The Jets lost for the seventh time in eight games Sunday, falling 28-27 to the Colts at MetLife Stadium. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. The Jets continue to find new ways to lose. It is incredible to watch each week. Four of their eight losses have been by one score. The defense gave up another game-winning drive when all the Jets needed was one stop, just like they did against the Patriots last month.
Coaches talk all the time about playing complementary football, meaning offense, defense and special teams work together. The Jets are the opposite of complementary.
In the first half Sunday, the defense played OK. They gave up a few big gains but for the most part they kept Jonathan Taylor under control and held the Colts to 13 points despite the offense doing nothing. The offense was absolutely terrible in the first half, unable to gain a first down until the final two minutes.
Then, it looked like the Jets might actually be putting a full team effort together in the third quarter when the defense forced a turnover and the offense used that to score a go-ahead touchdown. That was short lived, though.
The Jets’ offense showed enough life to get the Jets an eight-point lead at 24-16. But the Jets defense’ completely crumbled. They gave up two fourth-quarter touchdown drives. The last one was an incredible fold job by what was supposed to be a good defense.
The first Patriots game is the only complete effort this Jets team has given this season. Every other game has been mistakes by the offense or mistakes by the defense or both.
The next time the Jets play a football game it will be December. We are far past the point of trying to figure things out. This is who the Jets are and they are a bad football team.
2. One of the strangest things to watch this season has been how afraid Aaron Rodgers looks to throw the ball downfield. ESPN had this stat: Rodgers is 1-for-6 on passes of 10 yards or more in the air over his last two games.
It feels like the Jets never take a shot down the field and their only explosive plays come from yards after the catch by Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson or Davante Adams.
Rodgers has always had a reputation for being risk averse. That is why his interception totals are always low. Now, he looks like he is also afraid to get hit so he is not extending plays. Rodgers blamed the coverage the Colts were in Sunday, saying they had two deep safeties all game but that was not the case all day. Rodgers also should be capable of exploiting any defense at this point in his career.
It is hard to see this offense having much success if Rodgers is not going to throw down the field. It is hard to live in an offense that needs 12- or 14-play drives to score all the time. You need explosive plays. The Jets are not getting them right now. They have two passes of 40 yards or more right now. Only the Browns and Panthers are worse with one.
3. Remember when people thought Haason Reddick’s arrival would help the Jets? That was fun.
Reddick has been mostly invisible for the Jets. Through four games, he has a ½ sack and four tackles. That one half sack is his only quarterback hit. On Sunday, Reddick did not have any impact and the Colts offensive line had three rookie starters on it.
The Jets made a huge miscalculation when they let Bryce Huff leave in free agency and traded John Franklin-Myers, thinking Reddick could replace those two. First, Reddick failed to show up for all of spring and summer and the first seven games of the season. Now, he looks like a bad fit for the Jets.
4. There were a lot of empty seats at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. That is probably a sign of things to come. The Jets have three home games left – the Seahawks on Dec. 1, the Rams on Dec. 22 and the Dolphins in the season finale. It is hard to imagine fans turning out for those games. Dolphins fans may invade the stadium for the finale.
You wonder how owner Woody Johnson will deal with this. Judging by anecdotal evidence, many Jets fans are fed up with the team and are not renewing their season tickets. The Jets are not going to release those numbers so we won’t know if that is true but I have heard from many season-ticket holders who have said they are not renewing for 2025. The combination of bad football, high prices and a soulless stadium are going to hurt the Jets on the business front.
Winning will bring fans back, but the Jets seem to be staring at a rebuild in 2025 so it could be a while before MetLife is full consistently again.
Revealing stat
This one is from ESPN and is staggering. Sunday was the first time the Jets lost a game in which they scored 25 or more points, had zero turnovers and had less than 15 penalty yards. There are usually indicators of success like turnover margin and penalty yards that the Jets are now winning and still finding a way to lose the game.
Surprising snap count
Tony Adams went from starting safety to getting zero snaps on defense Sunday. Adams was replaced by Jalen Mills.
Game ball
Hall made some big plays for the Jets, scoring two touchdowns. He has proven to be a really strong receiver out of the backfield. The Jets need to utilize this skillset more.