A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:
1. Drops of optimism: The good news from Adonai Mitchell's first game with the Jets on Thursday? On a handful of plays, he separated nicely against one of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, Christian Gonzalez of the New England Patriots.
The bad news? He dropped two passes, including a deep ball on Gonzalez that would've gone for at least 40 yards.
If this had been a Broadway debut, Mitchell would've been slammed by the critics. His new coach wasn't thrilled with the drops but still believes there's plenty of upside.
"Listen, he's a big, fast -- he's going to be a good player for us," Aaron Glenn said after the 27-14 loss.
Mitchell, acquired from the Indianapolis Colts in the Sauce Gardner trade, will be one of the players to watch over the second half of the season. At 2-8, the playoffs are essentially out of reach. For the Jets, the last seven games will be an audition for certain players.
Who stays? Who goes?
General manager Darren Mougey really wanted Mitchell to be included in the Gardner blockbuster. It's funny how these things go.
Two years ago, Mougey's predecessor, Joe Douglas, celebrated when the Colts drafted Mitchell in the second round (No. 52 overall), according to an in-house video released by the Jets. Douglas was glad the Colts didn't take Malachi Corley, the apple of his eye. He got Corley at the top of the third round (No. 65).
Both players are on their second team, both known for an embarrassing gaffe -- letting go of the ball before the goal line on what should've been a touchdown play. In Mitchell's case, his playing time declined after that, and he became expendable.
"Just a crowded [receivers] room," he said, giving his theory on why his playing time disappeared. "Everybody can't go."
At 6-foot-2, with 4.34-second speed in the 40-yard dash, Mitchell has separation ability, a quality lacking in the Jets' receiving corps. The trick is holding on to the ball. With the Colts, he had three drops in 70 targets, a rather high drop rate. With the Jets, he already has two in six targets to go along with one catch for 10 yards.
"If I could really pinpoint anything," he said after his debut, "I'd point the finger at myself and say, 'I need to perform better.'"
He'll get plenty of snaps, especially with Garrett Wilson (knee) placed on injured reserve Thursday.
2. '9' lives: The phone rang the other day. It was Mark Gastineau calling.
"Sack man! Sack man!" the legendary pass rusher exclaimed.
He was referring to Will McDonald IV, who was coming off his four-sack game against the Cleveland Browns last Sunday. McDonald tied the team record, held by Gastineau (twice) and John Abraham. Gastineau, who met McDonald last season after a game, said he's a fan of the third-year pass rusher. He owns a McDonald jersey. Well, sort of.
Gastineau received a few jerseys from a sports memorabilia company -- his name is on the back -- but it has McDonald's number (9). Gastineau got a kick out of that. He famously wore No. 99 from 1979 to 1988. In fact, McDonald began his career with 99 but switched this season to 9.
Gastineau likes McDonald's pass-rushing instincts, but he'd like him to hit the weight room to build more size and strength.
"Tell him to keep getting sacks," Gastineau said, "because it'll mean a bigger contract."
McDonald, shut out against the Patriots, has 20.5 sacks in his first 2½ seasons. Gastineau had 33.5 by the end of his third season.
3. Running out of time? Here's a positive stat on quarterback Justin Fields -- he has 383 rushing yards, 70 shy of Al Dorow's single-season franchise mark for a quarterback (set in 1960).
Will Fields get there? His starting status is in jeopardy, as Glenn didn't rule out the possibility of a quarterback change.
4. Flag man: Nickelback Jarvis Brownlee Jr., acquired in a Sept. 23 trade with the Tennessee Titans, made a fast impression on the coaches. Because of his early emergence, the Jets felt comfortable in trading Michael Carter II to the Philadelphia Eagles. In recent weeks, though, Brownlee is showing why the Titans were eager to unload him.
His penalty count is rising.
Since debuting with the Jets in Week 5, Brownlee leads the league with eight penalties (seven accepted). He's way ahead of his pace from last season, when he had nine (eight accepted) in 17 games with the Titans.
"I had a s----y game," Brownlee said after getting flagged three times against the Patriots.
5. Where's Breece? Remember all that chatter in training camp, about how running back Breece Hall was going to be a huge factor in the passing game? It hasn't turned out that way. He's averaging only 2.4 receptions per game, a career low.
"No doubt, that's something we've got to get better at, and we have to make sure we target Breece a lot more," Glenn said.
6. Short-lived demotion: When linebacker Quincy Williams was informed two weeks ago that he was being demoted, he vowed to win his job back. And he did, probably faster than he anticipated.
He was back to a full-time role Thursday night, and he responded with a strong performance -- a season-high six tackles. Some players would've sulked after losing playing time; Williams went the opposite way.
7. Very special: The biggest positive from the Jets' season? Special teams.
Led by first-time coordinator Chris Banjo, the Jets are ranked No. 2 in special teams EPA (Expected Points Added). Nick Folk is perfect (no misses on field goals or PATs), Austin McNamara is sixth in net punting average, and they're a top-10 unit on punt and kickoff returns.
8. Did you know? The Jets have as many first-quarter touchdowns on specials teams as they do on offense -- two apiece.
9. Money matters: The Jets have the ability to be major players in free agency, with a projected $73 million in salary-cap room, according to the Roster Management System. In 2027, their projected number is $201 million.
10. The Last Word: "We gotta come in, Monday through Friday. We're out there at practice, we're in the building, we're in the facility. We can't come into the game and s--- just go out the other ear." -- Brownlee on what it will take to eliminate mental mistakes on defense