Decisions the Jets Should Regret 1 Week After Trade Deadline
The New York Jets should not be worried about a potential Aaron Rodgers comeback around the playoffs as they enter Week 10.
The Jets should be concerned that they will not even be in a spot to contend if Rodgers makes a miraculous recovery from his Achilles injury.
Monday night's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers showed how many holes the Jets have on offense.
Some of those issues may not be fixed right away, and that could cause the Jets to fall further down the AFC standings.
The three-game swing against the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins will determine the Jets' fate, and it may leave the franchise regretting the fact that it did not make any major moves at the trade deadline.
No Offensive Line Help
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The New York offensive line was torn to shreds by Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack and the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.
The eight sacks stunted any offensive momentum and it left Jets fans wondering if a playoff push is even possible.
If Wilson can't stay upright behind the offensive line, why should Rodgers, who is coming off Achilles injury, risk his long-term health to make a late push at the postseason.
The offensive line has been a weakness for most of the season. The Jets did not address it at the trade deadline and that could doom their playoff chances.
Las Vegas' defensive line, led by Maxx Crosby, could feast on the Jets in Week 10 in a game that New York needs to earn a head-to-head tiebreaker in the wild-card race.
Buffalo and Miami could ravage the offensive line as well, and that could leave the Jets at 4-7 with no postseason hope by the time December rolls around.
Lack of Big Play Wide Receivers
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Garrett Wilson is the only wide receiver that Zach Wilson can trust.
Allen Lazard has not played well enough as a No. 2 target and the rest of the wide receiver corps lack any notable stats.
The Jets might have been able to pull off a solid season with this group of wide outs if Rodgers worked magic in the pocket, but that will not happen for at least a few more weeks, if at all in the 2023 season.
The Jets missed an opportunity to land a veteran wide receiver at the trade deadline to boost the pass-catching collective around their quarterback.
Instead, Wilson will go into the next few weeks hoping that someone steps up alongside Wilson, tight end Tyler Conklin and Breece Hall in the passing game.
Wilson, Conklin and Hall are three of the four Jets with over 100 receiving yards this season. Lazard is the other, but he only caught 19 of his 35 targets.
Not Letting Go of Dalvin Cook
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The Dalvin Cook experiment has not worked.
The former Minnesota Vikings running back is averaging 2.8 yards per carry and had just seven touches in the ground game over his last three appearances.
Cook has not been productive in the passing game since Week 3. He earned seven of his 10 receptions in the first three contests of the season.
Cook is taking away some snaps from Michael Carter, who may not be better right now, but he is at least more explosive than the four-time 1,000-yard running back.
The 28-year-old might have worked better for another team with a functional offensive line in a reserve role, but the Jets decided to hold on to Cook instead of trading him away for a late-round draft pick.
At this point, it feels like Cook has a higher chance to be released than to be a significant contributor in the second half of the season.
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