The New York Jets finished 2016 with a 5-11 record and the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. The Jets had much promise to begin 2016. A season after narrowly missing the playoffs at 10-6, Gang Green looked to rebound and make a 2016 playoff push. After signing Ryan Fitzpatrick on the first day of training camp, the sky seemed like the limit. After all, Fitzpatrick broke the Jets record for most touchdown passes in a single season with 31.
Unfortunately for the Jets, 2015 was a fluke for Fitz, a one time occurrence. Not only did he take a step back, but he was one of the worst quarterbacks in football. Of course the blame cannot go solely on Fitz as there were plenty to blame on the team including the coaches and personnel. In the end the Jets find themselves in a position where they must rebuild yet again to become competitive.
New York Jets 2016 Season in Review
The Difficult Schedule
Momentum is big in football, and needless to say, the Jets had a tough task to build momentum early on. Their first six games were against the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals. Every team but the Bills made the playoffs in 2015. While the Bengals and Cardinals ended up taking a step back in 2016, both still were a challenge to the Jets.
The Bengals were able to beat the Jets in a nail-biting, demoralizing, one-point loss. While the Jets rebounded nicely with a 37-31 win in Week Two against the Bills, they were thrashed by the Chiefs in Week Three.
That loss to KC was the beginning of the end for the Jets. Fitzpatrick threw six interceptions and no touchdowns in the game. The team as a whole had eight turnovers. The Jets lost the game 24-3 and fell to 1-2 on the season.
What followed was three more losses in a row to start 1-5. By then the Jets were unofficially eliminated from the playoffs.
The False Hope
The Kansas City Chiefs started 2015 at 1-5. They then proceeded to win out and finish 11-5. It goes to show that playoff hopes aren’t over until a team is mathematically eliminated. Of course a feat like that is accomplished very rarely. Few teams actually make the playoffs after a 1-5 start. The Jets were not going to be that type of team, but fans could only hope especially as the schedule got much lighter after their 1-5 start.
Geno Smith got the start in Week Seven against the Baltimore Ravens. It was the right choice at the time for many reasons. However, it did not last as he sustained a season-ending knee injury during the game. Fitzpatrick came off the bench and helped lead the Jets to a 24-16 victory.
Instead of going down the depth chart and letting Bryce Petty play, the team stuck with Fitzpatrick who they felt gave them the best chance to win.
Fitzpatrick got a gift in Week Eight in the form of the 0-7 Cleveland Browns. It didn’t look like a gift at first as the Browns went into halftime with a 20-7 lead. Fitzpatrick and the Jets were able to come back however, and beat the Browns 31-28 to keep the false hope alive.
Reality Struck
2016 would just not be the year for the Jets and that reality sunk in quickly after the win in Week Eight. The next few weeks included a late comeback by the Miami Dolphins, a 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, a close game against the New England Patriots which resulted in a loss, and an embarrassing 41-10 walloping courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts with all eyes watching on Monday night.
Fitzpatrick started all those games except for the Rams game. Aside from the Patriots game, he performed quite poorly again. The Colts game was too much for the fans and coaches to watch and Petty took over after the half.
Garbage Time
After the Week 13 loss to the Colts, head coach Todd Bowles announced his plans to start Petty for the remaining four games. He told the media that this plan was in place regardless of how Fitzpatrick played against the Colts.
Petty continued his mediocre play in his first two starts of December behind a sub-par offensive line. The line couldn’t help Petty in Week 16 against the Dolphins as Cameron Wake and Ndamukong Suh delivered blows to his sides at the same time. That knocked out Petty and gave Fitzpatrick more playing time.
The next week Petty was ready to go against the Patriots but not for long. He tore his left labrum during the game which ended his season a couple of weeks early. Fitzpatrick then came off the bench for an injured quarterback for the third time in 2016.
For the season finale against the Bills, Bowles stuck with Fitzpatrick instead of starting 2016 second-round pick Christian Hackenburg. Fitz proceeded to put on one of his best performances of the year and led the Jets to their fifth and final win of the season.
The Positives
A list of negatives would be too long and depressing. Very few players performed well as the Jets record shows, but there were still some things to smile about for fans. The best way to wrap up this 2016 review is to focus on the positives of 2016.
During the time he was healthy, Matt Forte did a good job in his first year with the Jets. He rushed for 813 yards and seven touchdowns in 218 attempts. In addition, he had 263 yards and one touchdown on 30 receptions.
After Forte was injured, Bilal Powell got more carries and took advantage of them. 2016 ended up being his best year to date and it gives the Jets some hope for the future. In only 131 attempts, Powell rushed for 722 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 388 yards and two touchdowns on 58 receptions. It was the first time in Jets history that two running backs had 1,000 total yards apiece.
Two of the Jets wide receivers also shined in 2016: Quincy Enunwa and Robby Anderson. Enunwa led the team with four touchdown receptions and 857 receiving yards. Anderson, an undrafted free agent, was able to put up 587 yards and two touchdowns on 42 receptions.
The most valuable player of 2016 for the Jets was Leonard Williams. Williams, the Jets first-round pick in 2015, continued his rise as a player and leader. He also led the team in sacks with seven and tied for first in forced fumbles with two. Williams also came the closest to being named to the Pro Bowl as he was tapped as a first alternate.
The Future is Unknown
Football is an interesting sport. With only 16 games, teams that won very few games one year could find themselves competitive the next year. The Jets finished 4-12 in 2014 and followed it up with a 10-6 season in 2015, which is usually good for the playoffs most years.
After finishing this year 5-11 and going into rebuild mode, Jets fans may think a good team is years away. However, the future is unknown and a few good moves by general manager Mike Maccagnan can produce a team worth watching in 2017.
