The Jets lost to the Patriots on Sunday, 25-6. They are now 0-2. Here are few final thoughts from the game.
The Replacements
The Jets made a flurry of roster moves after the abundance of injuries they endured against the Panthers. They placed left tackle Mekhi Becton, punter Braden Mann, linebacker Blake Cashman and safety Lamarcus Joyner on injured reserve, then signed safety Jarrod Wilson, tackle Isaiah Williams, linebacker B.J. Goodson and punter Thomas Morstead.
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Morstead slid in as the team’s starting punter, obviously. His one punt Sunday went 45 yards. The Jets replaced Joyner with Adrian Colbert. He had five tackles. Linebacker Jamien Sherwood, who injured himself filling in for the injured Jarrad Davis, missed the game against the Patriots. Quincy Williams, Quinnen’s brother, replaced him with the starters. He had five tackles. He struggled by Pro Football Focus standards, finishing with a 47.2 grade.
Well, that’s not very good
Just like former GM Mike Maccagnan, Joe Douglas preaches the need to build through the draft. The Jets love to promote this year’s class as a sign they’re headed in the right direction. That might be because they don’t want anyone to focus on Douglas’ first class in 2020. It’s still early. A lot can change. But right now, it doesn’t look good.
The Jets drafted nine players that year. Cornerback Bryce Hall was the only player active against New England.
Becton (first round), safety Ashtyn Davis (third round), lineman Cameron Clark (fourth round) and Mann (sixth round) are all on injured reserve. Receiver Denzel Mims (second round) and running back La’Mical Perine (fourth round) were healthy scratches. Defensive end Jabari Zuniga (third round) is on the Jets’ practice squad. Quarterback James Morgan (fourth round) is on the Panthers’ practice squad.
Yikes.
You can’t prevent injuries, but Davis and Clark weren’t starters to begin with. Becton was, but he struggled throughout the summer and in the opener before injuring his knee. Everyone else from the class, aside from Mann (a punter) and Hall, is a reserve. It’s hard to build through the draft when that’s your draft.
Rookie roller coaster
Quarterback Zach Wilson was the main character of our postgame column. Here, though, are a few additional day-after statistics and numbers on his performance, compiled from various places.
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The rookie wasn’t good under pressure (4 of 14 passing), but three of his four interceptions came when he was kept clean, per Pro Football Focus. That’s not great. The Patriots only blitzed Wilson 11 times on Sunday. He was 13 of 25 for 170 yards with three INTs when not blitzed. According to ESPN, via Elias Sports, Wilson became the third rookie in the last 40 years to have four interceptions in his first 10 attempts. Chicago’s Kyle Orton and Buffalo’s Nathan Peterman were the other two. Also according to ESPN Stats and Information, Wilson is the fourth rookie top-five pick with zero touchdowns and four interceptions in a game in the last 20 seasons. The last two quarterbacks to do it? Both Jets: Sam Darnold and Mark Sanchez. Make that three now.
Want to feel a little better about Wilson? It wasn’t exactly a banner day for any of the first-year quarterbacks, aside from New England’s Mac Jones (22 of 30, 186 yards). The Jaguars lost to the Broncos, the Jets’ next opponent, 23-13. Trevor Lawrence went 14 of 33 for 118 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He had a quarterback rating of 37.2. Justin Fields replaced an injured Andy Dalton in the Bears’ 20-17 victory over the Bengals. He completed 6 of 13 passes for 60 yards with an interception, but did run 10 times for 31 yards. Trey Lance did not play in the 49ers’ victory over the Eagles.
Mims mania
This is the last time we’ll touch on this subject until something changes. Receiver Denzel Mims was among the Jets’ inactives on Sunday. You saw that coming when Robert Saleh announced Keelan Cole would return. Mims is the last receiver on the depth chart. He works with the practice squad wideout rotation during individual drills. Even with the receiver position depleted in the opener, Mims played just three snaps. Clearly, once guys returned, as they did on Sunday, he’d be a healthy scratch.
“Denzel had a really good week of work and has to continue to build on what he did,” Saleh said. “He has to understand that there is special teams involved. … If he can capitalize off what he did this week, I don’t anticipate this being much longer. At the same time, I don’t see Jeff (Smith) and Keelan relenting.
“When you’re looking at your fourth and fifth receivers, you have to be reliable with regards to multiple positions. You have to be able to play special teams.”
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Translation: He’s not good enough to push Corey Davis, Elijah Moore or Jamison Crowder for playing time. The Jets don’t believe Mims knows enough of the playbook to fill in if someone goes down. He can’t play special teams like Braxton Berrios, Cole or Smith. So, he’s inactive until one, or all, of those things change.
Athletic subscription for my thoughts: Hogwash.
It made sense when Mims first began falling down the depth chart for everything Saleh said, plus the fact he’s not a great scheme fit. That’s why he’s not starting. It makes zero sense why he’s not playing, though. Mims is 6-3. He runs a 4.3 40. He’s a tremendous linear player with an uncanny ability to win 50-50 balls. He doesn’t need to start. He doesn’t need to play 50 snaps. But when you have a player with his skill set, it’s the coaching staff’s job to design a role in the offense that accentuates said skill set. Design a package of five or 10 plays that puts Mims in a position to do what he does best.
The Jets’ offense was dreadful on Sunday. Maybe it could have used a player who could go up and get a deep pass in coverage. (Kinda like Mims did last year against the Chargers.) Or a player to draw a defensive pass interference call to flip the field. (Also Mims against the Chargers.) Or a player to carry the entire defense on his back to fire up his teammates. (Mims, again, last year vs. the Giants.)
