The New York Jets certainly spoiled the Halloween festivities for the Houston Texans, having one of the surprising wins of the season with a thrilling 21-13 victory.
New York debuted the “Legacy Black” helmets and uniform on Halloween night, certainly disguised as a team that looked like the playoff contender the organization thought it had heading into the season. The Jets snapped a five-game losing streak as Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdowns — two to Garrett Wilson — in the shocking win.
Wilson gave the Jets the lead for good with a one-handed touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. The Jets wide receiver finished with nine catches for 90 yards on the night, with the go-ahead touchdown becoming one of the greatest in MetLife Stadium history.
Davante Adams also snagged his first touchdown with the Jets late in the fourth quarter, as Rodgers hit him on a 36-yard pass to give New York a 21-10 lead with 2:56 left. Rodgers threw for 211 yards and had an 118.1 passer rating. Adams finished with seven catches for 91 yards, leaving the game in the second half with a concussion only to be cleared and catch a touchdown pass to seal the win.
The Texans struggled to move the football throughout the night, as C.J. Stroud threw for only 191 yards and was sacked eight times. Joe Mixon finished with 106 rushing yards and Houston’s lone touchdown, but Stroud finished with a 36.7% completion rate in the loss. There were also a combined 140 penalty yards.
The Texans still lead the AFC South despite the loss while the Jets are trying to claw back into playoff contention in the wild card race. Takeaways and a recap of the game can be found below!
Why the Jets won
New York was essentially flawless in the second half, scoring touchdowns on all three possessions (excluding kneel downs). Rodgers decided to target his top two pass catchers in Wilson and Adams, as Wilson scored two touchdowns and Adams finished off the victory with a long touchdown of his own.
Rodgers was 10 of 11 for 147 yards and three touchdowns when targeting Wilson and Adams in the second half, a perfect 158.3 passer rating (per CBS Sports Research). He was 4 of 4 for 83 yards and two touchdowns on third and fourth down targeting them in the final 30 minutes.
Rodgers targeted his top playmakers and use them to take over the game. The Jets offense in the second half looked the best it’s been in five weeks.
Why the Texans lost
The Texans were down their top two receivers, making life already difficult for C.J. Stroud. The lack of Stroud’s top playmakers wasn’t why he finished 11 of 30 for 191 yards with a 59.2 passer rating.
The Texans offensive line allowed eight sacks as the Jets pass rush dominated up front. New York had 11 quarterback hits (four by Quinnen Williams) and 19 pressures in the win. Stroud was 2 of 9 for 47 yards when pressured, having a 48.4 passer rating while being sacked seven times. Stroud was certainly spooked on Halloween night.
Turning point
Even with the Jets having a 14-10 lead, C.J. Stroud was slowly leading the Texans down the field midway through the fourth quarter. Aided by an unnecessary roughness penalty after a converted Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal, Stroud and the Texans had another opportunity to take the lead.
Houston got the ball at the New York 12, as Stroud missed John Metchie on a third-and-7 at the 9-yard line that would have been a touchdown to give the Texans the lead. Fairbairn missed 27-yard field goal on the next play, as the ball hit the post and kept the Texans trailing by four.
New York drove down the field for 80 yards on eight plays to put the game away. Perhaps the outcome is different if Stroud converts the touchdown throw or Fairbairn hits the field goal.
Play of the game
Garrett Wilson arguably had the greatest catch in MetLife Stadium history, the same stadium where Odell Beckham Jr. had arguably the best catch anyone has ever seen.
This is certainly the best touchdown catch in MetLife Stadium history. On third-and-19, Rodgers threw a pass up to the end zone with the Jets trailing 10-7, throwing it only where Wilson can get a hand on it. Wilson got much more than that.
Wilson snagged the pass in the back of the end zone with Kamari Lassister having blanket coverage on him, getting the touchdown with one hand to give the Jets their first lead of the game.
The play had to be reviewed to see if Wilson got both feet down, much to the joy of Rodgers when it was ruled a touchdown. This was arguably the best catch in the NFL this season.
Up next
The Texans (6-3) have 10 days off before hosting the Detroit Lions on “Sunday Night Football” on November 10. The Jets (3-6) face the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, November 10 — also getting 10 days off.