Crossing sporting cultures, a line from fictional baseball manager Lou Brown in “Major League II” comes to mind when examining the New York Jets.
“We won a game yesterday. If we win one today, that’s two in a row. If we win one tomorrow, that’s called a winning streak.”
If three wins in a row constitute a winning streak, the Jets are within touching distance of their first winning streak in quite some time.
After a miserable start to the season, the Jets have reeled off two-straight wins against the two worst teams in the NFC East — the Giants and Redskins.
It’s the first time that the Jets offense looked like a legitimately imposing unit — fueling the team to two-straight season-high outputs of 34 points.
Sam Darnold — who was given proper time to throw — is playing some of his best football yet. Against the Giants and Redskins, he combined to complete 63.33-percent of his passes for 523 yards, five touchdowns, and just two interceptions.
The turnover number is especially promising after a four-game stretch that saw him picked off nine times.
Now, the Jets schedule will pick back up as they host a surprising Oakland Raiders team that is exceeding all expectations (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS).
This was a team that was left for dead after the departures of Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper while the capabilities of QB Derek Carr fell under fire.
Yet, Oakland is 6-4 through 10 games and holding onto the second spot in a challenging AFC West division that also includes the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.
Their defense, however, can be susceptible to some big outings.
The Raiders rank 20th in points allowed and 19th in yards yielded.
Darnold could have another solid day in the cards, too, as Oakland’s passing defense has allowed the seventh-most yards through the air and the third-most passing touchdowns this season.
Look for the Jets to try and get Le’Veon Bell the ball more, as well. The All-Pro running back has struggled to compile the yards he used to put up in Pittsburgh since signing with Gang Green.
Bell has yet to hit the 100-yard rushing mark as a Jet and has hit the century mark in all-purpose yards just twice.
If the Jets do pull out a win in Week 12, it will be the first time they’ve won three-straight games since Weeks 3-5 in 2017.
