The Jets Refuse to Win, Week Two Thoughts | The Cutting Edge W/JackKnife

How does this happen?

You would think a team that held their opponent to under 200 yards (199), and won the turnover margin (+1) all while their opponent racked up 100+ yards in penalties (133) would have the game in the bag. But not this week. Because that team I'm referring to is the New York Jets, and they put up the numbers I listed above and still found a way to lose. Why are those specific stats important? Because no team on record has even accomplished that feat until the Green Bay Packers beat the Jets with a walk off field goal in extra time this week. Teams were 44-0 in that same situation heading into today, and the Jets ended up being the one to break that winning streak because of course they do.

I asked at the top, how does this happen? But the answer is simple. They're the New York Jets. The team that handed the Packers their first win since Micah Parsons got hurt by a score of 20-17 in overtime. Make no mistake about it, this was the Jets game to win. They were in the driver's seat and then they took the keys and chucked them out the window.

What hurts the most is being so close 

The worst part about this game is that there was that it was the Jets for the taking. The game was ugly, as was the weather, but the Jets out-gained Green Bay in yards and dominated time of possession by over 10 minutes. Sure Geno Smith (despite throwing his first TD of the season to Garrett Wilson) was just okay with 247 yards, but he outperformed Jordan Love by 102 passing yards. 

Maybe Smith would have been able to put up better passing numbers had the running game been able to muster up more than a measley 67 yards (17 of them from the quarterback). Funny, going in I thought it would be the running game bailing out a mediocre passing game, not the other way around. Ironically enough though, it was running back Breece Hall who had the longest reception (43 yards) and led the Jets in receiving (five catches for 63 yards). 

The defense (still looking to break the interception drought), did their job. As mentioned before, the Packers were held to under 200 yards on the game (and that is including overtime)

What the hell were you doing?

Gang Green had a real opportunity to make the Packers lives miserable by punching in a touchdown after Kingsley Enagbare forced a fumble deep in Green Bay territory, but the Jets would settle for a field goal. No matter. With 11 minutes left in the 4th, a competent team with a 10-point lead would hold on and get the job done. Oh right, this is the Jets we are talking about. Needless to say they allowed the Packers to drive down the field for a Christian Watson touchdown in three minutes. I'm not even going to dwell on the soft pass interference call on 1st & 25 that drive on Azareye'h Thomas. The Packers got called for many penalties this game and the Jets couldn't make them pay for it like Green Bay did here. 

Okay, not the end of the world, still have the lead. How did the Jets respond? Of course they punted the ball after four plays and Packers kick returner Skyy Moore takes it 63-yards to set the Packers up in Jets territory. The defense did their part and held them to a field goal. 

Things started going bad the moment the Jets settled for the field goal, but now they have a chance to get into Packer territory and all but secure this game. Near midfield, 3rd & 2 and Hall gets stopped a yard short. Now I give the coaching staff credit for going for it on 4th & 1 as they should have. It was a rough game running the ball, but all they needed was Braelon Allen to gain one yard. Everyone and their mother knew it was coming. So Frank Reich, I ask you. Why on God's green Earth are you lining him up in the shotgun formation?! To disguise the run? A pop warner team wasn't falling for that, so of course Allen was stopped short and it was a turnover on downs. Why not line him up behind Smith and send in some blockers? You know, like the behemoth tight end Kenyon Sadiq (who was only targeted three times this game for some reason). Reich talks a lot about his five tight ends. Use them! The defense once again held back Green Bay to force overtime which led to yet another questionable coaching decision.

I saw this post from Jake Asman while writing this and honestly, I thought the same thing. The Jets have a good offensive line. How is a QB or TE sneak not part of their repertoire? We can reasonably assume the Philadelphia Eagles with Jalen Hurts or the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen would have powered through in either one of those scenarios.

Reminder for you fans. There's new overtime rules this year so that even if the team who gets the ball first gets a touchdown, the opponent gets an opportunity to respond. Aaron Glenn, were you not aware of these rules? This is the equivalent of an NHL team choosing to shoot first in a shootout (they still do that and I don't get it) or a home team in MLB saying "you know what? We don't want last licks for a chance to walk it off." Green Bay was likely thinking they will probably allow anything that's not a touchdown. Well they didn't need to worry since the Jets offense was completely anemic with Smith getting sacked twice, being forced to punt and the Packers only needed a field goal to win the game. Of course they moved down the field quickly to make it a 26-yarder for Trey Smack to win it. 

