The Jets dropped their third straight game on Monday, a 23-20 loss to the division rival Bills. The Jets are now 2-4 and searching for answers.
Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. There were a lot of reasons for the Jets to trade for Aaron Rodgers in 2023, but a big one was he was going to be able to win the close games for the Jets. When the team had the ball in the final two minutes, he was going to deliver. The Jets would have a reason to believe unlike when Zach Wilson was the quarterback.
Well …
This is now three straight weeks where the Jets had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter and Rodgers failed to deliver. It is probably unfair to put it all on him.
Obviously, if Greg Zuerlein makes all his field goals the Jets win the Broncos game and this one. If they don’t get called for some penalties, who knows what happens?
But this is part of the deal when you are quarterback, particularly one with Rodgers’ resume. Everyone is looking to you to win these games.
During Robert Saleh’s first year as Jets coach, the team was blown out frequently. He spoke about the team needing to get to a point where they could win close games in the fourth quarter. They are now that team. They are playing close games. They just are not winning them. They have now lost these last three games by a total of 10 points.
It still looks like Rodgers is not on the same page as some of his receivers. He said Mike Williams ran the wrong route on the last offensive play the Jets had that ended in an interception. This is the second straight week the Jets’ hopes ended with Rodgers being intercepted on a pass thrown Williams’ way. I’m not sure how you get that chemistry in season. That is developed in the spring and summer and Williams missed all of that. The newly acquired Davante Adams can help in this regard because he obviously has chemistry with Rodgers already. These last-minute targets to Williams can now shift to Adams.
The Jets are close. That is the good news for them. The bad news is they have now lost three winnable games.
2. The biggest improvement under new play-caller Todd Downing was the amount of explosive plays the Jets had. They had nine plays that went for 20 yards or more Monday night. That was something that was severely lacking under Nathaniel Hackett. This should help loosen up defenses against the Jets. It was clear the Broncos and Vikings had no fear the Jets could beat them with a big play. That changes with Monday night.
All in all, the offense showed a lot of improvement. The line opened up holes and Breece Hall looked like himself again. Garrett Wilson looked energized. I think the change at play-caller will have a bigger effect than the change at head coach.
3. This is the second Monday night game this season where the news arrived before the game that the team’s top running back was going to be inactive.
On Monday, it was James Cook. In Week 1, it was Christian McCaffrey. It is also the second time an unknown backup ran wild on the Jets, something that has to be a concern for Ulbrich.
On Monday, rookie Ray Davis had 139 yards from scrimmage against the Jets. Jordan Mason had 147 rushing yards for the 49ers in Week 1.
You can’t pin this loss on the Jets defense, but this unit has to start playing better against the run. How can two guys most fans have never heard of run wild on this Jets defense? I think this team really misses John Franklin-Myers. That was a terrible trade by Joe Douglas.
Ulbrich the head coach needs to tell Ulbrich the defensive coordinator to figure this problem out quickly.
4. I know this is not a new thought, but man did the Jets whiff by not drafting Josh Allen in 2018. He is amazing to watch. That throw from the end zone to Davis was ridiculous.
Now, some will argue that Allen would not be Allen if the Jets had drafted him and they would have screwed him up just like they screwed up Sam Darnold. Maybe they’re right, but maybe he has the skills to overcome the Jets’ organizational dysfunction that has sunk other young quarterbacks. We’ll never know because Mike Maccagnan picked Darnold, a pick that was praised at the time. Six years later with Allen ruling the division, it looks like one of the biggest misses in Jets history.
REVEALING STAT: Aaron Rodgers has now gone 29 straight games without throwing for 300 yards. He came close on Monday, throwing for 294 yards. It is a crazy streak that dates back to December of 2021.
SURPRISING SNAP COUNT: C.J. Mosley only played nine snaps (13 percent). It could be that Mosley is still not close enough to 100 percent to play more or it could be the Jets think the defense is better with Jamien Sherwood at the Mike. It will be something to watch going forward.
GAME BALL: Breece Hall looked like himself again. He rushed for 113 yards and had 56 yards receiving. Yes, he should have scored on his long run but there was not one Jet who had a flawless game.