Tear it DOWN… The Jets fall to 2-6 after deflating loss to the Patriots, 25-22
K Greg Zuerlein misses kick, via Reuters Con, USA TODAY Sports
It’s about time to come to terms with what this season has become for the New York Jets, which is a total disappointment. The Jets traveled to Foxborough for game two of their yearly series with AFC East divisional opponent, New England Patriots. The Jets were the winners of the first meeting at Metlife Stadium in Week 3 on Thursday Night Football, 24-3. Now, coming off a 4-game losing streak, the Jets desperately needed this one to keep their playoff hopes alive. The game started with two third and outs from both offenses, including one from the Jets who set up shop at the 50-yard line due to a great Xavier Gipson punt return, but it amounted to a third and out. The Patriots responded with a touchdown, and so did the Jets, but due to a Greg Zuerlein PAT miss, it was 7-6 Patriots. On the following drive, the Patriots rookie QB Drake Maye was injured with a concussion and would not return. The Jets scored another touchdown and the offense was heating up, Jets 13-7. The half ended with a promising lead that the Jets could build upon in the second half.
The Patriots had other plans as they scored a touchdown on their first drive out of the halftime break, Patriots 14-13. The Jets offense would drive downfield but only finish with a rare field goal made by Greg Zuerlein, Jets 16-14. The next three drives would amount to straight punts until the Jets went downfield, and Zuerlein missed another kick, this time a field goal. The Patriots would capitalize and score their own field goal, Patriots 17-16. Many fans started to worry due to how silent the Jets were and how emotional the Patriots were playing. The momentum had shifted. However, after a few connections between Rodgers and his WRs, Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, they’d go downfield and score a touchdown. However, they attempted a two-point conversion and suffered from a delay of game penalty, then did not score the two-point conversion, Jets 22-17. The Patriots had the ball with a mere 2:53 left on the clock. All the Jets defense needed to do was not allow a touchdown. So they did exactly that. CB Sauce Gardner was burnt for a third-down catch that would set the Patriots up at the one-yard line. He looked terrible in this game. Four plays later, RB Rhamondre Stevenson would score a touchdown to break the hearts of every Jets fan because the defense couldn’t play a goal-line blitz, Patriots 25-22. With :22 left, the Jets offense chucked up plays that amounted to nothing but disappointment.
The season, as we know it, is realistically over. The firesale should begin now. This team currently sits last in the AFC East, with an ongoing 5-game losing streak that looks to continue against the upcoming meeting with the Houston Texans on Thursday Night Football. Some of our best players look like they’ve given up, Sauce Gardner is no Darrelle Revis. This franchise may be cursed as we all know it, and this season is over. The firing of Robert Saleh was premature and unnecessary, the defense is deteriorating rapidly, and the offense takes too long to get plays off. There were good plays, but there were just as many terrible plays that turned this rough win into a horrible loss. Zuerlein needs to be relieved of his duties, went from the best in the league to worst, he’s cost this team 3 losses. We should be 5-3. The worst part is we had Austin Seibert on the roster in August, whose only missed two kicks this season with one being a blocked kick, terrible. It’s time to bulk up and prepare for next season. I’d trade anyone worth trading away. However, with the contract of GM Joe Douglas expiring at the end of the season, this won’t be happening. It’s disappointing to see him go, considering he’s been the only Jets GM in our playoff drought to bring talent together. The talent is not the issue with the team, it’s been the management and coaching. I understand your disappointment, Jets fans.
The Jets currently hold the 4th overall pick in the draft, and there are promising QB prospects like Miami’s Cam Ward, Georgia’s Carson Beck, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, and many others. Coaches Mike Vrable, Ben Johnson, Bill Belichick, and many more will be available for hire. This upcoming draft and potential coaching changes could bring a new wave of hope for the team. Owner Woody Johnson will have another go at this, or it may be Chris Johnson at the helm depending on the results of the 2024 Presidential Election. Woody served as the UK Ambassador for the Trump Administration in 2016.
Next week, the Jets and the Texans will be at MetLife Stadium on a Halloween edition of Thursday Night Football. This team has broken every Jets fan.
