Another day, another loss for the New York Jets. The Jets offense again fell flat in a tight 15-10 loss to the New England Patriots (1-2). Despite showing some flashes and almost grabbing a game-winning Hail Mary, the Jets offense could not generate much momentum against the stout New England defense, which was down three cornerbacks. With this game in the books, Gang Green has lost 15 straight games to their division rivals.
New York had a total of 171 yards – and 87 of those yards came on their lone touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Jets quarterback Zach Wilson was 18 of 36 with 157 yards and a 61.9 rating. Breece Hall only got 18 yards on 12 rushes, and Wide Receiver Garrett Wilson (five catches, 48 yards) was a non-factor.
Despite the one fourth-quarter drive, the offense wasn’t producing on the field.
Jets Offense Comes Up Short In Familar Fashion
The Patriots dominated the first half, holding the Jets to less than 60 yards while they racked up more than 200 yards on offense. Although he showed some promise, New England’s defense gave Wilson fits, hurrying him all game long.
The Jets offense put in a nice 87-yard drive for a touchdown to pull within three, trailing 13-10 with less than six minutes in the fourth quarter. The Jets defense held New England without a score, but they couldn’t capitalize as they went three-and-out. While the Jets got nothing from the ground game, the Pats rushed for 154 yards.
On the CBS Broadcast, Tony Romo was pretty much begging for offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett to call play-action passes on first down plays. If Wilson were passing on first down for the Jets offense, as Romo argued, he would have had more opportunities to throw where the defense wouldn’t expect a pass.
It is unfair to the Jets offensive line, which reshuffled into a new lineup. Running the ball into a stacked box makes the offensive line look bad, even though there isn’t an opportunity for them to make a hole. The Jets offense is only averaging 14.0 points through three games, and the predictable play-calling doesn’t help.
Another Rough Day For Zach Wilson
Wilson missed open receivers left and right, with poor vision and subpar accuracy playing a role in his performace. It didn’t help that Nathaniel Hackett’s playcalling was predictable, running the ball into a stacked box on first down. Only when the Jets offense started throwing on first down did they have a few good runs.
New England would then sell out to take away the run and force Wilson to beat them. Against a struggling quarterback, why would the Patriots do anything else but dare Wilson to be the focal point of the Jets’ offense? The Jets ran the ball 10 times on first down prior to the fourth quarter. Those runs went nowhere at all, with just 1.9 yards per carry.
Constant stale runs on first down forced Wilson into too many second or third-and-long sequences. The worst thing a football offense can do is pass when the defense knows it is throwing the football. Wilson was sacked three times, but that was due to him holding the ball holding the ball longer than he should have. The Jets offense didn’t get much production out of their running game, gaining just 38 yards. Also, they were terrible on 3rd down efficiency with just 2 of 14.
The Jets Offense Looks Lifeless
The Jets had multiple opportunities to win the game, even with a safety due to a Matthew Judon sack of Wilson. The defense held their own late in the game and gave the Jets a possession for one more desperation drive. Wilson hit wide Receiver Garrett Wilson for 29 yards to get to midfield.
However, the Jets had to do a Hail Mary heave, which ex-Packer receiver Randall Cobb nearly caught. The Jets now sit at 1-1, losing their 15th straight game against the Patriots. The season will get harder for the Jets as they face the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday night.
Main Photo: Robert Deutch – USA Today Sports