Mims has talent. The coaching staff should find a way to use it. You don’t do that by having him in street clothes on game day. If things don’t change, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Mims request a trade.
Big-time bounce back
I was a bit pessimistic entering this Patriots game. After watching the Panthers embarrass the Jets’ offensive line for four quarters last week, I didn’t see how they could turn things around with three practices. They did, though. In a big way. Maybe the grouping of George Fant, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Connor McGovern, Greg Van Roten and Morgan Moses just works better than the one with Becton, but they were remarkably improved from the opener.
This is a team that wants to impose its will on the ground. The Jets averaged 2.6 yards a carry against the Panthers, rushing 17 times for 45 yards. They tallied 152 yards on 31 carries (4.9 average) against New England. The Jets had some of their best success running outside off Moses (4-32), per Pro Football Focus. They were also very good between McGovern and Vera-Tucker (10-50).
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The Jets were also significantly better in pass protection. The Panthers sacked Wilson six times and hit him 10 in the opener. Through three quarters against the Patriots, Wilson went down just once. It wasn’t until the rookie started playing hero ball in the fourth quarter that things got away from him.
“I thought they did a good job protecting me tonight,” Wilson said. “I thought we ran the ball well, protected well. We’ve just got to execute.”
Finding his rhythm
Elijah Moore, who caught four passes for 47 yards, stole most of the attention throughout the summer. For good reason. But anytime Saleh spoke about the wideout, he somehow made his way to another rookie he was thrilled fell to the Jets — running back Michael Carter.
Carter had a quiet preseason. Sunday, he showed what his coach is so excited about, rushing 11 times for 59 yards (5.4 a carry) and catching two passes for 29 yards. Look for him to get more and more involved in the offense as the season goes on.
The Jets also featured a healthy dose of Ty Johnson on the ground (12 carries for 50 yards), but it looks like they’re starting to phase out Tevin Coleman (five rushes for 24 yards). That’s what the snap counts seem to indicate, at least. Carter and Johnson each played 33. Coleman saw seven.
System, system, system
He’s a first-year coordinator, so Mike LaFleur deserves some time to develop and get used to his role. But this Kyle Shanahan system looks awfully different when Shanahan isn’t calling the plays, nor Aaron Rodgers running them. It’s been a bit surprising to see how devoted the Jets are to two tight end sets. In the past, this offense relied heavily on that position. I get that. But the Jets have Tyler Kroft and Ryan Griffin … not George Kittle … Jordan Cameron … Chris Cooley. It would also be nice to see the Jets work in more check-down options for Wilson. Something where, if the first or second read isn’t there, he goes right to the back for the easy 3, 4 yards.
There’s still time. Don’t panic yet. When you have a young staff, in addition to young players, there are going to be growing pains.
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Didn’t see that coming
The Jets’ defense deserves a ton of credit. This figured to be the weakest part of the team. Instead, through two weeks, it has done enough to put the Jets in position to win. The defense held the Panthers to just 19 points. While the Patriots scored 25, 16 were a direct result of Wilson’s turnovers. The secondary, led by Hall and Marcus Maye, is more than competent. The pass rush, even without Carl Lawson, is solid. The group suffered an alarming rash of injuries, yet is still bringing it play-in and play-out.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich deserves a ton of credit. He’s out-scheming his offensive opposition. The Jets sacked Jones three times, held the run game down (aside from a morally deflated 26-yard touchdown run by Damien Harris), and kept the dynamic tight end duo of Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry in check (combined six catches, 70 yards). All with guys like Javelin Guidry, Colbert, Quincy Williams, Brandin Echols and Nathan Shepherd playing meaningful minutes. That’s not an all-star cast, but Ulbrich is making it work.
Make sure he sticks around
This isn’t like when Henry Anderson had a supposed breakout season. Anyone who watched him play during 2018 knew he would come back down to earth. John Franklin-Myers isn’t lucking his way into sacks. He’s imposing his will on an offense. You saw flashes of this last year, and now that he’s in Saleh’s scheme, he’s taking off. He had another sack on Sunday — his second in as many games. The Jets are perfectly using his skill set to their advantage. He’s outside at defensive end on rushing downs, then checks inside on passing downs.
Douglas has botched player re-signings before. He shouldn’t make the mistake here. Franklin-Myers is young (24), talented and ascending. It’s best to lock him up now. The longer he waits … the more expensive it gets.
He’s back
You’re starting to see why linebacker C.J. Mosley was such a coveted free agent in 2019. After playing all but three healthy quarters over the last two seasons, he’s knocking the rust off and returning to the Pro Bowl level of play that made him one of the league’s best in Baltimore. He had 10 tackles and a pass breakup against the Patriots. He flew all over the field. He finished with a Pro Football Focus grade of 79.1 — highest among all Jets defenders.
Saying it best
Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, who had a sack of Jones, summed up the state of the Jets perfectly after the game.
“We’ll get this thing rolling,” he said. “I said it before the season, it’s not going to be an easy process. We’re literally coming in here changing the culture of a whole organization that’s lost for a while.”
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Remember him?
If you’re curious, Darnold’s Panthers beat the Saints, 26-7. Carolina is now 2-0. It’s the first time Darnold has been two games over .500 in his career. The former Jet went 26 of 38 for 305 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He had a quarterback rating of 99.1.
AFC East standings
- Buffalo (1-1)
- Miami (1-1)
- New England (1-1)
- Jets (0-2)
The Bills sit atop the division because they are undefeated in the division. The Dolphins are ahead of the Patriots because they beat New England in Week 1. The Jets are in last place because, well, they haven’t won a game.
(Top photo of Javelin Guidry and Marcus Maye: Elsa / Getty Images)
