The adjective for the Jets’ week just ended is “whirlwind.” The Groen-White fell below .500 with their second loss in a row, this one against the Vikings in London. Three days later, Jets owner Woody Johnson replaced head coach Robert Saleh with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.

The “Brick” Jets’ first test comes Monday night in primetime against their old division foes, the Buffalo Bills. And they have regained the services of two injured starters to help them compete.

Still, the Jets and their fans should be excited about what lies ahead. A win over the Bills means that despite the wind that hit them after their Week 5 loss, the Jets can close out Week 6 of the NFL by moving into first place in the AFC East.

The Jets and Bills would be tied at 3-3, ahead of the Dolphins (2-3 after their bye week) and Patriots (1-5 after their home loss to Houston). So the Jets would be alone in first place or in first place for only the fourth time since 2002 after six weeks of a season. The most recent season in the top spot was 2012.

And since the division realignment in ’02, if a team is leading the division (or tied) after Week 6, it has made the playoffs 72.8% of the time. Over the past five seasons, this percentage has been even higher: a team leading its division or tied after Week 6 has made the playoffs 83.0% of the time (39 out of 47).

Add to the above the fact that a Jets MNF win, coupled with the 24-3 win over the Patriots in their Week 3 home opener, would give them their first 2-0 start in the division since 2012, and before that 2010 .And for what it’s worth, the Jets have won their last two primetime games at MetLife Stadium against the Bills: on TNF in 2017 and last year’s season opener.

But a Jets will be hard-earned. Although the Bills are playing their third straight road game in the last two weeks with losses at Baltimore and Houston, they are 3-2 with a potentially explosive offense – their 28.4 points/game is No. 5 in the league after Sunday’s games. QB Josh Allen has not thrown an interception in his 131 passes, the longest pick-less streak to start an NFL season since 2016. The Bills’ plus-7 turnover margin ranks tied for second.