There was a mostly-joking, but also kinda-not joking, line of thought on Twitter this week that Mike White, who was stepping in to replace injured quarterback Zach Wilson, would become the New York Jets’ version of Tom Brady emerging from behind Drew Bledsoe to become the franchise’s future.
After a hot start on Sunday, those kinda-sorta jokes amongst Jets fans are getting a bit more serious.
White started the game by completing his first 12 passes for 99 yards and helping the Jets get on the board first thanks to a Michael Carter rushing touchdown. It was literally the first time the Jets had scored a touchdown in the first quarter.
A star was born.
And just like that, the 1-5 Jets were leading the 5-2 Cincinnati Bengals, giving Jets fans reason to hope, which is always a very dangerous thing.
https://twitter.com/craigcartonlive/status/1454859086814662658
Alas, as we mentioned, hope is a dangerous thing. And White ended his completion streak by promptly throwing back-to-back interceptions in his next two attempts. That, plus the Jets remembering they were the Jets, led to the Bengals quickly taking a 17-7 lead.
However, White wasn’t about to slink into the background and hand that hype back. He tried to get the Jets back in the game in the second quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Keelan Cole. While the catch was pretty amazing, it was unfortunately overturned on replay.
Touchdown or not, the Mike White Hype Train was back out on the tracks.
And just like that, Mike White looks like the best Jets QB we've seen all season.
— Zachary Krueger (@ZK_FFB) October 31, 2021
And Mike White lasers a throw to covered WR Keelan Cole, who makes one-handed grab just inside pylon for the TD. Catch of the year? It's a candidate. Cole's 1st TD of year.
— Randy Lange (@rlangejets) October 31, 2021
White has already crossed the 200-yard mark on the day and, while he has yet to throw an official touchdown and has two interceptions so far, he’s winning over persnickety Jets fans who are looking for something, anything, to care about.