The Jets notched their 6th loss of the season on Sunday, all but eliminating them from playoff contention. To say Sam Darnold and the offense looked anemic would be an understatement. The Jets squandered a stellar defensive performance, losing their third game by seven points or less.
Darnold Goes From 3rd Overall Pick to Four Picks in a Game Â
The Dolphins only touchdown came with just under 11 minutes to go in the game. Darnold was forced to field yet another bad shotgun snap by Spencer Long. This ultimately threw off Darnold’s timing and forced him to make the ill-advised throw that was brought back to the house by Jerome Baker.
The Jets defensive players said that they want to return to creating more turnovers, and you don’t win games by losing the turnover battle. The problem being that in this game there was no battle. Darnold and the offense served up the ball on a silver platter, never allowing the team to really have a chance.
Yes, the defense only gave up 6 points. With the Jets only putting up 6 points themselves, the Jets needed to do something special to give Darnold more opportunities to score. What they needed was a miracle.
Where is Jeremy Bates in all of this?
There is a lot of criticism being thrown at Todd Bowles, deservingly so. However, head coaches are the lightning-rod of the franchise, so Bowles might be getting more than his fair share. Bowles is a great defensive mind, and it showed in the defensive performance in Miami. Have we all forgotten who calls the plays for Darnold? Jeremy Bates is another great football mind, who was able to make Jay Cutler into a Pro Bowler
Bates displayed none of that knowledge on Sunday. The offense looked stale, redundant and wildly inefficient. Darnold only completed 53% of his passes while throwing the ball 39 times in a low-scoring affair. Bates only manufactured 13 carries for Isaiah Crowell, resulting in 49 yards. Simply put, the Jets need to run the ball more in order to be competitive.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
It’s nice to be able to say the Jets defense played well. The organization has poured more resources in to that side of the ball, and it’s beginning to show on a weekly basis. Jamal Adams was constantly around the ball, and Jordan Jenkins had 2 sacks and 2 tackles-for-loss. On offense, Elijah McGuire bounced back from injury well, with 30 yards on the ground and 37 through the air.
Isaiah Crowell continues to perplex the Jets. His talent can lead to a 200 yard, 2 score game. More likely, though, he has trouble staying in rhythm, or finding the yards in key situations. Crowell does not perform at his best when he only has 13 carries. The offensive script for this week was not conducive to victory.
Sam Darnold’s play was flat-out ugly. A 4-interception performance is never pretty. Spencer Long’s hand injury assured that shotgun snaps would be a problem. This was magnified when the coaching staff waited to replace Long. The center-quarterback exchange was the single most glaring concern throughout the game, and the coaching staff responded with too little, too late. The Jets have a lot to clean up before they host the Bills.