New York Jets Week 12 Stock Report
Four wins and one loss to start the season. One win and four losses since then.
These are your up-and-down, black-or-white New York Jets.
The Todd Bowles era got off to a red-hot start, but as the weather has gotten colder, so have the Jets—on both sides of the ball. The offense has lost its ground-and-pound identity with its struggles to run the ball. The defense has failed to live up to the expectations of their spending spree in the secondary, and has generated just five turnovers in the past five games after getting 15 in the first five.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis was toasted for more yards than he's allowed in nearly two years. Wide receiver Devin Smith failed to capitalize on a rare opportunity to contribute to the offense. In short, there are plenty of areas where the Jets need to improve if they want to make a push for the playoffs. But it wasn't all bad; there were at least a couple of players on each side of the ball who had some success.
Here's a look at some of the players who were up and others who were down in this past week's loss to the Houston Texans.
Stock Down: Ryan Fitzpatrick
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The clock appears to be approaching midnight on "Fitzmagic," as the Jets quarterback has struggled mightily two weeks running now.
Against the Texans, Ryan Fitzpatrick completed 19 of his 39 throws for 216 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Over the past two games, he has 34 completions on 73 passes (46.6 percent) for 409 yards, three touchdowns, four interceptions and a 55.1 passer rating.
Fitzpatrick had two chances to lead the Jets to victory (or at least to a tie) at the end of the game, but proceeded to throw two interceptions in the process. The Jets receivers have dropped an unusual amount of passes recently, with eight drops over the past two weeks, but even with completions on all of those throws, Fitzpatrick's numbers wouldn't be much better.
Jets head coach Todd Bowles threw his support behind Fitzpatrick on Monday, but that might not last if Fitzpatrick doesn't turn his game around.
Stock Up: Bilal Powell
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There weren't many offensive players making waves for the Jets on Sunday against the Texans, but running back Bilal Powell was one of them.
Powell has filled the third-down role well in the Jets offense, and on Sunday, he sprinkled his production into both the running and passing game. He had four rushes for 22 yards and five receptions for 67 yards. He tied for the team lead in recepections, and he had the second-most receiving yards and the most yards from scrimmage.
The Jets running game has struggled mightily over the past five games, and while Powell isn't the focal point of that attack, he is someone who might be able to help their struggling ground attack. Powell is not a dynamic player, but he is a versatile one. There will always be a role for a player like that in Chan Gailey's offense.
Stock Down: Devin Smith
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Four targets. No catches. Two drops. Jets rookie wide receiver Devin Smith would probably like to have a redo on Week 11 with those kinds of numbers, and Ryan Fitzpatrick might like a redo on throwing those balls in Smith's direction.
He might like to have a mulligan on his entire rookie season, at that rate. Don't put too much stock in his slow start to his NFL career, though. Smith was injured during training camp, which obviously had an impact on his ability to learn the offense and get valuable reps carrying out the assignments he's being asked to carry out right now.
The Jets have two great wide receivers in Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall, and both of those men got their due receptions on Sunday, but they need a reliable third and fourth option to step up. In 2015, Devin Smith has not been that man, but that doesn't mean he can't be that man in the future. It's just going to take a little more time than the Jets might have hoped.
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Stock Up: Damon Harrison
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Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams get all the love in the Jets defense, but any football enthusiast knows that the nose tackle is one of the most important positions in the 3-4 scheme.
Damon Harrison has been underrated in that role for years, but no one could underrate his impact on Sunday against the Texans. He was credited with a team-high nine tackles, which is just ridiculous for an interior defensive lineman, particularly a nose tackle who is often being asked to take on two blockers.
Of course, the Jets' overall success against the run was not good. The Texans rushed 37 times for 123 yards on the day, which doesn't paint the Jets front seven in a favorable light. That being said, there's only so much one person can do in run defense. Harrison did his part.
Stock Down: Darrelle Revis
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Everyone can have a bad game, even one of the greatest of all time at his position.
Cornerback Darrelle Revis was a burn victim on Sunday against the Texans, as wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins set up shop on Revis Island. On the day, Revis yielded five receptions for 114 yards and a touchdown into his coverage, and it could have been even worse if Hopkins hadn't been overthrown by Texans quarterback T.J. Yates on another deep pass.
According to Pro Football Focus, the 114 yards Revis allowed is more than he gave up in the three previous games combined. It's also the most yards Revis has allowed in a single game since Week 17 of the 2013 season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (four receptions, 129 yards, two touchdowns against the New Orleans Saints).
Unless some of the complementary players begin to step up, the Jets need their best players to play at their best week after week. Revis didn't give them that on Sunday.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained via team news release.
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