Offence vs. defence, in the locker-room

The New York Jets have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL this season, and the players aren’t too happy about the state of things.

ESPN reported Thursday that star players Brandon Marshall and Sheldon Richardson engaged in a heated verbal locker-room altercation following the Week 3 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Coach Todd Bowles acknowledged the incident and told ESPN it wasn’t physical.

“I took care of it right there,” Bowles said. “I addressed the team and I addressed the two guys. It will not happen again.

“I was right there, I heard it. It was loud. Yell down there, yell down here. It was no more than a normal training-camp deal. It wasn’t anything significant. There were a bunch of people who had words because everybody was pissed off.”

The Jets, at 1-5, seemingly are playing out another lost season, and the fact team leaders on either side of the ball are butting heads is alarming.

Marshall, though, didn’t feel it was a big deal, and said he discussed the argument with Richardson the following day. The Pro Bowl receiver called the incident a disagreement between “two Alpha males ... two bulls.”

“It was problem solving, starting off the season really bad,” Marshall told ESPN. “You guys understand how emotional and how intense the game is. When you come in the locker-room after a loss like that and you’re looking at each other, trying to problemsolve, it may not always be the right time.

“Sometimes you have to give it a day or so for everyone to calm down and cool off and say, ‘OK, what do we need to do to solve it?”

The Jets have now dropped four consecutive contests and sit four games behind the AFC East-leading New England Patriots.

“Obviously, we had high expectations coming into this year. We still do,” Marshall said. “It was not only a frustrating game, but a frustrating start for us. There are moments in teams where you push each other and there’s tension and the best teams find a way through it. “You look at Seattle and Richard Sherman this weekend,” he continued, referring to the Seahawks cornerback’s sideline tirade in a game against the Atlanta Falcons last Sunday. “It’s part of the game, the frustration — wanting to win and figuring out a way how to win and communicating with each other the right way.”

Bowles is confident the team wasn’t affected by the altercation, but the team have little room for error.

“There were no residual effects, no physicality,” Bowles said.