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The Jets suffered a crushing 31-28 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. The Jets have preached team chemistry and how close this team is since the spring. Now, we will get to see it. Sunday’s loss was the kind that can rip apart a team. There could be finger-pointing and locker-room arguments. The Jets have lost two tough games in a row. Can they stay together?
It is on coach Todd Bowles to navigate these choppy waters. He did in 2015, when the Jets were at 5-5 and then won five in a row, but he could not pull last year’s team together.
Bowles also has to lean on his veteran leaders. The Jets are a young team, but they have a good number of veterans in the locker room who should be able to keep the team together. After Sunday’s game, the media was waiting in an interview room adjacent to the locker room. You could hear Muhammad Wilkerson screaming through the wall. He was not calling out teammates, but imploring them to look themselves in the mirror and figure out what type of team they want this to be.
The Jets have three games left before their bye – at home against the Falcons, at home on a Thursday night against the Bills and at the Buccaneers. This feels like the defining stretch of the Jets season. Will they be in position to make some noise in December, or will they fall apart right now, making their early-season success feel like nothing but a mirage?
2. Speaking of Wilkerson, he played his best game of the season Sunday. He was very active in the game. He had four tackles, one quarterback hit, a pass defensed and an interception. His most impressive play did not show up on the stat sheet, though. He chased down Jay Ajayi on a screen pass about 10 yards downfield to help make the tackle. Any questions about Wilkerson’s effort were answered with that play.
Wilkerson is still dealing with shoulder and toe injuries. He has not practiced over the past two weeks and needs pain-killing shots for both injuries to play.
Wilkerson still does not have a sack, but he made his impact felt in other ways Sunday.
3. Bowles stressed after the game that the Jets have to learn how to finish and have a killer instinct. There is no greater evidence that this is true than their fourth-quarter scoring differential. The Jets have been outscored 67-17 in the final quarter.
The fourth-quarter issue really showed itself when they played the Jaguars in Week 4, but it did not get much attention because the Jets held on to win in overtime. Jacksonville scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to erase the Jets’ lead in that game. This week, the Dolphins scored 17 in the fourth quarter to wipe out a 14-point Jets lead. The Jets have gone scoreless in the fourth quarter in four of their seven games.
It is hard to pinpoint what is happening. A few players mentioned the team can’t get complacent late in games. Is it that? Are they running out of gas? On Sunday, the defense looked tired in the fourth quarter. Are teams adjusting to what they are doing early? The Jets offense was rolling in the first half, but the Dolphins held them to minus-4 yards in the fourth quarter.
Whatever it is, the Jets have to figure it out or they will struggle to win games.
4. The other issue killing the Jets is penalties. They had 12 on Sunday. The Jets have been flagged 67 times this season with 57 accepted. Both are the second most in the NFL. The Jets had been the least-penalized team in the league over Bowles’ first two seasons.
Bowles has emphasized cutting down on penalties. They list players who make penalties on a big board each week, study the plays and have referees in practice to help them with calls. Nothing is working this year. Right now, the Jets look undisciplined, which reflects poorly on Bowles.
Marcus Maye returns an interception.APTelling stat: Jumping off the penalties, the Dolphins had six first downs as the result of Jets penalties on Sunday. They only had three rushing first downs. This season, Jets opponents have gotten 25 first downs off of penalties. By comparison, the Jets have gotten 11 first downs off of flags.
Surprising snap count: Juston Burris played zero snaps for the second straight week. It is strange how Burris went from the Jets’ third cornerback, playing in all sub packages, to having no role at all. I’m not sure if it can be done in-season or if he has the skill-set to do it, but the Jets should consider training him to play slot corner as an alternative to Buster Skrine.
Game ball: It was an ugly loss for the Jets, but the biggest positive was the play of their rookie safeties. Marcus Maye had seven tackles, a pass defensed and an interception. Jamal Adams had six tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, one quarterback hit and a pass defensed that resulted in an interception for a teammate.
