Jets’ conservative attack spoils day for McCown & Co.

TAMPA, Fla. — The numbers wound up looking respectable, mostly because the last two drives Josh McCown needed to fling the ball around Raymond James Stadium fast and furious.

He would finish 23-for-39, a touchdown and a pick, a 77.1 rating, better numbers than Ryan Fitzpatrick, the man who preceded him with the Jets and played for the other team on Sunday.

It was little consolation for McCown.

Only one set of numbers mattered to him: Buccaneers 15, Jets 10 Give credit to them, their scheme, they played hard and had a good plan for us and we didn’t execute, especially on first and second down,” said McCown, whose normally upbeat persona was replaced with a voice landscaped with regret. “We got ourselves behind the sticks early and it’s so hard to convert a lot on third and long as often as we tried to.

McCown was not helped by an ultraconservative game plan that failed to take advantage of Tampa Bay’s vulnerability in its passing defense. And so it isn’t pretty to look at the Jets’ drive chart for the afternoon: 12 possessions, five three-and-outs, only two possessions that lasted longer than six plays.

“We understand that it’s the NFL and you’ve got to bring your ‘A game’ every week,” McCown said. “I thought we were ready to go after a good week of work, but we just didn’t play at a level that we’re capable of. We didn’t execute and they did a good job scheme-wise of taking things away.”

Though the loss knocked the Jets to 4-6 on the schedule and means that only a miracle run will salvage a postseason charge now, McCown believes the Jets can still forge a positive impact on the season, and need to take .“what they learned Sunday into the bye week and beyond.

“We have to make up our minds,” he said. “We have to nip this in the bud to see if we can be the team we hope we can be. It’s very frustrating. We’re definitely playing our tails off, and so is the defense, getting stops. So, as an offense, we want to put drives together.” “We have to find a way to be better. We’ve got to find a way to give ourselves the spark we need to get going.”