Who York?

With these Jets, you can save the quaint “Any Given Sunday” motto the NFL has long lived by. New York has made “Every Other Sunday” its official mantra, and probably should trademark it one of these days.

I don’t know what to make of Rex Ryan’s consistently inconsistent team at this point anymore than anyone else does, but you certainly know what you’re going to get from the Jets: a loss on even-numbered weeks, and a victory, sometimes in statement-like fashion, on odd-numbered weeks.

Like New York’s emphatic 26-20 upset of the high-flying New Orleans Saints in Week 9, a thunderclap of a victory that continued the Jets’ remarkable two-month pattern of alternating wins and losses.

Are they legitimate playoff contenders at 5-4? They are when they play like they did on Sunday, with a dominating defensive front that swarmed Drew Brees and a running game straight out of Ryan’s “Ground and Pound” playbook of those deep 2009-10 playoff runs. But it’s this kind of performance, and the promise it holds for the postseason, that only serves to make last week’s 49-9 utter embarrassment at Cincinnati all the more puzzling, perplexing and maddening.

Which is the “real” Jets team? I suppose the only answer thus far in 2013 is both. They’re capable of playing solid winning football, with a blueprint featuring defense and a running game that works well with the early development level of rookie quarterback Geno Smith, he of the eight touchdown passes, 13 interceptions and three fumbles lost this season.

And they’re capable of melting down and experiencing bitter defeat when they don’t take care of the football, like their losses at New England, at Tennessee and at Cincinnati so vividly illustrated.

Smith (8-of-19 for 115 yards) had no turnovers for only the second time this season, and the Jets posted their most impressive victory yet, besting a Saints team that came in 6-1 and playing well on both sides of the ball, their only loss coming in the final seconds at New England in Week 6. Chris Ivory, the ex-Saint, churned for 139 revenge-minded yards of the Jets’ 198 rushing yards total, and New York’s defense rebounded in a resounding fashion from the egg-laying against the Bengals, sacking Brees twice, picking him off twice and generally playing in the Saints backfield for most of the game.

True, New Orleans lacked receiver Marques Colston (who sat out with an injured knee) and running back Darren Sproles (who left early with a concussion), but that should not cheapen the Jets’ win in any way. New York’s defensive line has become a force this season, and Muhammad Wilkerson, Sheldon Richardson, Quinton Coples and Damon Harrison are creating some serious havoc for opposing offensive lines. The Saints simply couldn’t block the Jets’ front for most of the day, and that kind of pass pressure goes a long way toward covering up New York’s deficiencies in the secondary.

If you were scoring at home, it wasn’t the Rex Ryan versus twin brother Rob Ryan showdown that mattered in this game. It was Rex’s defense against the pedigree of Sean Payton’s Saints offense, and Rex won that one. Handily.

The Jets are getting by with very modest talent at the skill-level positions, and their depth there took a hit Sunday when receiver Jeremy Kerley left the game with a serious elbow injury. No wonder the running game and defense were forced to ride to the rescue, because the passing game (still playing without receiver Santonio Holmes and tight ends Jeff Cumberland and Kellen Winslow) was virtually non-existent at times against New Orleans. New York’s “weapons” against the Saints were Greg Salas, David Nelson, Joshua Cribbs and tight end Zach Sudfeld. The group combined for seven catches for 128 yards, despite none starting the regular season on New York’s roster.

It’s a wild, up-and-down ride these Jets are on, and any and all rollercoaster analogies apply. Maybe we shouldn’t be trying to figure them out. Maybe we should just enjoy them. After all, we’ve seen Rex Ryan take teams to the AFC title games with defense, a running game and a young, mistake-prone quarterback who can manage the game well at times. The big surprise is we didn’t think he had that formula in place again this season in New York.

The best news for Jets fans? No loss will be forthcoming next week. Count on it. New York takes its bye in Week 10, breaking the pattern of even-week defeats. And with only one game remaining against a team that currently has a winning record — at Carolina in Week 15 — the Jets’ playoff drive may fully take shape and shed its every other Sunday existence yet.
-Don Banks, SI