Well, that was the most entertaining football game I have seen in a long time.

The Jets didn’t just beat the Patriots on Thursday Night Football. They dominated the Patriots. The team is now 2-1 and the ugly Week 1 loss in San Francisco 11 days ago seems like an eternity ago.

Of course, winning games is the most important thing in the NFL, and I think the Jets’ performance early this season is more significant than most other teams.

I completely understand that this game is about winning. In the NFL, there are no style points like in college football, where a group of people subjectively evaluate the teams and are influenced by the win margin.

Still, this Jets team is different than most in the NFL. It’s essentially a team that has big expectations, but at the same time was built on the fly.

It’s not that hard to win the “offseason championship.” Any team that brings in a lot of big names can be declared an offseason winner and a contender by the national media. We’ve seen that happen time and time again with the Jets over the last few years. All the accolades in the offseason mean little if the big names don’t continue to play at a high level. Age, injuries, and a new system can lead to very different results than in the past.

Also, the pieces have to fit together. You can have a group of accomplished players, but that means little if those guys don’t play well together.

Among the teams ranked among the top AFC teams this year, the Jets are the only team I would essentially classify as a new group.

If the Chiefs had gotten off to a slow start, their fans probably wouldn’t be concerned. They have a group of players that have weathered storms and won big together.

I’m sure Ravens and Bengals fans aren’t thrilled with their respective teams’ 0-2 starts to the 2024 season, but they can take comfort in the fact that their teams have also proven they can win.

This Jets team has no such track record. We’ve used the phrase “looks good on paper” over and over again in the offseason until it’s practically become a cliche. Again, it’s one thing to look good on paper. It’s another to actually show you can play at a championship level. Until you do that, there will always be doubts.

The first two weeks of the season were unspectacular for the Jets. They didn’t seem to be a match for another giant of the NFL, the San Francisco 49ers. Week 2 brought a win, but the Jets struggled to beat a team considered one of the worst in the league (and in some ways they were lucky to come away with a win).

In Week 3, we saw for the first time what this team can become when all the pieces come together.

I know the Patriots have a pretty lousy roster *on paper*. And you know what? You’d expect a Super Bowl contender to take down an opponent like that. You saw the result of this game.

Personally, I felt this game was a little more difficult than many experts. There are a handful of situations that lead to random outcomes in the NFL. Topping the list are facing a divisional opponent and playing on a short week. The Jets had both.

They also got an opponent that, while not a particularly strong team, has exceeded expectations through the first two weeks of the season. And the Patriots have the kind of run-heavy attack that gave the Jets problems in the early stages of 2024.

What we got was a masterpiece on every level. Aaron Rodgers, who was solid but not Rodgers-like for the first two weeks of the season, looked like a vintage version of himself. This went beyond his accuracy and his reads. You could see him repeatedly making adjustments at the line of scrimmage and manipulating defenders to help his receivers get free. His mobility, which was a problem early on, looked worlds better in this game. Simply put, the ceiling for this Jets team is exceptionally high if Rodgers looks like this for a majority of the remaining games.

And defensively, the Jets allowed almost nothing against a team that theoretically could have done damage. This is not the same Jets defense that was so dominant in recent years. Many of the key players have moved on. The defensive line in particular is less talented than Jets fans are used to. None of that mattered. The Jets dominated the Patriots. To their credit, the coaching staff made a few changes to the game plan against this opponent that produced results.

A game is a game. You should never be too elated or too depressed after 60 minutes of football. Eleven days ago, I warned against putting too much weight on the loss to the Niners. Despite everything I just said, the Patriots are not a particularly talented team.

But the level the Jets have been playing at will translate into good results against any opponent. It could be a special season if that becomes the norm. And God knows we all deserve it.