Another Game, Another Crushing Loss: Jets Week 3 Breakdown
Another game, another crushing loss for the New York Jets. Just when it seemed like the game was out of reach, the Jets pulled themselves back into it, only to disappoint once again. The team brought the game down to the wire, but they just couldn’t come away with the victory. Unlike last week, where the defense kept the Jets in the game, this week it was the offense that kept the Jets in the game. Either way, if one side of the ball has to try and keep the entire team in the game, wins are going to be hard to come by. If the Jets want to be able to secure wins, both sides of the ball are going to have to show up. So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at what went wrong and what went right for Gang Green this week against the Lions.
Bright Spots
First and foremost, I would like to examine what went well for the Jets in Week 3. What stood out the most was how well the offense played once the 4th quarter started. When the Jets got the ball in the 4th quarter, they were already down 14 points; however, this did not phase them. In fact, they turned it up to a whole different level and put their resilience on full display. It only took them 3:40 to cut the lead down to one possession. QB Geno Smith helped put the offense in position to score, throwing a 21-yard pass and following it up on the next play with a 22-yard pass to Kenyon Sadiq, who turned it into a 43-yard gain. After this scoring drive, the Jets followed up on their next drive with another touchdown and a 2-point conversion to tie the game. Although the offense was unable to tie the game again later on, the passing game showed its potential, leaving me with some hope for the future.
There are three players who specifically stood out to me the most this week, and QB Geno Smith was one of them. He helped make plays during critical moments while also putting up amazing numbers. Geno specifically showed his ability to thread the needle by making some impressive throws to his pass catchers. On top of this, he showed his ability to effectively run the offense during the 4th quarter, leading them to 2 touchdown drives. Geno finished the game with a total of 31 completions on 37 attempts for 321 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Although a handful of his totals came from the 4th quarter, these are still some really impressive numbers, to say the least.
The next player who was impressive is the rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq, who moved into the starting TE role after Mason Taylor missed the game with an injury. Sadiq didn’t see much action through the first 2 games, but with Taylor out, it was his time to shine, and he did just that. Sadiq showcased his athleticism throughout the game, running for a total of 46 yards after the catch and making a diving touchdown grab. In his first game as the starting tight end, he was able to show the world why the Jets took him at pick No. 16 by putting up 105 yards and 1 touchdown on 7 receptions. It will be interesting to see what happens when Mason Taylor returns and whether or not Sadiq will be able to stay in the starting TE role.
The third player who stood out to me is one of the league’s most overlooked stars, WR Garrett Wilson. It seems like every other week he does something that impresses fans, and he continued that “tradition” this week against the Lions. During the game, Wilson showed off his amazing catch radius after hauling in a high pass from Geno. Then during the 4th quarter, he made a highlight-reel touchdown grab while getting interfered with to cut the lead to 2. Wilson finished the game with a total of 10 receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown. If Wilson continues to put up numbers like he has been, he’ll surely surpass the 1,000-yard mark.
Offensive Struggles
If the Jets’ offense was able to perform like they did in the fourth quarter for the entirety of the game, they would be 2-1 right now. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to continuously perform at that level, which leads me into what went wrong for the offense and their struggles.
To start, the Jets’ offense struggled for a majority of the game, scoring only 7 points through the first 3 quarters, and there were multiple things that contributed to this. Once again, the Jets struggled to develop the run game for the second week in a row. And for a team that wants to emphasize running the ball and grinding out opposing defenses, they can’t continue to have this problem. Jets RBs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen combined for 46 rushing yards on 17 carries (2.7 YPC) during the game. The big change that allowed the Jets’ offense to thrive and score 14 points in the 4th quarter was that they shied away from the run game. Since they were down 2 possessions, they completely leaned on the passing game, only running the ball one time in the 4th quarter. The fact that the offense looked its best as soon as they stopped running the ball may be a sign that the run game was somewhat holding back the entire offense. But the failure to run the ball wasn’t necessarily on the Jets’ RB duo.