Then the Jet fan base, let down once again by their favorite team that kicks them in the groin on a yearly basis, began their trek home from the world's largest and ugliest air conditioner (MetLife Stadium) for a three hour drive in the rain just to get on to the New Jersey Turnpike. Those of you who have been to the Meadowlands know that's not exactly hyperbolic.

Lifeless when it mattered most 

It's like the Jets only had three quarters (or ⅞) of game in them. Once they recovered that fumble (the only one they recovered after forcing five on the day) they should have stomped on the Packers throats. Hell, the offense got it to 4th & 1 and they lined up only to try to draw the Packers offside. They took the delay of game penalty and settled for the field goal but honestly, though hindsight is 20/20, go for the win in that scenario. It would have made a lot more sense for Reich to give the ball to Allen (as long as it wasn't shotgun formation) and get the first down and then a touchdown in order to force Green Bay to get two touchdowns rather than give them the ability to settle for a field goal. 

So why did the Jets lose a game where they dominated in almost every aspect? Because they were afraid to win. Instead of going for the win, they tried not to lose, and guess what. They lost. It almost seemed as if the team was scared to go out there and do something awesome. They could have seized their opportunity, but let it slip. 

This team has zero killer instinct. Let's go back further than the field goal the Jets settled on. The drive that the Packers fumbled on that led to that field goal came after a Jet drive where Hall took a screen pass 43-yards (on 3rd &12 mind you) and took it to the Packers 40. What happened after that play, maybe even more than the field goal the Jets settled with, showed the Jets weren't capable of putting their opponent away because what came two plays later were two straight sacks. One, a 14-yard loss that included a fumble which the Jets managed to not turnover. The second, a 10-yard loss that sent Gang Green back onto their own 43 and forced them to punt. Way to take advantage of the momentum of a huge gain, guys.

Yes, I predicted a loss going in (injuries to both teams aside) but knowing this was a game they 100% should have won just makes any positives to take out of this game more of a tease than something that makes you feel good. Sure, the Jets have out-gained their opponents by a margin of 258 yards through two games (the best through two games since 1982), but moral victories mean nothing when you have a 15-year playoff drought. The stink is still there, and this team once again wrestled defeat out of the jaws of victory in typical Jet fashion.

To my friend & colleague (our resident Packer fan) Timmy Horton, shut up.

Hate watch status

The Jets could have helped themselves in more than one way if they beat the Packers as far as draft stock goes. Reminder, the Dallas Cowboys got a first round pick in the trade for Parsons and because of the Quinnen Williams trade, Dallas will trade one of their two first round picks this upcoming draft to the Jets depending on which pick is better. Well not only did Green Bay beat the Jets, the Cowboys beat the Washington Commanders. The other team whose pick the Jets have, the Indianapolis Colts, forced overtime, but fell at Arrowhead to the Kansas City Chiefs. Sorry, Tommy Joe, but I need you to suffer in this regard.

We know the Bills won on Thursday. We couldn't enjoy Aaron Rodgers getting beaten because it was at the hands of the (NFL record holder for Super Bowl losses) New England Patriots. I'm too depressed to even take joy in the fact that the San Francisco 49ers demolished the Miami Dolphins. Oh God, I just got the thought of them tanking hard enough to land the first overall pick and taking Arch Manning.

What's next?

Next week, the Jets have a chance to correct course in the Motor City as they take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Dan Campbell, Jared Goff and company turned into a pumpkin against the Bills in Orchard Park this past Thursday, so of course they'll play Gang Green tough after going soft on our division rival the past week.

Random thought 

I was at the Rutgers game this past weekend against USC in Piscataway. It was a fun time and the Scarlet Knights held their own against the Trojans despite coming up short. It makes me wish college football was as big up here in the northeast as it is in states with SEC schools or out in the Midwest with other Big 10 teams.

Rutgers wide receiver KJ Duff really is something, I got to say. Wouldn't it be cool if he was in a Jet jersey "Mossing" guys like he does in college? Anyway, I have an inside source that Jets general manager Darren Mougey was at that game in the press box. No, I'm not joking. Do with that information what you will.

--

This article and NTS is brought to you by Recoil Garage. Visit recoilgarage.com to book your service today.