ONE OF THE GANG
Darnold just as bad as everyone else in blowout loss to Colts
COLTS 36
JETS 7
Another Sunday, another sloppy loss for the Jets. The Jets were absolutely bludgeoned in a 36-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
Sam Darnold easily deserves most of the blame for this loss. Darnold threw a pick-six on the Jets’ first drive of the game, threw another interception in the end zone before halftime and closed out his hat trick with a pick-six in the fourth quarter.
“We can’t turn the ball over,” Adam Gase said. “We gotta figure out a way to stop those guys. We put ourselves in at least position a couple times, but the red area, the turnovers, the pick sixes is just not good enough.”
Gase said the obvious after the game: the Jets need to be way better. “We can’t drive down the field and not put it in the end zone,” Gase said.
“It seemed like we started off the game and stayed in third and manageable and then as the game goes on, we were in third and long.”
Darnold gamely and rightly placed the loss on his own shoulders. “I’m not playing consistent enough to play well in this league,” Darnold said. “For me, I just need to play more consistently, you know, make the plays when they’re there and when they’re not, just get rid of the ball and check it down. Doing all of the little things that I need to do.”
Gang Green, like most weeks this season, wasn’t good enough to win against the Colts. This is the Jets’ third straight loss to open the season and their third straight loss by double digits.
Outside of Darnold gifting the Colts two touchdowns, the Jets defense struggled to perform as well. Colts quarterback Philip Rivers moved the ball with ease and the Colts were able to convert runs for first downs and touchdowns in highleverage situations.
To make matters worse for the Jets, rookie left tackle Mekhi Becton, who very well might be the best player on the team, missed the entire second half with a shoulder injury. However, Darnold didn’t want to use the loss of his star blindside protector as an excuse for their offensive woes.
“It’s not an excuse,” Darnold said. “Earlier in this week, it’s always been next man up mentality, whoever is out there. Coaches do a really good job with our players. My teammates do a really good job of knowing the gameplan.”
After the Colts went up 31-7 following Darnold’s third interception, Gase went into surrender mode and just started pounding the ball with Frank Gore to close the game.
What else is there to say about this team?
They’re not very talented compared to other NFL teams, they’re coaching scared, they’ve suffered an unbelievable amount of injuries and they can’t even play a competitive game.
By the time the Colts pulled Rivers from the game, he had completed 80.9% of his passes and averaged more than 10 yards per attempt. He had open windows to throw through all game long as the Colts moved the ball without breaking a sweat.
The offense is bad, the defense is bad, the coaching is bad and the team doesn’t show much fight when the game gets tough.