The football gods couldn’t be that cruel, could they?
Aren’t 53 years without a Super Bowl enough for the Jets?
Wasn’t Vinny Testaverde rupturing his Achilles on the opening day of the 1999 season that was expected to end in a Super Bowl championship enough?
Weren’t back-to-back AFC Championship losses in 2009 and 2010 enough?
Mike White had just thrown his fourth touchdown pass in five quarters and tied the score against the Colts on Thursday night. Then, he felt discomfort right then and there on the sideline. Immediately, he was getting his right forearm examined and straining to grip the ball as he took warm-up throws.
“My two middle fingers kinda went numb, I couldn’t aggressively grip the ball enough to be out there and help my team,” he said.
And so, with 13:24 left in the second quarter, Josh Johnson was the quarterback for the Jets.
White (7-for-11, 95 yards) spent the rest of his night watching Johnson, watching Colts 45, Jets 30, and wondering what might have been, just like everyone else rooting for him.
Whiteout, first for White, then quickly for coach Robert Saleh and a matador defense that was obliterated by a stampeded of angry Colts.
The only good news: The football gods finally relented enough for him to regain the feeling in his fingers by the fourth quarter.
Let him play.
White deserves another chance.
For these reasons:
Why throw Zach Wilson to a formidable defense like the Bills after he missed the past two games with a knee injury?
Why subject Wilson to possible derision from Jets fans at MetLife Stadium if he struggles to display the kind of command of the offense that White has displayed? “We want Mike. We want Mike. We want Mike.”
Just because Wilson is the quarterback of the future doesn’t mean he can’t use a mental health break and learn from watching for a little longer.
Here was White, a kid trying to make a name for himself, trying to be Cinderella Man with Wilson sidelined for as long as Saleh would let him, trying to carry Jets fans on a magic carpet ride out of nowhere with him to who knows where.
Here was a kid who exhilarated and titillated the Jets and their long-suffering faithful Sunday with a debut for the ages.
And here was another moment, on the road, that hadn’t looked too big for him:
He stood tall in the pocket, saw the field, delivered the ball under pressure. And when rookie Elijah Moore was left wide open by a blown coverage, White found him with a 19-yard TD pass.
But his right forearm had been hit by DeForest Buckner, and just like that, a hot hand had been rendered frozen.
The clock had struck midnight on Cinderella Man.
“I was feeling good. I was feeling confident in our guys, you could tell our guys were feeling confident as well in the way they were playing,” White said, “so It’s very frustrating.
“You get your opportunities and you want to take advantage of them now. In the limited snaps I did get to play tonight, I thought I played really well and I was happy with how the offense did when I was in there. But it’s not the end of the road by any means. It’s not [a] season-ending injury. And I’ll be able to play if my number gets called on again.”
The way the Jets were playing defense, or weren’t playing defense — on the ground against Jonathan Taylor and in the air against Carson Wentz — Broadway Joe couldn’t have beaten these Colts on this night. Saleh didn’t borrow one of Joe Judge’s headsets, did he?
So Josh Johnson tried to be Mike White, and it was already garbage time when he threw his three second-half TDs passes.
Wasn’t the Buttfumble enough?
Wasn’t Bill Belichick resigning as “hc of the nyj” after 24 hours on the damn job enough? Wasn’t Belichick and Tom Brady winning six Super Bowls together enough?
Wasn’t two years of Rich Kotite enough? Wasn’t two years of Adam Gase enough? Wasn’t losing out on Trevor Lawrence enough?
Fame is fleeting. Wilson is scheduled to return to practice next week. Will White be healthy enough to get another chance?
If Wilson is healthy, would he start the next game against the Bills?
“We’ll see,” Saleh said. “Day to day.”
If he can grip the ball, Let Mike White play.