Different Game, Similar Story: Jets Week 6 Loss

It was a new week for the New York Jets, but a very familiar story. The Jets had the chance to upset the New England Patriots, but, like we've seen before, they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity. This loss brings Aaron Glenn to an atrocious 0-7 record against divisional opponents during his tenure with the Jets. Fortunately for Glenn, he'll have the opportunity to snap that streak next game versus the Miami Dolphins. But before looking ahead to the next game, let's take a look at what happened in the Jets' Week 6 loss to the Patriots.

The Good

Before getting into the negatives, I’ll start with the positives. First is rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr., who returned from the injury he sustained during the opening drive of Week 1. With AD Mitchell injured, Cooper was able to start alongside Garrett Wilson, and he showed everyone why the Jets traded back into the first round to draft him.

On the first drive of the game, Cooper reeled in what would have been a touchdown if not for a penalty that wiped out the play. Despite the play not counting, he gave a glimpse of how he could impact the Jets’ offense. Fortunately for Cooper, he still got his first official touchdown later in the game when Geno Smith found him in the end zone for a 48-yard bomb. Cooper finished his promising first full NFL game with team highs in touchdowns (1), receiving yards (103), receptions (6), and targets (7).

The next positive on the offensive side of the ball came from RB Braelon Allen, who has now put together back-to-back great performances. Once again, Braelon showed his downhill running ability and his ability to gain yards after contact. He had 17 carries for 78 yards against the Patriots, with a highly impressive 77 of those yards coming after contact, per PFF.

Braelon is now top 16 this season in both yards after contact per attempt and total yards after contact, according to PFF. This is especially impressive considering Braelon Allen was the backup RB until Breece Hall got hurt in Week 3. After seeing Braelon perform this well when given the opportunity to start, part of me hopes he becomes the official starter, but that’s highly unlikely. Regardless, he deserves more playing time even when Breece comes back.

The defense didn’t look great on Sunday, but there is one player I’d like to give credit to: LB Jamien Sherwood. Sherwood has faced criticism recently, but he has played better over the past two games and definitely made an impact in this one.

The 26-year-old linebacker recovered a loose ball at the Patriots’ own 36-yard line early in the second half, giving the Jets an opportunity to cut the deficit. But his most impressive play came later in the fourth quarter. The Patriots completed a crushing 39-yard pass, but Sherwood had other things in mind. Despite being far from the receiver who caught the pass, he ran over 25 yards to get behind the ball carrier and punch the ball out.

Sherwood’s effort on this play was eye-catching, and, just like the first turnover he was involved in, this one allowed the Jets to cut the deficit once again. Additionally, he finished the game with 10 total tackles and a QB hit. Although Sherwood did not have a perfect game, he was involved on two turnover plays that helped keep the Jets in the game, so he deserves some praise.

The Bad

Where do I even begin? From poor execution and penalties to questionable play calling, it seems like there is at least one issue with the offense every game. Just four games ago, I criticized offensive coordinator Frank Reich for calling consecutive inside runs out of shotgun formation on 3rd-and-short and 4th-and-short. And this week, I am questioning similar short-yardage sequences.

To start the second quarter, the Jets faced a 3rd-and-4. Similar to Week 2, they ended up running inside out of shotgun on back-to-back plays, which resulted in a turnover on downs. But it doesn’t end there. On the next drive, the Jets were in a 2nd-and-1 situation and proceeded to run the ball up the middle twice in a row for no gain, putting them in a 4th-and-1. And this time, they were stopped on a quarterback sneak.

One of the announcers said, “I think Geno Smith went too low too fast,” and after watching the replay, I agreed. It looked like Geno easily could’ve gotten the first down, so he deserves some blame, respectfully.

Even so, I am frustrated with the short-yardage situations that result in turnovers on downs. I do understand where Reich is coming from with the play calls, and admittedly, I may be putting too much of the blame on him, as I probably wouldn’t have mentioned any of this if the plays had worked. Additionally, if the players had done a better job executing, I probably wouldn't have said anything either.

However, we’ve seen this happen multiple times now, and something needs to change, whether that means taking a different approach or better execution from the players.

The Jets had the opportunity to kick a field goal on both of these fourth downs, but their failure to convert resulted in no points. I believe this was one of the reasons they lost the game.

Another thing that causes me some concern is Geno Smith’s ability to pass when pressured by the defense. There are times when he does a great job against pressure, but there are also times when it gets the best of him. This week, defensive pressure contributed to Geno’s decision to throw up a pass that led to his first interception of the season.

He was pressured a total of 8 times versus New England, with 5 coming as hurries and 3 as sacks. Looking at Geno’s PFF grades, his play is noticeably better when he isn’t pressured or blitzed. Through the first 6 games, his passing grade when “kept clean” is 80.0, compared to 54.5 when under pressure. Additionally, his passing grade is 76.4 when he isn’t blitzed, compared to 61.0 when he is. His grades are also much better when the offense runs play-action passes.

If the Jets can reduce defensive pressure, whether by Geno getting the ball out quicker or better pass protection, and if Reich can incorporate more play-action passes, I think the offense would improve. 

Side note: This isn't entirely a knock on the pass protection, as Geno sometimes holds onto the ball for too long.

Now moving to the defense, who had their moments on Sunday but had an uninspiring overall performance. The Jets allowed 383 total yards, with 235 coming through the air and 148 on the ground. The defense received an overall grade of 53.0, its second-worst of the year.

One thing that frustrated me the most was the pass rush, who had a favorable matchup against the Patriots’ banged-up offensive line. While the pass rush recorded five hits and 13 hurries, they were unable to take full advantage of the opportunity, finishing the game with no sacks. The pass rush’s second-worst PFF grade of the season (57.2) reflected their underwhelming performance as well.

However, according to the team’s PFF grades, the worst part of the defense this week was the coverage. The defense received its worst PFF coverage grade of the season (43.5) and allowed Drake Maye to record his second-highest PFF passing grade of the season.

Two defensive players had PFF coverage grades below 40 this week: Dane Belton (34.2) and Demario Davis (29.6). There is a third player, rookie D’Angelo Ponds (26.5), but he only played 5 coverage snaps this week, meaning the 39-yard reception he allowed likely had a major impact on his grade. Given his limited playing time, he gets a slight break, since it wouldn’t be fair to fully judge his game. Either way, the team must be better in coverage going forward.

Staying on the topic of coverage, there is a specific play I need to bring up, which could also help explain part of Belton and Davis’ low grades. Early in the fourth quarter, the defense allowed a wide-open touchdown pass that put them down by 10 points.

On the play, Demario Davis was pointing toward the area where the Patriots player was, but no other defender was in the area. Whether it was Davis’ responsibility, Belton’s, who was near Davis, or another player’s, the mistake was costly, and moments like this need to be limited.

Looking Forward

Like I said before, the Jets had a good chance to upset the New England Patriots, but they just weren’t able to cash in. Both sides of the ball made mistakes, but now all they can do is learn from them and focus on the next game.

The offense will need to finish drives and capitalize on good field position, while the defense will need to improve all around. The Jets return to MetLife Stadium on Sunday to face the Miami Dolphins, and Aaron Glenn looks to snap his winless streak against divisional opponents.

J-E-T-S! JETS! JETS! JETS!

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