Despite their second-straight loss, Jets players were quick to praise quarterback Mike White for his gutsy performance on Sunday.
Gang Green fell to the Bills in Buffalo in an important divisional game by a 12–20 margin in a contest that saw the Jets lose their playoff positioning, and also saw their quarterback take some hard hits that likely would have kept less-resilient players sidelined.
The game was so brutal on White that he was rushed to the hospital shortly after the final whistle blew.
“He’s a f—king soldier,’’ said running back Michael Carter.
White was forced to miss snaps on two different occasions during the Jets loss, most notably after he was laid-out by Buffalo’s Matt Milano in the third quarter.
Jets Offensive line gonna get Mike White killed today pic.twitter.com/cLNsoUVP9c
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 11, 2022
“It definitely looks how it felt. It was a clean hit, he got me good — running start, he made a good play,” said White. “It was a football play.”
While the 27-year-old went to the locker room for X-rays after taking that shot to his ribs, Flacco came into the game and promptly fumbled the ball, but White returned shortly after to retake control of the offense.
“He battled, man,’’ said Braxton Berrios.
“He was awesome,” said head coach Robert Saleh. “He showed everybody else what we already knew in regard to how tough he is.”
Through four quarters, White had 268 yards on 27–44 (61.36%) in the air.
In his three starts, the quarterback has averaged 26.7 completions on 43 attempts for 317.3 yards.
But beyond his solid numbers, White has proven to be a leader in the team’s locker room, and has drawn nearly universal praise from his teammates.
That stands in stark contrast to Wilson, who had drawn barley-masked criticism from both members of the team’s offense and defense.
White entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Dallas Cowboys, where he was never given a chance to play.
After that, he was nearly out of the league, but was granted a spot on the Jets’ practice squad in the offseason of 2019.
Needless to say, White made a solid impression on the team’s scouts, and eventually signed on to be a backup, starting as the third-stringer to begin this season.
When starter Zach Wilson, the former second-overall pick, was benched due to a series of lackluster performances, the team turned to White as their starter, allowing him to jump past veteran Joe Flacco on thee depth chart, and get a legitimate shot to play under center for New York.
Ever since, White has shown an ability to carry an offense when the running game is struggling, even despite the offensive line troubles that have plagued New York all season.
“I appreciate him,’’ said offensive lineman Duane Brown.
His perseverance and persistence has gone a long way towards developing a solid reputation among his Gang Green teammates — which will certainly come in handy as the 7–6 Jets head down the stretch-run of the season looking to see postseason action.
“He’s tough,” said Saleh. “I thought he showed resolve, toughness…He’s a good player.”
