As if getting a shout-out from Audacy’s fantasy football crew wasn’t enough praise for Mike White, the quarterback was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance Sunday against Cincinnati, becoming the first Jet since Vinny Testaverde in 2000 to top 400 yards passing in a game. He’s the first Jet to win Offensive Player of the Week honors since Sam Darnold in Week 6 of 2019.
White’s heroics, leading the Jets (who entered Sunday as double-digit home underdogs) to a come-from-behind win over one of football’s hottest teams, included, among other strokes of genius, a go-ahead touchdown strike to Tyler Kroft, punctuated by a Foles-esque two-point conversion that produced this iconic photo.
White, an undrafted Western Kentucky product who most of the league had never heard of until Sunday, could very well be a flash in the pan. As noted by Dwain McFarland of ProFootballFocus, White relied almost exclusively on check-downs (to running back Michael Carter, in particular), with over half his output coming after the catch. But even if White’s “death by 1,000 cuts” approach was met with mixed reviews by the analytics community, his fearlessness in the fourth quarter birthed easily the most memorable win of the Robert Saleh Era in New York (not that there have been many to choose from).
The Jets, just a week ago, had such little faith in White that they acquired veteran Joe Flacco from Philadelphia as insurance with starter Zach Wilson (knee) on the shelf. Now he’s the talk of East Rutherford with some wondering if White could even push Wilson for QB1 status upon his return. The AFC’s Player of the Week will look to build off Sunday’s success when the Jets travel to Indianapolis for a Thursday night date with the Colts.
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