After owner Woody Johnson cast his vote of confidence in the Jets’ two primary leaders, Nathaniel Hackett did all he could to make sure his name isn’t left off the re-election ticket in 2024.
Johnson exclusively told The Post’s Brian Costello prior to Sunday’s 30-28 victory against the Commanders that general manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh will return to their jobs next season despite the Jets being assured of a third straight losing record under their joint watch.
It is Saleh’s job — not Johnson’s and not injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ — to decide the offensive coordinator’s fate, but Hackett’s case certainly was boosted by the Jets’ second-highest single-game yardage total (381) and co-highest offensive point total (30) of the season, all of which came with a journeyman third-string quarterback making his first start of the season.
Not to mention the game-winning eight-play, 31-yard field-goal two-minute drive that saved the Jets (and their not-so-special defense) from an embarrassing loss after blowing a 20-point first-half lead.
“Hack called an awesome game, [showed] a ton of poise,” quarterback Trevor Siemian said. “You’ve got a bunch of crap going on, but you’ve got one voice in your headset. Having somebody that has poise to walk you through things, that’s giving you enough information but not too much, I can’t even tell you how important that is. Hack kept me straight the whole way.”
The Jets already were expected to retain Hackett largely based on Rodgers’ preferences — the future Hall of Fame quarterback has thrown the weight of his support behind Douglas, Saleh and Hackett on multiple occasions while recovering from a torn Achilles — but a late-season offensive surge would make the announcement feel at least partially results-based.
After a miserable 11-game start to the season marked by red-zone failures, disastrous first quarters and rotating quarterbacks, the Jets have sandwiched two 30-point games at home around a shutout loss at the Dolphins.
“Hackett did a hell of a job,” tight end Tyler Conklin said. “What we’ve talked about a lot … is, three weeks left, how do we do some positive things as an offense to build going into the offseason? To do that offensively, I think is a step in the right direction.”
The offense should look very different in 2024: Not only because of Rodgers’ return from a torn Achilles but because Douglas needs to justify Johnson’s faith by acquiring at least two (maybe three) new starting offensive linemen, a worthy receiver — future Hall of Famers Mike Evans or Davante Adams, perhaps? — to complement Garrett Wilson and a viable backup quarterback in case Rodgers goes down again.
What needs to stay in place is the emphasis Sunday on feeding the top playmakers.
Wilson and running back Breece Hall were targeted 31 times, finishing with a combined 21 catches for 172 yards. The rest of the offense had six catches for 45 yards on 14 targets.
Hall, who also rushed 20 times for 95 yards, topped 100 yards from scrimmage for just the second time in the past nine games. The Jets are 2-0 in those games and 1-6 in the others.
The game-winning drive started with a pre-snap audible to gain 8 yards with a safe throw to Conklin and featured three touches for Hall.
“The coaches were able to get me in good spots to get the ball in space,” Hall said, presumably talking about his play-caller. “They stayed with me the whole game, and it just shows it’s a blessing they still have faith in me after having a knee injury [in 2022] and still believe I’m the guy.”
Johnson still believes Douglas and Saleh are the right guys. Hackett’s vote of confidence might not be far behind as the plan to run it back around Rodgers — like 2023 never happened — takes shape.
“There was a good mixture of screens, reverses — although one of them blew up in our face — but at least giving us a shot and getting the ball to our playmakers,” Saleh said. “I thought he did a really nice job.”
Today’s back page
A NY sports holiday wish list
Even millionaires and billionaires can make Christmas wish lists.
Especially those trying to succeed in professional sports in the New York pressure-cooker.
There are general managers searching for the missing ingredients necessary to go deep in the playoffs, players looking for ways to stay healthy and earn big contracts as well as owners trying to keep their impatient fan bases happy.
Post Sports+ dons a Santa Claus suit and looks into a crystal ball to envision the perfect gift this Christmas season for some key New York figures:
Giants QB Daniel Jones: Two new (good) offensive linemen
If he were greedy, he would ask for three. Jones was the most-sacked quarterback in the NFL when he was knocked out for the season with a torn ACL. He previously suffered his second serious neck injury.
The Giants will enter next season with only left tackle Andrew Thomas and center John Michael Schmitz — far from a sure thing — penciled in as starters on the line because former first-round pick right tackle Evan Neal’s crucial second NFL season was a wash.
Giants RB Saquon Barkley: A three-year, $36 million contract ($23 million guaranteed)
Nearly a year later, the Giants and Barkley are in a similar position that led to last offseason’s tense negotiation. The running back is still their best offensive playmaker — he’s scored seven of their 18 offensive touchdowns — and general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll will be under win-now pressure in 2024.
