Abysmal Jets blown out by Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> Brutal. Atrocious. As bad as you can get.
Jets coach Adam Gase had plenty of ways to describe the team’s 3014 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday, and few solutions to the problem.
“That’s what we’re going to look at over the bye week,” he said after his offense was shut out by the defending Super Bowl champions. “Never thought I’d say ‘Week 4 bye week, I’m glad it’s here.’ But we’ve got a lot of things to address.”
How bad was the Jets offense?
They crossed midfield only once, on the first drive, when they made it to the New England 49 before the first of six consecutive punts — every full possession in the first half. They only broke the streak when third-string quarterback Luke Falk threw an interception to open the third quarter.
They went 0 for 12 on third-down conversions, with half of them coming from third-and-10 or longer; they failed to convert on their only fourth-down attempt as well. The good news, of sorts: They covered the 21-point spread, thanks to one touchdown on defense and one on special teams.
“Offensively, we were atrocious. As bad as you can get,” Gase said. “We just couldn’t get any positive plays going.”
The Jets have next week off before facing the Eagles, Cowboys and Patriots again. No. 1 quarterback Sam Darnold, who has missed the last two games with mononucleosis, has said he hopes to be back for the game against Philadelphia.
Backup Trevor Siemian started last week’s 23-3 loss to Cleveland, but lasted only one full quarter before he was lost for the season with ligament damage in his ankle. Falk completed 20 of 25 passes for 198 yards against the Browns, and there was hope that after a full week of snaps with the first-team offense he might be even better.
But the New England defense put an end to that.
Falk completed 12 of 22 passes for 98 yards, and also threw an interception that defensive back Devin McCourty had time to wait under . New York’s other touchdown came when New England punt returner Gunner Olszewski muffed a punt and Arthur Maulet recovered it in the end zone.
“It was a hard lesson to learn,” Falk said. “When playing a team like that, you can’t have errors.”
The Jets were also missing linebackers Jordan Jenkins (calf) and C.J. Mosley (groin), along with defensive lineman Quinnen Williams (ankle) and receiver Demaryius Thomas (hamstring).
Gase said he wasn’t worried about his team’s morale.
“That’s a good group of guys. You don’t have to worry about them,” he said. “That’s the last thing I am worried about. ... You know, as far as personality-wise goes, they are all going to fight together. If you were in that locker room after the game, you would understand.