The offensive line struggled immensely and couldn’t create lanes for them to run through. In fact, there were times when Breece Hall had to cut outside to try and make something happen on his own because he couldn’t find any gaps to run through. There was only 1 Jets offensive lineman that received a PFF run-blocking grade over 60, and the offense as a whole received a 49.6 PFF run-blocking grade. This is completely unacceptable, and this has to improve, or else the Jets may have a big problem on their hands.
Continuing with the offensive line, they also struggled in pass protection as well. They allowed 5 sacks against the Lions on Sunday, making it a total of 9 sacks allowed in the past 2 games. Olu Fashanu specifically had a horrendous game, as he allowed 3 sacks, 3 hurries, and 6 pressures all on his own. He received a 35.3 PFF pass-blocking grade, which ranks 23rd-worst out of all 185 offensive linemen who were ranked during Week 3. The team as a whole received a 46.6 PFF pass-blocking grade, a grade that has been declining along with their run-blocking grade week by week. Needless to say, the offensive line struggled tremendously and played a part in the Jets’ loss to the Lions.
Defensive Struggles
In addition to part of the offense struggling, the Jets’ entire defense struggled in Detroit as well. The defense looked great over the last 2 games, but the Lions’ star-powered offense was their biggest test yet. Disappointingly, they were unable to stop the Lions’ offense from pouncing on them, and I believe the loss mostly falls on them.
The defense allowed a season-high 31 points and was unable to stop RB Jahmyr Gibbs, as he finished with 164 total yards and 3 touchdowns. One of the simple things that I noticed the Jets struggle with was tackling. There were multiple instances where the defense failed to tackle the ball carrier, and their PFF tackling grade (42.9) reflected that. On top of that, the defensive front failed to generate pressure, which is disappointing considering the capital the Jets invested in the group. The defense as a whole got two sacks, but none of them were from interior linemen or edge rushers. Alone, the defensive front tallied 0 sacks, 3 QB hits, and 5 hurries, something that can’t happen again. Being able to get to the opposing QB with just the defensive front is an essential part of defense, as this allows more players to drop into coverage. The team ultimately finished with an underwhelming 48.5 PFF pass-rush grade.
In addition to this, the defense had a difficult time in coverage. Lions QB Jared Goff was able to throw 25 completions on 32 attempts for 269 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense received a 48.4 coverage grade from PFF, a grade that has also been declining for them each week. Both Jets starting inside linebackers had a hard time in particular, as they received the worst two individual coverage grades on the entire team. LB Jamien Sherwood shockingly allowed 9 catches on 10 targets, while LB Demario Davis allowed 4 catches on 5 targets. These two weren’t the only players who struggled in coverage, though. CB Azareye’h Thomas also struggled, allowing 5 catches on 5 targets. It goes without saying that the coverage struggles contributed to the Jets’ loss as well, and a bounce-back is much needed.
Finally, I would like to talk about the Jets’ run defense, which the Lions took complete authority over. The Jets’ run defense had a difficult time not only stopping RB Jahmyr Gibbs, but RB Sione Vaki too. They allowed a total of 125 rushing yards on 26 carries (4.8 YPC) to Detroit’s RBs, while receiving Week 3’s lowest PFF run-defense grade (32.4). The interior of the defensive line seemed to struggle the most, as a majority of the interior linemen received the lowest Jets individual run-defense grades. The weak run defense from this week was disappointing to see, as the team seemed to emphasize getting run stoppers during the offseason. I’m hoping this week’s defensive struggles were a rare occurrence, because if not, the team could be in trouble.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, both sides of the ball had their issues and will need to improve, but this week’s loss wasn’t as discouraging as last week’s collapse. The offense showed potential, and several players put their talent on display. However, individual standouts don’t win you games, and the Jets will need to play complete games before the season gets out of hand. The Jets will head on the road again this Sunday, as they take on the Bears, who may be without their star QB. This gives the Jets a major opportunity to turn things around and get back to .500 before returning to MetLife Stadium in Week 5.
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