But Barkley was injured for three games and is a year older (he turns 27 in February) — a fear with running backs. A second straight franchise tag one-year deal would anger Barkley and doesn’t serve the Giants well at $12.2 million on the salary cap. Pick up negotiations where last season’s left off in July as soon as the season ends.
Jets QB Aaron Rodgers: Davante Adams
Adams is the top item on the lists for Douglas, Saleh and Hackett. None of the ex-Packers whom Rodgers recruited to the Jets — Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb, Billy Turner or Adrian Amos — panned out.
But Adams, who has averaged 80 yards per game with 19 touchdowns in 31 post-Rodgers games for the Raiders, is in his own category. An Adams-Garrett Wilson receiver combo arguably would be the NFL’s best — if they can figure out who wears No. 17.
Jets QB Zach Wilson: A fresh start
Send the former No. 2 overall pick anywhere else to continue his career. For the sake of his mental and physical health, for the sake of ending a toxic relationship with Jets fans, for the sake of clearing a spot for a new (and better) backup if Rodgers were injured again.
Warts magically become forgotten when a failed starter becomes an out-of-sight backup: Look at what a quiet one-year stay with the Bills did for former No. 2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky getting another opportunity with the Steelers.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau: A replacement for Mitchell Robinson
Could Andre Drummond, Clint Capela, JaVale McGee or Bismack Biyombo do the job? The Knicks would be making a mistake to wait until the Feb. 8 trade deadline to replace the rim protection and offensive rebounding provided by Robinson, who likely is out for the season.
The Knicks reportedly applied for the Disabled Player Exception, meaning they would have $7.8 million to spend on adding a player with an expiring contract. Thibodeau is falling into old comfortable traps if he overrelies on Taj Gibson.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette: Two playoff series wins
Should someone tell the newbie to stop winning so much? The Rangers have the best record in the NHL, which only adds to the pressure and expectation on Laviolette to imitate Mike Keenan and win the Stanley Cup in Year 1.
Where does regular-season success get you in this short-leash franchise? Gerard Gallant, Laviolette’s predecessor, was 99-46-19 over two regular seasons. He was in the Eastern Conference Finals in Year 1. But he was fired after a Game 7 loss in the first round to end Year 2.
Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello: A penalty kill
One season ago, the Islanders ranked No. 9 in the league at killing off penalties. This season? They are dead last, allowing 29 goals on 100 power plays. Only some of that damage has been negated by a NHL-best eight shorthanded goals. Sticking with something broken and praying for better results has not been Lamoriello’s way over a long career as an executive, especially if a penalty-killing specialist becomes available.
Liberty forward Breanna Stewart: Another shot at the Las Vegas Aces
Stewart won the WNBA MVP and led the Liberty to the best record in the Eastern Conference, plus a 5-1 start (two series wins) in the playoffs.
But she struggled against the Aces buzzsaw in the Finals, shooting 36.2 percent from the field (down from 46.5 during the regular season) and a miserable 17.6 percent from behind the arc in the four-game series loss. A do-over, please.
Mets owner Steve Cohen: A time machine
MLB’s richest owner should travel back to November 2020, when he said, “If I don’t win a World Series in the next three to five years — I’d like to make it sooner — I would consider that slightly disappointing.” Those words don’t align with the prospect- and stopgap-laden roster the Mets are about to field in 2024 after failing to land top offseason priority Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The Mets should redirect some of their rejected $325 million offer for Yamamoto to a Pete Alonso contract extension or fans are going to remain on edge about losing one of the best homegrown position players in franchise history when he hits free agency.
Mets No. 1 starter Kodai Senga: A rubber arm
If the Mets are not pursuing top remaining available free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montogmery, how are they going to fill out the rotation behind Senga? The in-house options are bleak. In his first year in MLB, Senga was very good — 12-7 with a 2.98 ERA — but the Mets often tried to find him an extra day of rest between starts, as is customary in Japan. That’s not going to work for an ace who needs to surpass his 166 1/3 innings from 2023.
Yankees slugger Aaron Judge: Health in center field
The Yankees are taking a huge risk by moving their 6-foot-7, 282-pound slugger to center field to make room for the left-handed bats of Soto and Alex Verdugo. Yes, Judge has played 120 career games in center field — including 78 during his record-setting 2022 season — but the toll that covering all that ground over the course of a season takes on his legs could catch up to him by the postseason, when he really will be judged on whether he hits better than he did before he re-signed for $360 million.
It’s a nice thought to have Trent Grisham on board as a late-game defensive replacement, but Judge only knows one speed in the outfield and it leaves him susceptible.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman: Another blockbuster trade
If it’s an incoming blockbuster, Brewers ace Corbin Burnes should be atop the list. Not quite the pitching equivalent of trading for Juan Soto, but close. Like Soto, Burnes is a one-year rental. Like Soto, Burnes is elite (2021 Cy Young Award winner). Like Soto, Burnes is durable — he has three straight seasons of 28 or more starts.
