Welcome back to the weekly torture, the jets fall to the colts, 28-27
QB Aaron Rodgers walking off the field after Sunday’s loss to the Colts, via Adam Hunger/AP Photo
The Jets are genuinely the most unlucky franchise in sports. After a blowout loss to Arizona, fans clamored for hope and realized that with a win, the Jets would revive their playoff aspirations. However, it seems like the Jets, internally, do not have any playoff hopes. Welcome back to the weekly torture of Jets football. I was in attendance for yesterday's game, and it was the most deflating loss since the last one, which feels like every week. The Jets came out flat after electing to receive and had five straight three-and-outs, not even getting a first down until after the two-minute warning in the second quarter. The Colts offense was horrendous, but the defense had no heart. Therefore, struggling young QB Anthony Richardson found a way to gain a 13-0 lead due to the lack of tackling on the Jets' defense. However, the Jets offense finally arose and got a first down, and MetLife Stadium erupted. Afterward, the offense scored on a beautiful drive due to Breece Hall's pass-catching brilliance before the half ended to go into halftime with a spark of momentum, 13-7.
The Jets' defense forced a fumble on the first drive out of halftime and recovered it; Metlife Stadium erupted again! The offense took advantage, and Breece Hall ran it in for a touchdown, 14-13. The Colts did not go out easy as they responded with a field goal, 16-14. Then after both offenses punted, the Jets would score a field goal, 17-16. The Jets kept running up the scoreboard and took advantage of the momentum, and TE Kenny Yeboah caught a TD from QB Aaron Rodgers, and it looked like the Jets had iced this one, 24-16. Wrong. The Colts responded with a touchdown, 24-22. However, they missed the 2-point conversion, and there were still 10 minutes left on the clock; surely the Jets could score a touchdown to end the game for certain. No, they drove downfield, failed to score a touchdown, and accepted a field goal, 27-22. In that decision to kick a field goal on 4th and 2, they burnt a timeout trying to get the Colts to jump for an offsides call. This decision would prove to be costly. However, this "all-time" Jets defense could muster up one stop to ice this game with less than 2 minutes left. No. Colts QB Anthony Richardson carved up the Jets' defense, went downfield, and scored a touchdown, 28-27. Then the Jets offense, with no timeouts and only 46 seconds left, failed to even record a yard and lost the game. A total disaster and disappointment, this franchise is cursed.
Witnessing this in person was another example of a letdown. MetLife Stadium was thumping after the Jets revived themselves, and it looked like they'd be closing the game and heading into the bye week with a win. Yet, that was not the case at all. Every Jets fan knew what would happen, but we were all optimistic because how often can a team truly disappoint their fans? Pretty often, if it's the Jets. The coaching was horrendous late in the game, and you could credit Coach Ulbrich for the loss. The decision to waste a timeout on 4th and 2 is one that I still don't understand. They should've gone for it or simply taken the field goal from the get-go. The Jets have attempted to draw teams offside, and it rarely works. I was expecting them to win on Sunday and give us hope that would bubble up over the bye week, then get crushed by the Seahawks in classic Jets fashion, but no. They couldn't even deliver that heartbreak, the Jets have simply gave up before Thanksgiving. This team continues to shoot themselves in the foot, and I expect them to win unnecessary games and win themselves out of a premier draft selection for a quarterback. However, the kid in me wants to say it's not over and that 8-9 may actually be enough to make the playoffs in a mediocre AFC conference. This season has been a letdown, and the Jets enter the bye week 3-8; wow.
At least we can't lose next week… J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS.