1. The Jets have preached team chemistry and how close this team is since the spring. Now, we will get to see it. Sunday’s loss was the kind that can rip apart a team. There could be finger-pointing and locker-room arguments. The Jets have lost two tough games in a row. Can they stay together?
It is on coach Todd Bowles to navigate these choppy waters. He did in 2015, when the Jets were at 5-5 and then won five in a row, but he could not pull last year’s team together.
Bowles also has to lean on his veteran leaders. The Jets are a young team, but they have a good number of veterans in the locker room who should be able to keep the team together. After Sunday’s game, the media was waiting in an interview room adjacent to the locker room. You could hear Muhammad Wilkerson screaming through the wall. He was not calling out teammates, but imploring them to look themselves in the mirror and figure out what type of team they want this to be.
The Jets have three games left before their bye – at home against the Falcons, at home on a Thursday night against the Bills and at the Buccaneers. This feels like the defining stretch of the Jets season. Will they be in position to make some noise in December, or will they fall apart right now, making their early-season success feel like nothing but a mirage?
2. Speaking of Wilkerson, he played his best game of the season Sunday. He was very active in the game. He had four tackles, one quarterback hit, a pass defensed and an interception. His most impressive play did not show up on the stat sheet, though. He chased down Jay Ajayi on a screen pass about 10 yards downfield to help make the tackle. Any questions about Wilkerson’s effort were answered with that play.
Wilkerson is still dealing with shoulder and toe injuries. He has not practiced over the past two weeks and needs pain-killing shots for both injuries to play.
Wilkerson still does not have a sack, but he made his impact felt in other ways Sunday.
3. Bowles stressed after the game that the Jets have to learn how to finish and have a killer instinct. There is no greater evidence that this is true than their fourth-quarter scoring differential. The Jets have been outscored 67-17 in the final quarter.
The fourth-quarter issue really showed itself when they played the Jaguars in Week 4, but it did not get much attention because the Jets held on to win in overtime. Jacksonville scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to erase the Jets’ lead in that game. This week, the Dolphins scored 17 in the fourth quarter to wipe out a 14-point Jets lead. The Jets have gone scoreless in the fourth quarter in four of their seven games.
It is hard to pinpoint what is happening. A few players mentioned the team can’t get complacent late in games. Is it that? Are they running out of gas? On Sunday, the defense looked tired in the fourth quarter. Are teams adjusting to what they are doing early? The Jets offense was rolling in the first half, but the Dolphins held them to minus-4 yards in the fourth quarter.
Whatever it is, the Jets have to figure it out or they will struggle to win games.
4. The other issue killing the Jets is penalties. They had 12 on Sunday. The Jets have been flagged 67 times this season with 57 accepted. Both are the second most in the NFL. The Jets had been the least-penalized team in the league over Bowles’ first two seasons.
Bowles has emphasized cutting down on penalties. They list players who make penalties on a big board each week, study the plays and have referees in practice to help them with calls. Nothing is working this year. Right now, the Jets look undisciplined, which reflects poorly on Bowles.
Marcus Maye returns an interception.APTelling stat: Jumping off the penalties, the Dolphins had six first downs as the result of Jets penalties on Sunday. They only had three rushing first downs. This season, Jets opponents have gotten 25 first downs off of penalties. By comparison, the Jets have gotten 11 first downs off of flags.
Surprising snap count: Juston Burris played zero snaps for the second straight week. It is strange how Burris went from the Jets’ third cornerback, playing in all sub packages, to having no role at all. I’m not sure if it can be done in-season or if he has the skill-set to do it, but the Jets should consider training him to play slot corner as an alternative to Buster Skrine.
Game ball: It was an ugly loss for the Jets, but the biggest positive was the play of their rookie safeties. Marcus Maye had seven tackles, a pass defensed and an interception. Jamal Adams had six tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, one quarterback hit and a pass defensed that resulted in an interception for a teammate.
