LAS VEGAS — The Jets suffered an unbelievable loss on Sunday night, falling to the Raiders 16-12. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. Troy Aikman summed the Jets up perfectly last week when he said they are a bad team with a good defense. That is exactly what they look like. Every week they commit penalties that negate big plays, drop passes, fail to convert on third down in the red zone. They then point to those things after the game and say, “Well, if we fix all of this we’ll be fine.”
You know who does that? Bad teams.
I’ve covered plenty of bad Jets teams that talked about “self-inflicted wounds” and “shooting ourselves in the foot” over and over and over. The Todd Bowles and Adam Gase era come to mind. But you know what those teams did not have? Good players. These Jets have Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall, two young stars, and the offense still can’t function. The days of Robby Anderson and a washed-up Le’Veon Bell being the team’s best options are over. This offense should be better.
The Jets have now gone two straight games without scoring a touchdown. If you go back over their last 17 games, a full season, they have scored 15 offensive touchdowns in 17 games. Three of those came against the Bears last year.
We are in an age of offense in the NFL, but the Jets remain in the prehistoric era.
It is hard to see how the Jets get out of this funk unless Aaron Rodgers returns while the Jets season is still alive. The chances of that are looking slimmer.
2. That brings us to Zach Wilson. He played decently Sunday night but then capped it off with a killer mistake in crunch time with the interception. Even when Wilson plays well, it seems like there is one mistake that costs the Jets (remember the fumble against the Chiefs?).
This loss was not only on Wilson. He did not commit a holding penalty and he made some plays with his feet. But the Jets are in a deep, deep funk and he is the leader of the offense. He has not thrown a touchdown pass since the first quarter against the Giants and that was a dump-off pass to Hall that he brought 50 yards for the touchdown. You have to go back to that Chiefs game on Oct. 1 to find a real touchdown drive that Wilson actually led.
So, do you bench Wilson?
I think the Jets are wrestling with this question. It is clear he is not the only problem, but he is the easiest problem to fix. A quarterback change can rejuvenate a team. Mike White did it last year before the Bills broke his ribs. Tim Boyle may not be the answer but the Jets may need to consider playing him just to switch up the mojo around this team.
Here is where I think the Jets are hesitant to make a change just to spark something: there is a feeling that the next time you bench Wilson, you have to cut him. It’s over. You are finally fully admitting the No. 2 overall pick in 2021 is a bust. The Jets got almost all the way there by putting him on ice for Rodgers, but even then they talked about him learning from Rodgers and getting a career reset.
If you bench Wilson for Boyle, his time with the Jets may be over. That is an organizational decision that has to be made by Woody Johnson, Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh. I think that is why Saleh had that terrible “plead the Fifth” answer on “The Michael Kay Show” last week. This is not a simple decision that only affects one week. It will be one that has ramifications for the organization.
3. OK, so if you don’t bench Wilson and you’re not moving away from Nathaniel Hackett as the play-caller, what can the Jets do to jump-start this offense?
I would start by benching tight end C.J. Uzomah and running back Michael Carter. Both of them have been bad this season. Uzomah had more holding penalties (two) than catches (one) on Sunday night. Carter had a critical chop-block penalty and has been a disappointment for the last two years.
Pushing them aside would clear a lane for Jeremy Ruckert to play more at tight end and rookie Izzy Abanikanda to play at running back. The Jets should give Abanikanda the role currently filled by Dalvin Cook as the No. 2 back and shift Cook to a third-down role. Cook surely is a better blocker than Abanikanda because pass protection is difficult for rookie running backs, so he is better suited for third downs. Abanikanda would give the offense more speed.
These changes won’t be an instant fix but would speak to accountability and give the offense more juice.
4. Every time I enter a postgame locker room, I am waiting to see if the defense will explode. They did not play their best on Sunday night but they played well enough to win the game. They forced two takeaways and allowed one touchdown. That’s a winning formula.
The defense’s frustration was evident Sunday night. Several players just sat at their lockers, staring into space. It looks like they can’t believe the situation they are in.
Saleh has to be careful not to lose the locker room. I thought chatter in September about this topic was premature. But now we’re getting into the part of the season where this becomes real. Remember that he benched Wilson just before Thanksgiving last year when it felt like the locker room was about to splinter.
Wilson has handled himself much better this year. Even Sunday night, his postgame press conference showed his growth. He handled the questions well, took accountability and spoke about needing to improve.
That helps, but he needs to get this offense in the end zone to truly have his teammates on his side. The defense is carrying this team. At some point, they are going to stumble.
Revealing stat
The Jets have 18 points and 17 penalties in their last two games.
Surprising snap count
Dalvin Cook only played 10 snaps. He actually looked like he was running with some life but the Jets went away from him. Why? He was averaging 6.5 yards per carry. It made no sense not to ride the hot hand longer. He only had four carries.
Game ball
Right tackle Max Mitchell played a good game. Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby did not have a sack and did not create too much havoc.
