It’s Halloween, and if the Jets want to lasso Houston at MetLife Stadium in the first game of NFL Week 9, they’ll have to don the costume of — and more importantly, adopt the faith of — a 6-2 team that beat the Texans are and not the 2-6 team that the Jets are.

“Just smile, show up, trust, believe and support us as hard as you can. We need that sound,” QB Aaron Rodgers told Green & White fans this week after declaring he was feeling “really good” on the way to this short film. week. “We are trying to rectify this as quickly as possible. I know it has been frustrating for everyone, but there is still a large part of the season to go.”

One of the major costume dramas in this matchup between slightly amped-up combatants will be the quarterbacks, Rodgers versus second-year signal caller CJ Stroud. Rodgers, 40 and soon to be 41, will face the second-youngest QB in terms of age difference in Stroud (17 years, 305 days) after starting last Sunday against the youngest in the Patriots’ Drake Maye (18 years, 271 to dawn). ), although he ended up against senior Jacoby Brissett, who came away with the 25-22 victory in relief, sending A-Rod and the Jets to their fifth consecutive loss.

If the Jets want to keep their airship running on Thursday night, they’ll have to be the better-dressed team when it comes to undressing hospital patients. They will play without WR Allen Lazard, DL Leki Fotu and K Greg Zuerlein, all of whom have been placed on Injured Reserve. LB and defensive captain CJ Mosley, G Alijah Vera-Tucker and safeties Tony Adams and Ashtyn Davis are all out with injuries.

But the Jets have some interesting additions to the roster that everyone is aware of. WR Davante Adams will play his third game in his new shade of green after starting his career with Rodgers and the green and gold Packers. And lead Haason Reddick, who started his season with 26 defensive snaps in New England, will look to take it one step further and get Stroud in the Texans’ pocket.

Speaking of a boost, young but well-traveled Riley Patterson will replace Zuerlein as the Jets’ kicker. In two stints with Detroit plus a season with Jacksonville and two games with Cleveland last year, Patterson has converted 88.1% of his field goal attempts, including 19 of 25 from more than 40 yards.