The Jets pulled off a stunning 20-17 win over the Bills on Sunday, pushing their record to 6-3 as they enter their bye week. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:

1. This is all you could have asked for if you are a Jets fan. Everything is in front of the Jets as they start the second half of the season. They will definitely be playing meaningful games in December. They will be fighting for a playoff spot. After Sunday, the division title is even in play.

All of this seemed impossible when the schedule came out and you saw the first nine games featured four teams that were considered Super Bowl contenders — the Ravens, Bengals, Packers and Bills — and three others who were expected to be strong teams after offseason moves — the Browns, Dolphins and Broncos — along with blue bloods of the sport who always seem to find a way to win — the Steelers and Patriots. When you looked at it on paper, you thought 3-6 at the bye would be good, 4-5 was if everything broke right.

But here the Jets are at 6-3. They are a half-game behind the Bills in the AFC East. They are the No. 5 seed right now in the AFC. There are nine teams fighting for seven playoff spots in the AFC and the Jets are not just in the mix, but are in the driver’s seat for a wild-card spot.

Even people inside the Jets did not see this coming. Yes, there was confidence they would be better than last year. They added a lot of talent. But the feeling was that they were probably still a year away from contending. This year was about getting the young players more experience, developing Zach Wilson and hanging around as long as they could in the playoff race.

Now? It’s about going for it. There is no reason to think the Jets should not make the playoffs right now. Of course, there are eight weeks left in the season. But it feels like injuries or Wilson having a game like he did against New England consistently are the only thing that can really derail this run for the Jets.

That is not to say this will be smooth. The Jets will have at least one more game like they did against the Patriots where things don’t go their way, but the Jets showed resilience in the way they bounced back from that game. This team has shown character all season. That does not go away.

We’re usually talking about draft position at this time of year. Instead, we’re talking about the playoffs. Enjoy it, Jets fans.

2. The Jets went back to their winning formula Sunday — great defense, a strong running game and a quarterback who protects the ball. This is how the Jets beat the Dolphins, Packers and Broncos and they did it again against the Bills.

The question now becomes whether the Jets can win in other ways. That is what really, really good teams do. Someone is going to make them play left-handed and take things away. It might be Bill Belichick again in two weeks. A team is going to stop the run and force Wilson to have to throw 30 to 40 times and make plays. He imploded against the Patriots when the ball was in his hands. The Jets need to bring him along now and start adding a little more to his plate so when they need him to make the plays, whether that is in late December or in a January playoff game, he can do it.

3. One image from the postgame locker room Sunday stood out to me. Guard Nate Herbig could barely walk to the showers. He looked exhausted. He was not injured, but he was clearly hurting. His walk was slow and measured and it looked like he could not put too much weight on his feet. But he had a huge smile on his face. It was the look of a player who left everything on the field. Herbig played a great game on Sunday and has been a huge pickup for the Jets. Claimed off waivers in the offseason, Herbig has stepped in at right guard in place of Alijah Vera-Tucker and played at an extremely high level. He was blowing people off the ball on Sunday and led the way on several key plays in the game. They call him “Nasty Nate” inside the Jets and he was nasty to the Bills on Sunday.

4. The biggest development for Wilson on Sunday was the use of his legs. Wilson’s rushing stats (five rushes, 24 yards) were not as flashy as Josh Allen’s, but it was the way he took off and ran. They were really strong decisions and he was decisive about tucking the ball and running. It was something that has been missing from his game this year. Wilson is a good athlete. He should run the ball more. The other thing that was noticeable was that Wilson did not retreat from the line of scrimmage like he did against the Patriots. He stepped up in the pocket and delivered the ball. He was not running backwards or to the outside. Some of that can be attributed to the line doing a strong job in protecting him. He was only hit three times. But it also shows some growth from Wilson and a realization of what went wrong against the Patriots.

The game plan was clearly to get the ball out of Wilson’s hand quicker and it worked. Wilson’s average time to throw was 2.39 seconds, per PFF. That is his lowest of the season. His average is 3.07 seconds and it was 3.27 against the Patriots last week.

It looks like the Jets coaches are starting to leave their top defensive linemen in more, slowing down the rotation. Quinnen Williams played 46 snaps (74 percent) on Sunday. That is his season high in terms of percentage of snaps.

Jeff Ulbrich gets this one. The defensive coordinator has his unit playing at a very high level. After a few early hiccups, the defense has been elite and is the main reason the Jets are 6-3.