The Jets have precious little time to savor Sunday's thrilling victory over Cleveland with a game at New England staring them squarely in the face only days away.

After starting the season 1-2 under their new HC Mike Vrabel, the Patriots (8-2) have won seven straight games and lead the AFC East over the Buffalo Bills (6-3). Jets HC Aaron Glenn is well aware of the challenge the Jets (2-7) will face at Gillette Stadium in their second, and final night game of the season against one of the most surprising teams in the NFL this season.

"I think they went into the offseason and they went in and got a lot of guys that can help them be successful," Glenn said on Monday. "Obviously, [Milton] Williams, the D-tackle that was in Philly, went and got Carlton [Davis III], a guy that I'm very familiar with and they brought a lot of those guys. I mean [WR] Mack Hollins, this is a guy that I just started looking at today. The toughness that he brings at the receiver spot and his ability to make these big plays."

And then there's QB Drake Maye, who in his second year in the NFL, has emerged as a possible MVP candidate. He currently ranks No. 3 among QBs, in total yards (2,555), while completing 71.7% of his passes (205 of 286) with 19 TD passes and 5 INT. That said, he has been sacked 35 times, second most among QBs this season.

"And man the quarterback is playing at a very, very high level and I think they're creating more explosive plays than any team in the league this year," Glenn said. "So you have a combination of that and I think Vrabel has done a really good job of getting that team to buy into what he's trying to do. So absolutely you can make a huge change within a year, and I think he's done a good job of that along with the players that he's gotten."

Kene Nwangwu on G&W's Special Teams: 'It's an Elite Buy-In'
After taking a Cleveland kickoff 99 yards for a TD in the first quarter on Sunday, RB/KR Kene Nwangwu spoke about the point on any run back when the thought of hitting paydirt hits him.

"It's usually been like the 40-yard line," he said on Monday. "You cross the 40, you kind of have an idea if you're going to score or not. But yeah, across the 40 I wasn't touched, I just got to outrun the kicker. And then, like any safeties on the sideline."

Now in his fifth season in the NFL, Nwangwu has returned five kickoffs for TDs, including one this season and one last season during his time with the Jets. And he's the first to acknowledge that it's never a solo effort.

"It's like elite buy-in, a bunch of guys just being selfless," said Nwangwu, who had 143 kickoff-return yards in the game. "You know, a kick return is so unique. You got 10 guys blocking, there's no glory for any of them if I score a touchdown. It's a very selfless team, and I think that's why we're finding a lot of success."

HC Aaron Glenn acknowledged how special the special teams were on Sunday when, in addition to Nwangwu's TD dash, Isaiah Williams (126 punt-return yards) had a 74-yard punt return for a TD.

"Special teams did a hell of a job of making plays, but there were some underlying things that really didn't show up on the stat sheet," Glenn said. "Some of our guys [LB Quincy Williams, for example] played in the other phases when it comes to special teams for us as far as coverage and things like that."

C Josh Myers on RG Joe Tippmann
The Jets brought in veteran C Josh Myers in the offseason, ideally to perhaps start and perhaps serve as a backup to Joe Tippmann. That all changed when RG Alijah Vera-Tucker sustained a season-ending triceps injury before the season began. Tippmann slid over to guard and he and Myers have helped the O-line stay steady and productive.

"I feel like he's gotten better and better just every week," Myers said. "I love the way he plays the game and the way he prepares every week, and it's been so much fun getting to play next to him, and he's a really good football player."

Bear in mind that the Jets have trotted out the same five starting O-lineman in every game this season: young tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou, LG John Simpson, Myers and Tippmann.

*Jetcetera *HC Aaron Glenn said that WR Garrett Wilson, who left Sunday's game after appearing to tweak an already tender right knee, is still being evaluated. "He'll go through that whole process as far as imaging," Glenn said. "Get him checked up by the doctors before we really stamp out what the issue is, so again hopefully he'll be good to be able to play this week, but I don't want to stamp that just yet." ... Rookie CB Azareye'h Thomas has been ruled out of the game against the Patriots while he's in concussion protocol. ... WR AD Mitchell, who was part of the trade that sent CB Sauce Gardner to the Colts, could be ready to play this week, Glenn said. "I think with another week of learning our playbook, man, he'll be just fine."