The New York Jets are very much known for finding new and creative ways to lose football games, and this season has been no exception. Despite elevated expectations with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers at the helm, the team is currently 2-6 at the halfway point of the season and on the outside looking in when it comes to the AFC playoff picture.
This week, they didn’t put up a particularly stunning showing, but followed a formula that has generally yielded wins in the NFL. The offense scored over 20 points without turning the football over, while the defense really showed up, stopping the New England Patriots from accumulating more than 250 total yards.
Of course, football games aren’t determined by anything in the box score other than total points scored, and the Patriots had more of those as they walked away with a 25-22 victory. Jets fans were left feeling like they were shortchanged, and when looking at the numbers, it’s hard to disagree.
Scored 20+ points
Didn’t turn it over
Allowed fewer than 250 yardsIn NFL history, teams are 750-1 (including playoffs) when generating that box score.
The only loss is the Jets yesterday.
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) October 28, 2024
In 751 instances of teams meeting the benchmarks we discussed above, only one team has ever lost a game- the Jets on Sunday against the Patriots. New England did a great job making the most of its few opportunities, which is often the difference in closely-contested games, but it could easily be argued that the Jets had the ability to pull away to a degree at which a game is not determined by fine margins.
Perhaps most painfully for Jets fans, they have had the exact same half-season as the Patriots despite drastically different expectations ahead of the campaign. The two AFC East rivals are both 2-6 with 2-4 records against AFC competition and a split in the season series.
The fact that the Jets lost a game in which they were so clearly the better side might point to a coaching problem. Oftentimes, when a team dominates but can’t get over the finish line, poor game management is to blame, bringing into question yet another bizarre facet of this Jets season, the firing of head coach Robert Saleh after just five games. At the time of that move, the Jets were 2-3, but with a chance to move into first place in the division by beating the Buffalo Bills in a big primetime matchup.
Since then, the team has gone 0-3 under the leadership of interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich, who was thrust into an unenviable position by franchise leadership. It’s hard to know where the team goes from here, but it’s almost certain that the upcoming playoffs are not where they’ll be headed.
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