We all know the Jets have their work cut out for them this season, specifically on offense.
The team’s early offensive struggles set the tone for a season-opening 27-17 road loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“We didn’t execute the way we wanted to, especially in the first half,” Sam Darnold said afterwards. “I put that on my shoulders. I missed way too many throws today. We had opportunities and I just missed guys. We’ve got to look at the tape and see what happened, but I flat-out missed guys and that’s on me. So, I’ve got to be better and we’ve got to execute better. It’s as simple as that.”
The Jets had 3-and-outs on all three first-quarter series, which gained 4 yards combined.
There are games where football teams don’t get their offense on the field three times in a quarter. When it does happen it’s imperative your team finds a way to put points on the scoreboard. The Jets were barely able to move the football.
“It was about as bad a start offensively as we could’ve had,” head coach Adam Gase said. “We didn’t play well; we did not do a good job as an offense.”
Where are the playmakers?
One of my takeaways from this game was the Jets glaring need for playmakers on offense. If Darnold is going to take the next step in his development, he can’t do it alone.
That means the Jets need to get more from their run game. Le’Veon Bell was held in check by the Bills until a hamstring injury forced him out in the second half. Gase was unable to get veteran Frank Gore more involved, that’ll need to change going forward. The Jets were also missing rookie running back La’Mical Perine as he works his way back from an ankle injury.
In defense of the running backs, the offensive line must do a better job of helping create lanes to run through.
Sam Darnold must do his part, the criticism is deserved
Now it’s true Darnold needs help, but he also must do his part and play better. The second quarter interception by Bills linebacker Matt Milano was a brain cramp by Darnold. There’s just no other way to put it. He was clearly trying to do too much and forced a bad throw.
“The interception was just a bad play,” Darnold said. “I tried to fit a ball in there that I shouldn’t have.”
Then there’s this doozy of a penalty. A delay-of-game on the offense coming out of the TV timeout after the Bills’ third consecutive TD drive of the first half.
“I put that on my shoulders,” Darnold said. “We didn’t break the huddle fast enough and we weren’t ready and … that’s on me.”
And then there’s the Jets defense, we didn’t forget about y’all
Let’s not leave out the defense. The Bills marched up and down the field in the first half. The Jets’ defense allowed 19 first downs before halftime, they couldn’t get Buffalo off the field. By the end of the game, Buffalo racked up over 40 minutes on time of possession to just over 18 minutes for the Jets.
The Jets must execute better in all aspects of the game if they’re to stay afloat this season. Poor starts, such as this one, must be corrected immediately.
“I think for us, we’re all competitors,” Darnold said. “Losing sucks, no matter who it is. Obviously, it’s Week 1. There are some details that we’ve got to figure out and we’re going to figure out. But it’s /week 1 and we’ve just got to figure out what we did wrong and correct those mistakes and don’t let them happen again.”
There’s plenty for Gang Green to clean up before the San Francisco 49ers come into town for the home opener.