But did the Yankees empty their coffers by trading four pitchers for Soto? On the other hand, Cashman would be nearly as acclaimed if he can find a taker — the often-spurned Giants or Shohei Ohtani-less Angels? — for a chunk of oft-injured Giancarlo Stanton’s remaining contract.
Broad Street Bullies, Part 2
The nickname given to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers during the 1972-73 season might need to be borrowed by the Eagles. At least when they face the Giants.
Christmas brings the first of two Giants-Eagles matchups to be played over the final three weeks of the season.
Since so much has happened since last season’s playoff meeting — including the Giants going in the wrong direction — you might have forgotten how lopsided that game (and, really, the cumulative totals of last season’s three meetings) was along both sides of the line of scrimmage.
Here’s a reminder in two areas that are indicative of offensive and defensive line play: The Eagles held a 656-370 advantage in rushing yards and a 14-8 edge in sacks.
There is little reason to think those trends won’t continue Monday, when the Giants bring an offensive line that has allowed a league-high 76 sacks into hostile territory.
On the other side of the ball, those losses to the Eagles were the catalyst in the Giants’ offseason emphasis on upgrading their defensive line, but now a hobbled Dexter Lawrence and A’Shawn Robinson need to gut through late-season injuries because injured Rakeem Nunez-Roches is sidelined and Leonard Williams was traded in October.
Young players D.J. Davidson and Jordon Riley have not shown any indication of being ready for this kind of step up in competition.
If there is one thing to point to as to why the Eagles have won 16 of the past 19 meetings with the Giants, it is the state of both teams’ two lines.
The Giants have tried (and failed) and tried again for a decade to duplicate the magic they had with two-time Super Bowl winners Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora on the defensive line as well as Chris Snee, Kareem McKenzie and David Diehl along the offensive line. Both lines need to be addressed in a major way again this offseason.
Meanwhile, the Eagles have had four franchise pillars — defensive linemen Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, and offensive linemen Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce — in place since 2013 and continue to score high marks in drafts with the pieces added around them.
The series probably will not turn around on Christmas … or in the Week 18 game … or any time before the Giants are able to stop the getting pushed around in the trenches.
Knicks’ knock
Not every playoff team is a championship contender.
The Knicks might know nearly for certain by Christmas night if they are one but not the other.
Thanks to a quirk in the NBA schedule created by the new In-Season Tournament, the Knicks-Bucks matchup featured at noon on Christmas already is the fourth meeting of the season between the teams in the first 30 games.
So far, it’s Bucks 3, Knicks 0 in terms of wins. And Bucks 386, Knicks 338 in terms of cumulative points.
A win Monday for the Knicks would suggest the gap between the top of the Eastern Conference and the middle of the pack is not as big as it seemed during the Bucks’ 146-122 win on Dec. 5 and 130-111 win this weekend. But another win for the Bucks — especially another blowout — would be a dose of reality for the Knicks.
Here’s the crazy thing: Maybe that’s not the worst outcome for Knicks fans.
Knicks president Leon Rose has built a playoff-caliber roster with sustainability — no small task when he arrived, given what he inherited — while remaining prudently patient as stars such as Donovan Mitchell (Cavaliers) and Damian Lillard (Bucks) went elsewhere in trades.
But if the Knicks are going to make a serious run like their 1990s predecessors, a wake-up call that they remain one more big piece away could be needed. Maybe another loss to the Bucks — in an ESPN television window with the whole league and even casual Knicks fans watching — is the push Rose needs to be more active than just replacing the injured Mitchell Robinson with a rental big man.
Rose could have as many as six first-round and five second-round draft picks over the next two years to fuel a package for a star. Julius Randle as the No. 3 option in a Big Three — if his ego can handle it — sounds a lot more intimidating than the Randle-Jalen Brunson punch trying to counter Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lillard or the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown pairing.
Christmas could tell the story of the Knicks’ season in more ways than one.
What we’re reading 👀
🏀 The Nets really don’t want to be the suckers who lose to the Pistons.
🏈 A $125 million offer for Jim Harbaugh to ignore the NFL and stay at Michigan? Who could’ve seen that coming?
🏈 Just the Lions and Dolphins and Joe Flacco’s Browns being the big winners on an NFL Sunday. Normal stuff.
⚾ The Mets added a depth reliever. No, not that one, another one.
⚾ Shohei Ohtani even gives gifts well, apparently.
⚽ The takeover of Manchester United finally happened.
🥊 Deontay Wilder let down the boxing world, again.