Revenge? What revenge? If the New York Jets treated this game and this week as their Super Bowl, then they’re going to going to have one hell of a hangover and for all the wrong reasons.
The Jets took a 10-6 lead into the locker room for halftime and then forgot to bring their offense back out onto the field. The Jets scored just seven points in the second half and that wasn’t until after the two-minute warning. They couldn’t get the onside magic like they did Cleveland and fell to the New England Patriots, 22-17, to drop to 5-3 on the year and end a four-game winning streak. They also extended their losing streak against New England to 13. The Jets have not beaten the Patriots since 2015. They get a second chance against them in Week 10 when they return from their bye week in Week 9.
Buy Jets TicketsThis was the game the Jets hyped up all week. Head coach Robert Saleh wanted fans in the stadium an hour before kickoff. D’Brickashaw Ferguson was inducted into the Jets’ Ring of Honor. And this is what the Jets come up with for a show.
It all starts with No. 2. Zach Wilson completely melted in the second half. Somehow, Wilson finished with 355 yards, a career-high, but completed just 20 of 41 passes and threw three interceptions and they were ugly interceptions. Wilson went 10/23 in the second half. He finished with a QB rating of 64.6.
Wilson’s decision-making was quite baffling, to say the least, and to put it nicely. You probably have some more colorful words you’d like to use, but we’ll keep it clean here.
Whether trying to throw the ball away (and trying being quite the operative word) or taking bad sacks, Wilson just wasn’t all there Sunday.
It’s a shame, too, because the defense did all they could, including sacking Patriots quarterback Mac Jones (24/35, 194 yards, one touchdown, one interception) six times. They held the Patriots to under 300 net yards on offense (288). The unit recorded four passes defended and had 13 tackles for a loss. They only allowed one touchdown to the Patriots. They even got better on third down in the second half as the Patriots finished 6/19 on third down.
But the Jets couldn’t muster anything on offense, at least when they needed it, going 5/14 on third down, and couldn’t even beat out Patriots kicker Nick Folk, who kicked five field goals.
Garrett Wilson was a bright spot for the Jets, catching six passes for 115 yards, as was Tyler Conklin, who caught six passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns. Even Denzel Mims had 76 yards thanks to a 63-yard catch-and-run at the end.
One receiver that likely can’t be happy at all right now is Elijah Moore, who barely saw the field at all. He did have an official target, so there’s that. But it was his only target and he didn’t catch it. Even Jeff Smith had a catch. The Jets clearly were sending a message to Moore, but you would have thought they already sent the message when he wasn’t even with the team last week in Denver. We’ll see what the future is for Moore. The trade deadline is Tuesday.
“I don’t get the ball. I don’t know,” Moore said after the game when asked about his chemistry with Zach Wilson. He also added he regrets the distraction he caused but didn’t say if he has changed his mind on the trade request and that people don’t know everything behind closed doors.
Elijah Moore said he regrets the distraction he caused but wouldn’t say if he changed his mind on the trade request and said a bunch of times that people don’t know everything that’s going on behind closed doors. #Jets
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 30, 2022
How would Elijah Moore describe his chemistry with Zach Wilson on the field?
Moore: “I couldn’t even tell you. I don’t get the ball. I don’t know.” #Jets
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) October 30, 2022
The run game did absolutely nothing. Michael Carter and James Robinson combined for 12 carries for 43 yards. Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson beat them both combined with 71 yards on 16 carries. He also added 72 yards on seven catches, giving him 15 catches over the last two games.
But in the end, Zach Wilson, who had a very good first half, spiraled out of control, starting with the interception right before halftime. Yes, he’s only played 18 games. but until he starts playing better and consistently better, the ceiling for the Jets feels low, which is unfortunate because this roster has plenty of talent. But it all comes back to the quarterback and on Sunday against the Patriots, No. 2 played like number two.
