When does the pain end for the New York Jets fans? Probably never.
The beleaguered New York Jets slumped to an 0-4 start after 27-21 defeat to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.
It was another hallmark performance for Gang Green littered with mistakes and bad play.
So time for some more ranting about the biggest laughing stock in pro sports.
Bad plays at the worst time
Once again, New York displayed their remarkable ability to make bad plays at the worst possible time.
Their opening drive on offense was a masterclass in running the ball. They gashed the Dolphins defense and had 1st-and-goal ready to punch it in and take a 7-3 lead.
But bad teams make bad plays. Braelon Allen – who has had an underwhelming season –fumbled the ball at the 1-yard line, Miami took over drive 99 yards and scored a touchdown. Suddenly the Dolphins were up 10-0.
Towards the end of the first half, the Jets were in long field goal range. Justin Fields tried to scramble and make a play, but proceeded to fumble. Again, a bad play that leaves a drive scoreless.
The Jets got the ball back to start the second half only down seven. But again a mistake was not far away. Isaiah Williams fumbled the kick-off, Miami scored and it was basically game over. A game that should have been 10-10 is 17-3, leaving a long road back.
On defense, they were unable to deal with the bootleg plays Miami continued to run with great success. This might be the worst Jets defense in history. They do not look capable of making a stop let alone a turnover.
Alongside these disastrous plays, the Jets committed another 13 penalties. And, like the broken record I am, I will mention the missed tackles, just the 11 on Monday. That is now 45 missed tackles across four games.
Refs did not help
There are no two ways about it, the Jets were bad for the majority of the game on Monday. However, we have to acknowledge that some of the flags thrown against them were “soft”, shall we say.
Let us start with Garrett Wilson’s offensive pass interference. That wiped out a touchdown which would have got the Jets back within seven points at the end of the third quarter.
The “push off” was minimal at best and given we have seen much worse from other receivers on scoring plays in recent weeks, it is hard not to feel frustrated in this scenario.
Justin Fields was hit not once but twice when out of bounds and again the laundry remained in the referee’s pocket.
But the most egregious call came on a Mason Taylor catch with two minutes to go in the game – granted the result was already decided by this point.
But Taylor was tackled and on the ground for a couple of seconds before a defender flops on his back. How it was not a 15-yard penalty is stunning. It was even called out by the ESPN commentary team.
When it is going against you, it is going against you.
Garrett Wilson, the bright spot
There is not much to shout about for the Jets, but Garrett Wilson is a stud.
The Jets’ top dog in the passing game made an insane grab for a touchdown late on and should have had at least one more were it not for the zebras.
Despite the fact teams know he is getting the ball he is still getting open, still making plays and still playing with heart.
He is on pace for 114 catches, 1,321 yards and 13 touchdowns, which would be his best season by far. Sadly it will all be in vain.
A shout out should also go to Taylor, the rookie tight-end from LSU had a solid game and if he can continue to get targets looks likely to be the clear number two behind Wilson in the passing game.
