Geno Smith’s Realistic Playoff Path | New York Jets News

0:00It's September 4th. This is New York Jets News today, driven by AI, your team, nonstop. Looking at the AFC playoff quarterbacks from last season, the bar for quarterback play wasn't as sky high as you might think. Only three of them were in the top 10 for expected points added per play. Even guys like Justin Herbert and Aaron Rogers made the cut while ranking much lower, with Rogers even having a negative score. This shows that while Elite Play helps, it's not the only path to the postseason. The key takeaway is that Geno Smith doesn't need to be an MVP candidate for the Jets to compete. If he can simply play at a league average level, similar to where he was in 2024, that should be enough to put the team in playoff contention. That season, he was right around the average performance of those playoff quarterbacks. Last year, Smith's performance in Las Vegas was rough, to say the least. He was near the bottom in most stats, especially expected points added per play. A big part of that struggle seemed to be the offensive line not giving him enough time,

1:02leading to a significant drop in efficiency when under pressure. However, the good news is that Smith has shown he can bounce back. His 2022 season was Seattle, where he made the pro bowl and led them to the playoffs is a prime example. His 2024 performance, which was solid and comparable to playoff QBs, is a more realistic target for the Jets. So, the realistic goal for Smith is to get back to that 2024 level. If he can achieve that, and the Jets defense can improve to be at least a top 15 unit, then the team should absolutely be in the playoff. Conversation this year.