New York Jets rookie wide receiver Malachi Corley made headlines during last Thursday’s win over the Houston Texans for all the wrong reasons. On his second career touchdown, Corley collected the ball on a reverse and ran freely around the right sideline with a clear path to the end zone.
Just before crossing the goal line for his first career touchdown, Corley dropped the ball. This resulted in a fumble and a touchback, taking all six points off the board and giving the ball back to the Texans.
Wednesday, Corley took a very mature approach asked about his mistake, according to Dennis Waszak Jr. of the Associated Press.
“No, not at all,” Corley said, according to Waszak Jr. “You know, you just take things with a grain of salt. You’ve been playing for a long time, you’ve seen a lot of more or less embarrassing things happen on the So for me, it was just a whole learning experience. I’m still extremely excited to cross the goal line and be able to jet down the field and do all that kind of stuff.
Luckily for Corley, the Jets still managed to pull out a 21-13 upset win to keep their season alive in a wide-open race for the AFC Wild Card. They will have the chance to pick up another victory on Sunday when they take on the Arizona Cardinals.
Jets need to catch fire to get back into AFC playoff race
The Jets picked up a well-deserved win over the Texans to get back to 3-6 after an inexplicable losing streak, but they still have a lot of work to do to get back into the AFC Wild Card picture. They are currently just two games behind the 5-4 Denver Broncos, but they also lost the head-to-head against the Broncos.
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There is some good news for the Jets. Although the offense isn’t very efficient due to a system that doesn’t unlock many easy snaps for Aaron Rodgers and company, the addition of Davante Adams gives the Jets two wide receivers who can make spectacular individual plays and generate explosives in attack on their own. That was on full display Thursday when Adams and Garrett Wilson made three incredible plays to put 21 points on the board for the Jets.
Defensively, the Jets have taken a slight step back from last season, but they remain a very talented unit. New York has taken full advantage of a Texans offensive line that has been a dumpster fire this season, making things very difficult for CJ Stroud and company.
At a minimum, the Jets will likely need to earn at least nine wins to clinch a wild card spot while the Buffalo Bills will run away with the AFC East. With the exception of one extra game against the Bills, the Jets still have plenty of tough but winnable games on their schedule, highlighted by two games against the Dolphins and matchups against the Colts, Jaguars, Rams and Seahawks. If they can stay hot, Rodgers and company could sneak into the playoffs.
