Jets have a chance to follow in the Bengals’ footsteps, if not, it’s probably not going to happen. This is a QB-driven league.

“From a system standpoint, the team the Jets most align with is the 49ers and that’s a club that advanced to the Super Bowl (2019) and NFC Championship game (2021) in two of the past three seasons with Jimmy Garoppolo at QB,” wrote Allen. “Garoppolo is not the star Burrow is, but the Niners have won with a dominant defensive line, a fantastic linebacker, an evolving secondary and a punishing ground attack that complemented the pass game.”

While it’s true that the 49ers won with Garoppolo, they are moving on, because they feel they have gone as far as they can go with him. Just like the Los Angeles Rams moved on from Jared Goff, because they felt they went as far as they could go with him, and they are in the Super Bowl this year with Matt Stafford. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay got frustrated with Garoppolo and Goff because they felt their playing-calling had to be perfect for their teams to succeed offensively. They want quarterbacks who can put more on their shoulders and go through their progressions better, and not expect them to dial-up perfect first-reads all the time.

The valuable lesson for the Jets here is that you don’t chase the brass ring forever with one QB, and you check your ego at the door, and turn the page, when it’s clear you have plateaued with that guy. I’m not saying that is the case with Wilson now, but just making a general point that you have to avoid confirmation bias, and chase these things forever.

Ethan Greenberg and Randy Lange also talked about the QB, but also brought up how good the pass rushes are on each Super Bowl team, and how that is a key.

This is so true. The Jets need to upgrade their pass rush. Some would argue they should have signed DE Trey Hendrickson in 2021, who had a cleaner injury history compared to the end they signed, who hurt his achilles in training camp. Hendrickson had 14 sacks this year, and has been a key player for the Bengals all year, and should be on Sunday.

So the two biggest things the Jets can learn from the two Super Bowl participants are you need to find a franchise QB (not sure if the Jets have one yet) and you need a dominating pass rush.

Hall-of-Fame coach Jimmy Johnson and Bill Walsh both felt this formula was the key to winning Super Bowls, and both of them amassed more than one ring.

February 11, 2022

Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Monday.