There’s no two ways about it. The Jets flopped on Monday night against the Chargers. They got away with it in Week 8 against the Giants. Justin Herbert wasn’t letting them get off the hook.
The Jets lost to the Chargers 27-6 to snap a three-game losing streak and fall to 4-4 on the season. What could have been a golden opportunity to move into a playoff position now becomes falling behind the three wild card spots and sitting in a logjam at 4-4.
Here’s some notes and thoughts from a disastrous night in New York.
Final score: Chargers 27, Jets 6
Game notes
- The Jets were a mess from the very beginning. The offense went three and out on their first possession and then allowed Derius Davis to go 87 yards on a punt-return score to give the Chargers a 7-0 lead…on a day when punter Thomas Morstead was introduced first with the starters.
- The nightmare quickly continued. Garrett Wilson lost a fumble, and then Zach Wilson followed suit shortly thereafter. The Jets finished with three lost fumbles on the night while the Chargers did not turn the ball over once.
- The offensive line was a mess but Zach Wilson did himself no favors whatsoever. Too many times he held on to the ball too long and he wound up on the ground. Wilson was sacked eight times and you can’t blame the front five for all of them.
- Wilson finished 33/49 for 263 yards and only mustered two field-goal drives. He went from outperforming Patrick Mahomes in primetime to this. The offense has taken a major nosedive and Zach Wilson is right at the forefront.
- The Jets can’t get out of their own way in the red zone. They had a chance for seven points in the third quarter only to see Zach Wilson get sacked two plays in a row. The Jets went 0/2 in the red zone and 3/17 on third down. Their two biggest Achilles heels once again reared their ugly heads.
- The offense also lets the defense down yet again. The Chargers only had 191 yards of offense compared to New York’s 270. The Jets sacked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert five times. But L.A. went 7/16 on third down. Only one Jet (C.J. Mosley, 11) had more than five tackles in this one.
- The Jets are now averaging just one offensive touchdown per game this season. They have eight offensive touchdowns in eight games.
- It may only be a matter of time before frustrations boil over again. We may be closing in on a repeat of last season, which happened right around this time. You have to wonder if and when the Jets will make a quarterback change. This is two weeks in a row Zach Wilson completely faltered. He wasn’t facing the Giants again, either.
- All that being said, the Jets’ lack of depth on the offensive line has once again showed up, just like it did last season. The Jets kicked Max Mitchell inside to guard and put Billy Turner at right tackle. The fact that a returning Duane Brown may help this unit get back on track tells you all you need to know. The Jets neglected the offensive line in the offseason once again and it is costing them dearly.
- You also had clear drops from some of the receivers, namely Allen Lazard and Dalvin Cook. Hard to take deep shots or run screen passes when the ball is hitting the ground.
- The Jets are now behind the Steelers, Browns, Bengals and Bills while in a tie — at the bottom of the tie, in fact — with the Texans and Chargers in the AFC playoff picture. A win would have placed the Jets sixth through nine weeks. They now currently sit 11th.
It was over when...
…the Jets allowed the punt-return touchdown in the first quarter? With how the game transpired, you could argue the momentum was lost here. There was also the two sacks in a row in the red zone in the third quarter. Instead of being 17-10, it was only 17-6. There was just too much of a mess for the Jets that even that deficit became too much to overcome. It might as well have been 37-6 at that point.
3 stars of the game
3rd star: WR Garrett Wilson – Wilson actually finished as the game leader with 80 yards on seven catches — Keenan Allen had 77. On a nightmare day for the offense, Wilson was at least somewhat of a highlight once again.
2nd star: DE Jermaine Johnson – Johnson’s sophomore campaign continued to be a star-making one for him. Three quarterback hits and a half-sack for Johnson, who is tied for the team lead with five. No. 11 continues to do great things for the Jets this season.
1st star: DEs John Franklin-Myers and Bryce Huff – Both JFM and Huff shined on Monday that we’ll give them both the top spot here. Huff led the way Monday with 1.5 sacks and is now tied with Jermaine Johnson for the team lead with five. He also hit Herbert four times. Franklin-Myers had a sack of his own, also hit Herbert three times and even led the Jets with three passes defended.
What's next?
The Jets will lick their wounds and prepare for another primetime showing — and what they hope isn’t another primetime embarrassment — as they travel across the country to Las Vegas for a Sunday night meeting with the 4-5 Raiders, who are coming off a 30-6 drubbing of the Giants in Antonio Pierce’s first game as interim head coach.
