For WR Garrett Wilson, every week is a new opportunity for a breakthrough.
"I see it in phases throughout games on Sunday each week," Wilson said. "We've shown the glimpses. It's about being consistent. It's about doing it when it's needed the most down the stretch -- third down, first drive of the game, stuff like that."
The Jets will have their next opportunity to chase consistency in Week 5 as they host the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. While the team has started the season 0-4, three of those losses have been decided by a single score. Players and coaches alike believe the team is just a few mental mistakes away from executing at a high level -- and Wilson is confident it's only a matter of time before the results start to come.
"I just have faith in the plan that coach has proposed to us, faith in my teammates," he said. "We're going to turn this thing around, we're going to get this thing rolling. And when it does, it's going to feel real good. I've got all the confidence in the world in this group."
Wilson has been a key piece of the Jets' offensive plan this season as evidenced by his AFC-leading 27 catches. His 311 receiving yards rank sixth in the NFL, and he has had 9 consecutive games with at least 50 receiving yards -- the second longest active streak in the NFL.
"He is no doubt a No. 1 receiver in this league, and it's not like we didn't know that," HC Aaron Glenn said. "But the plays that he can make, the way he can contort his body, the way he can come down and be sure to catch some of those 50-50 balls or what not. … Man, he is an amazing person to sit there and just watch. And you want to try and make sure that you get him the ball as much as possible."
The Jets have done so thus far, as Wilson has been a go-to target during several critical game moments. He has hauled in 3 touchdown passes, including a spectacular catch in the back of the end zone in the final two minutes of the Jets' Week 4 loss. OC Tanner Engstrand -- who praised Wilson as "the ultimate competitor" -- said if the ball is anywhere near Wilson, he's confident No. 5 will come down with it.
But while the highlight reel and stat sheet may be impressive for the fourth-year player, the only number that truly matters is the one in the win column.
"This is a simple game, there's a winner and a loser," Wilson said. "I wouldn't even say there's anything to balance in that case. I'm doing my job. If it's not enough, then it's not enough. There's nothing to balance. You just get over the hump. Let's find a way to win."
Wilson stressed that the Jets are in control of their own destiny when it comes to finding those wins. And for the team captain, there's no better place to get the job done.
"I love it here," Wilson said of the Jets. "These people have bought into me since I was a college kid and not knowing what my next step was as far as football and the fan base has dove into me. This is where I want to be; this is where I want to win at. It's not about just winning. For me, it's about where do you do it at? What role did you play in that? And I truly believe, because of the things that guys have gone through these last few years, and what we're battling to get out of, it will make it that much more beautiful down the stretch. And I don't ever lose sight of that, or ever lose faith in AG, [GM Darren Mougey], our staff and everyone here. We know what their plan is."
Wilson's next opportunity to help turn the tide will be back home at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
"I just want to be known as resilient, someone that was out there for his teammates every week, someone that took a lot of pride in being part of the change," he said. "That's all I really want. Someone that, when players around the league talk about me they respect the way I played the game and the fact that they know what it took to get to the point that we're eventually going to be at in this facility. I would say that's what I want my legacy to be."
