Jets already facing a must-win situation in Week 5 vs. the Browns. How are they handling the pressure?

1-3 Jets 'need a win badly'

It’s not even Columbus Day and Aaron Glenn and the Jets are playing a must-win game Sunday against the Browns. 

The Jets put themselves in this position by losing three straight games and exacerbated the situation with a dismal performance last week in Chicago. Garrett Wilson said the “urgency” has to be at an all-time high now.

“We need a win badly,” he said. “We need it bad. I don't really know how else to put it.”

The Jets are back at MetLife Stadium for the first time since their Week 2 home opener in which they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost in overtime to the Packers. Their fans could be very vocal and start calling for Glenn’s dismissal if the Jets have another poor outing against the surprising Browns (3-1).

Wilson said of the Jets dropping their last three, “Definitely kicks up the human aspect for all of us. We got to get on the board. We got to get on the board now.”

He added: “Our urgency, our practice habits, the way we take the field on Sundays got to match the stakes. I definitely feel like this facility will respond to that. We all know what we're chasing here. It starts now. It started. We missed some opportunities. Now it's make-up time. That's where we're at right now.”

Jump-start the offense

Getting off to a quicker start was a “main focus” for the offense this week, Wilson said.

The Jets haven’t scored in the first quarter since their season-opening touchdown drive in Tennessee. They’re the only team in the NFL with no first-quarter points in the last three games. Three of the Jets’ six possessions during that time resulted in a three-and-out.

Many of those are scripted plays that offensive coordinator Frank Reich has chosen to start the game. Reich said the “execution” needs to be better. It was a major issue at the start and throughout last week’s game in Chicago when his offense ran only 32 plays overall.

Wilson (three catches last week) and Kenyon Sadiq (no touches) have to be more involved. Tight end Mason Taylor’s return after a two-game absence with a thumb injury should help the offense. Running back Breece Hall (quadriceps) and receiver Adonai Mitchell (finger) remain out, but Reich said they have enough to put up points . . . with one very big if.

“Sure, you miss those guys,” Reich said. “Do we have complete confidence in the guys who step up? Yes, absolute complete confidence. We can still run all of our offense and play winning football and line up and win every game — if we play good football.”

Defense needs to get right

Glenn’s defense has to redeem itself after allowing the Bears to run 89 plays and possess the ball for 42:45. Cleveland doesn't have the running game that Chicago does, but the Jets have to prove that performance wasn’t who they are.

“There’s definitely some things that we cleaned up during the week,” linebacker Demario Davis said. “This group, we're going to respond the right way.”

Davis believes in the Jets’ formula for success, built around setting firm edges, limiting explosive plays and playing fast and physically. They didn’t do that against Chicago.

“When we don't get the results we're looking for, we're a little shocked,” Davis said. “But this group is not going to flinch and it’s not going to waver.”

An emphasis this week was addressing their four-man pass rush and improving its chances to disrupt Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. The Jets’ defensive line has fallen way short in that area. The Jets’ three sacks in the last two games have been by Davis (two) and safety Andre Cisco (one).

Redemption for Geno

The Jets need a bounce-back game from Geno Smith.

One week after he completed a personal-best 83.8% of his passes (31-for-37) against Detroit, Smith went 8-for-15 and missed open receivers. Glenn and Reich aren’t concerned because of how Smith has rebounded in the past.

“I wish this was Fairy Fairyland and every week is going to be [great],” Glenn said. “You have to fight through some things. That's one thing that attracts me to him because he's been through so much and he's able to overcome. I know that he's going to get right back to who he is, and that's completing a high percentage of throws.”

Reich said Smith’s “focus, his drive to be better and to be perfect on every play is second to none.”

Smith doesn’t let one game, good or bad, impact the next because he tries to stay in the moment.

“There’s always another opponent,'' he said, "and there's always another opportunity.” 

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.