New York Jets Need Todd Bowles to Better Manage Close, Late-Game Situations

The New York Jets were doing fine and dandy when they were blowing their opponents out of the water in the first five games of the season on their way to a 4-1 record. They were even just fine when they fell behind a little early and had to mount a comeback, as was the case on three different occasions in those games.

But when they've been faced with a close game in the fourth quarter, it's been an entirely different story.

That's when the coaching of Todd Bowles has been put under a microscope, revealing some dangerous microorganisms under the slide. On Thursday night in particular, the Jets had plenty of chances to pick up a win over the Buffalo Bills, but in the last 20 minutes, those chances all slipped directly through the Jets' fingertips.

A neglected opportunity at a two-point conversion—although the numbers reflect that he made the right choice at that moment—forced the Jets to keep trying for touchdowns, not field goals.

Two failed fourth-down conversion attempts—while displaying the necessary intestinal fortitude—left the Jets with nothing to show for their efforts on offense.

The Jets reached scoring territory three times in the fourth quarter. They turned those three opportunities into just seven points. With two empty scoring opportunities, the Jets left no less than six points on the field in a game they lost by five points.

That's how you lose at home to an underdog. That's how you end up 1-3 in games that are decided by seven points or fewer. That's also how you draw the scrutiny of the media, whether it's deserved or not. 

"They're mistakes if they don't work and you're a genius if they do work," Bowles said Friday. "The ones that don't, I don't look at them as mistakes. I look at them as learning experiences. They don't work out all the time. Sometimes it's not in the cards."

It wasn't in the cards, either, when the Jets were unable to hang onto a four-point lead at Gillette Stadium against the reigning champion New England Patriots. Tom Brady took over, the Jets offense fizzled and the Patriots won by seven. Easy enough, right? 

Down by 10 points, the Jets played it right at the end of the game by taking the field goal, kicking the onside kick and trying to force overtime. Where they failed was in their clock management before that point, when the Patriots were mounting the comeback. By failing to call a timeout in that situation, the Jets left themselves with almost no time to mount that comeback.

The Patriots marched the ball down the field uncontested, and that may or may not have been any different if the Jets had stopped the clock. But at least they would have, you know, stopped the clock.

No one can expect perfection from Bowles in his first nine games as an NFL head coach. He needs to do exactly what he is doing, and treat these all as learning experiences. Hopefully he doesn't find himself making the same mistakes in the future, and hopefully his mistakes don't cost the Jets a spot in the playoffs.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.