The Jets dropped their 15th straight game to the Patriots on Sunday, a dispiriting 15-10 loss on a rainy day in East Rutherford.
Here are some thoughts and observationꦦs from the game:
1. Here is the reality of the Jets situation: The team made a decision to go all in on Aaron Rodgers. Everything was𝓡 built around Rodgers being the qᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚuarterback of the 2023 Jets.
The offensive coordinator is one of his favorite coaches. The offense was designed with Rodgers in mind. Wide receivers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb are here because Rodgers was familiar with them and wanted them here. Dalvin Cook is here because Rodgers wanted him. Zach Wilson was the backup quarterback because the Jets thought it was a perfect situation for Wilson to sit back, get some pressure off him and learn from Rodgers, who he already had a relationship with.
You know what they say about best-laid plans.
Everything blew up on the fourth play of the season when Rodgers tore his left Achilles tendon. All of the good vibes from April-August dꦓisappeared. The Jets are now left in a situation that they did not plan for. You know why? You don’t plan for disastℱer (in football terms). ;
I get fans screaming for another quarterback. Wilson is not good. He should not be ♌on the field. The Jets did not plan for him to be on the field this season.﷽ Disaster struck.
You can rip Joe Douglas for not having a better backup. The Jets made a decision in January to keep Wilson on the roster and hope that he could spend a few years watching Rodgers from the sideline, decompress and maybe turn his career around. That is why they did not pursue a veteran backup like a Gardner Minshew or bring back Mike White. They c🦂ould not afford that type of player once they decided to keep Wilson, also knowing that they were going to have to pay Rodgers if they could pull off the trade.
Now? There are no good options out there. You can talk yourself into Carson Wentz or Colt McCoy or Matt Ryan. But be honest: Are they really going to make 𒀰that much of a difference?
They are going to need two to three weeks to learn the offense 🎃before they can play. They are available in September for a reason – they are not good. There are also consequences if you sign a big name. Once you bring 𝔍one of them in, Wilson’s confidence is shot. You can make the argument that the Jets can no longer worry about Wilson’s confidence and I can’t push back too hard. But it is a real thing.
To me, the Jets’ best hope is to keep pushing with Wilson and trying to figure out ways to make it easier for him. Then, you hope the defense can play great and get some running game going and get a few breaks. The season is not over. It is only three games old. The NFL is funny. The Cardinals beat the Cowboys on Sunday. The Jets won five games with Wilson 💛last year following the formula I just laid out.
The💜re is no easy solution to the Jets’ problems. Their plan blew up in four plays. It’s 🌠hard to come back from that.
2. One thing that struck me hearing the boos for Wilson on Sunday is he really could benefit from moving on to a new team. One of my editors made th▨e point that Wilson is a backup quarterback playing like a backup quarterback and people should𝐆 not expect more.
But Wilson will never just be a backup quarterb▨ack while he is on the Jets. He will always be the No. 2 pick.
He will never be judged like Mike White or Tim Boyle or Chri🐈s Streveler. There are no expectations associated with those players. Wilson was supposed to be the franchise quarterback. Now, you’re watching him throw passes into the turf on a rainy day at MetLife. Of course he got booed.
If Wilson moves on to another city next year, the draft status is forgotten. Now, he is just♛ another backup player that no one expects much from. Does anyone refer to Solomon Thomas as the No. 3 pick in the draft now? No, if Thomas gets a sack he is celebrated because there are no expectations for him.
Sam Darnold is now being celebrated as a backup in San Francisco. That would have never happ𝓀ened here.
High picks ಞsometime♔s need to move on to escape the burden that comes with their draft status. Maybe Wilson would play better somewhere else where he is viewed as a reclamation project and not the former franchise savior.
3. As bad as things went at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, what the Dolphins did only added to Jets’ fans misery. The Jets offense can barely function and Miami put up 70 points, 10 touchdowns and 726 yards. Those are 🌌video game numbers.
I decided to look up how many games it would take for the Jets to duplicate those numbers, using the first three games this year and looking back to laꦐst yඣear.
You would have to combine the last seven Jets games to get to 70 points. You’d need 10 games to ge𒐪t to 10 touchdowns and four games to get to 726 yards.
The Jets don’t play the Dolphins ꧃for two months. They can only hope Miami🅰 cools off by then.
4. Sunday’s loss was not on the defense … but this defense talked a big game before the season. They wanted to be viewed as the best defense in football, the ’85 Bears, all that talk.
While they only had one trꦓuly bad play against New England, t🍨hey did not make enough impact plays. They had no takeaways and no sacks. They gave up eight third-down conversions.
With the offen꧒se scuffling, this defense needs to be elite. Right now, they are just good.
Revealing stat
Wilson has thrown one touchdown pass in the first quarter in his career. Think about that, the first quarter is when teams run the scripted plays they have worked on all weeꦉk and they feel good about. Yet, only once has Wilson thrown a touchdown in that quarter. The lone score came in his rookie season against the Eagles when he threw a three-yard touchdown to Elijah Moore.
Surprising snap count
Tight end Jeremy Ruckert🏅 only played one snap despite coach Robert Saleh saying last week that they recognized Ruckert needed to play more. He is their best blocking tight end and can help in the run game. The Jets need to play him more.
Game ball
Quinnen Williams was in the Patriots’ backfield all day long. He had three quarterback hits, one pass deflection and seven pressures. Williams is a problem for offensive lines.
