Biggest Takeaways from New York Jets' Week 11 Loss
It seems like ages ago that the New York Jets were off to a 4-1 start to the season. With a 1-4 record in their last five games, they have watched their hot start and hopeful playoff bid slip through their fingers.
This season has been rife with missed opportunities for the Jets, and Sunday's 24-17 loss to the Houston Texans was another one. It was a game that the Jets had no business winning but had every chance to win in the end. With six games left on the schedule, they can hardly afford any more games like that.
It's going to be a long road back from .500 for the Jets, but if they want to extend their season and play games in January, it's going to take a lot of effort from all parties. Their Week 11 loss can serve as another learning experience too, so here are some of the biggest takeaways from the game.
Jets Secondary Is Not Living Up to Its Billing
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Typically speaking, whether or not the Jets defense struggles, you can count on Darrelle Revis to step up and do his part. Sunday, however, was not a typical game for a Jets defense that ranked in the top 10 against the pass headed into last week.
As a team, the Texans completed 17 of 35 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Wide receiver Cecil Shorts III had a 21-yard touchdown pass on a trick play, and T.J. Yates provided the rest of the production.
It would be one thing if most of the damage hadn't been done on Revis' watch. But the $70 million cornerback forfeited five receptions on nine throws into his coverage for 114 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. Linebacker Demario Davis and cornerback Marcus Williams gave up the other two touchdowns.
The Jets struggled with their pass defense for a three-game stretch in which they allowed more than 1,000 yards through the air, but they turned it around last week against the Buffalo Bills, giving up just 132 passing yards. This game was another step in the wrong direction.
Todd Bowles Continues to Make Coaching Blunders
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Jets head coach Todd Bowles didn't face a lot of tough situations early in his career. The Jets outscored their opponents by an average of 10.8 points per game in their first five games of the season, and their four wins were by an average of 12.2 points per game. As the games have gotten tighter, though, so has Bowles' coaching.
This week, the issue du jour was his clock management—an issue that is not new to Bowles' repertoire. The Jets elected to go for it on fourth down when facing a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Had they punted, they would have pinned the Texans deep in their territory, and the defense would have just needed to make a stop to get the ball back.
Asked about his decision after the game, Bowles said the Jets wouldn't have gotten the ball back if they had punted, but they got it back—only with worse field position and much less time left on the block.
This wouldn't be such a problem if Bowles hadn't made the same mistake in Week 10 against the Buffalo Bills, mismanaging the clock in a situation where the Jets might have gotten the ball back with a chance to win if things had gone differently.
Like anything else in life, Bowles will probably get better at it the more he does it. With that said, he'll need to learn and adjust on the fly to keep the Jets in the playoff hunt.
Ryan Fitzpatrick Might Not Be the Quarterback the Rest of the Season
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Up until Sunday, Jets head coach Todd Bowles had been affirmative in his support of Ryan Fitzpatrick as the quarterback of his team through thick and thin. That support continued Monday, with Bowles confirming that Fitzpatrick will be the starter next week.
But how long can Bowles carry on supporting Fitzpatrick if his quarterback continues to play this way?
Fitzpatrick's numbers do not look great lately. In the Jets' five wins, he completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,166 yards with nine touchdowns, four interceptions and a 96.9 passer rating. In the five losses, those numbers are 54.3 percent, 1,033 yards, seven touchdowns, seven picks and a 65.6 passer rating.
If Fitzpatrick doesn't turn his play around quickly, the Jets' playoff hopes could go up in flames before they even get to see what another option would look like.
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Jets Offense Has Lost Its Ground-and-Pound Identity
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The Jets offense may not have the most dynamic passing attack in the NFL—although, with wide receivers Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, it has a few good weapons in that area.
The Jets make up for their lack of explosiveness in the passing game with an efficient running game that keeps the offense in manageable situations. However, over the past five games, the offense has rushed for 390 yards combined (78 yards per game).
The offense might be able to withstand struggles from either the passing game or the running game, but with both sides putting up such miserable numbers, there's just no way for the Jets to overcome it.
It would be one thing if they were trying and failing to produce, but against the Texans, the Jets running backs carried the ball just 16 times. Stevan Ridley (zero yards) and Bilal Powell (22 yards) both had four carries, and Chris Ivory (36 yards) had eight.
These guys at least need a chance to get going.
The Season Is on the Brink
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At 5-5, the Jets are not mathematically eliminated from postseason contention just yet. If they keep playing this way, though, it won't be long before that happens.
More than a handful of teams are all in contention for the two wild-card spots. The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4), Buffalo Bills (5-5), Indianapolis Colts (5-5), Houston Texans (5-5), Kansas City Chiefs (5-5), Miami Dolphins (4-6) and Oakland Raiders (4-6) are all in the running to play a road game in the first round of the playoffs.
There are a lot of scenarios in which the Jets could get to the postseason, but not many of them would involve fewer than four wins to close out the regular season. The Jets need to take their destiny into their own hands if they want to play at least one game in January.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
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