3 Takeaways from Jets' Week 15 Loss vs. Dolphins
A week ago, the New York Jets won convincingly over the Houston Texans and appeared poised to build momentum before the end of the season. Any energy the Jets had, however, dissipated with Sunday's 30-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins.
It was a bad all-around performance by New York, which mustered a mere 103 yards and saw quarterback Zach Wilson exit with a concussion.
It's hard to learn a lot from a loss this lopsided, but this game spoke volumes about where the Jets are headed and what needs to be addressed in the offseason.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the Jets' Week 15 loss to the Dolphins.
Zach Wilson Resurgence Is Short-Lived
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Following last week's win over the Houston Texans, we noted that the Jets had a potential opportunity to improve Wilson's offseason trade value. According to Doug Robinson of the Deseret News, New York has informed Wilson that he will be moved in the offseason.
Wilson had a strong performance against Houston, but he struggled mightily against the Dolphins. He went 4-of-11 for 26 yards before exiting the game, reportedly for dehydration.
"Zach Wilson was treated for dehydration and remained in the locker room. Jets coach told Tracy Wolfson he doesn't know if Wilson will return but they are 'getting their butts kicked,'" the Palm Beach Post's Joe Schad posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Wilson was later ruled out with a head injury.
To be fair, Wilson received next to no support from New York's lifeless and inefficient offense before exiting. Any team considering taking a flier on the 2021 second overall pick shouldn't put too much stock into Sunday's performance.
However, the Jets have no chance to showcase Wilson if he can't stay on the field or is saddled with the sort of poor complementary performance we saw against Miami.
Offensive Line Must Be an Offseason Focus
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It felt early on that Wilson just wouldn't have a chance to make positive plays against the Dolphins. Miami's defense embarrassed the Jets offensive line, recording four quarterback takedowns—including a strip-sack—before Wilson exited.
The Dolphins also sacked Trevor Siemian twice.
The offensive line, which has now given up 62 sacks on the season, has been an issue all year. Injuries have—Alijah Vera-Tucker is on injured reserve—but New York has not gotten steady enough play from either tackle spot.
This is an issue that absolutely must be addressed early, and ideally, often, in the offseason. If the Jets are banking on having an improved offense with Aaron Rodgers under center, they cannot afford to trot out an underwhelming offensive line.
Rodgers may indeed provide an upgrade at quarterback, but he's 40 years old and coming off of Achilles surgery. Expecting him to thrive behind a line as problematic as the one we've seen this season would not be a successful plan.
It Feels Like the Jets Have Already Checked Out
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Are Jets players already looking ahead to 2024 and the prospect of playing with Rodgers? It sure felt that way on Sunday.
New York rarely showed a sense of urgency or a level of intensity that one would prefer to see at this point in the season. The offense remained in neutral throughout the contest, and while the defense had its moments, the effort wasn't good enough.
The Dolphins were playing without star receiver Tyreek Hill (ankle), and they still tallied 290 yards while scoring on six of 10 drives.
While New York's effort wasn't as underwhelming as what we saw from the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday—their 63-21 loss led to the firing of the coach and general manager—it does call into question Robert Saleh's ability to lead the team through adversity.
"You put together the best plan possible. Sometimes (it turns out to be) good. Sometimes it's not," Saleh said, per SNY's Connor Hughes.
Saleh is now 16-32 as the coach, and it's fair to wonder if he's the right coach to lead Rodgers and the Jets for another year.
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