Three takeaways from the Jets' Week 6 loss to the Buffalo Bills
Jets punter Thomas Morstead, left, pats placekicker Greg Zuerlein after Zuerlein missed a field goal against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on Monday. Credit: Ed Murray
1. The Jets are still undisciplined and sloppy.
You can’t have 11 penalties for 110 yards and expect to win games. The Jets actually had more. There were some offsetting penalties in what was a flag-fest for both teams, who totaled 22 penalties. Aaron Rodgers called some of the penalties “ridiculous” and referred to one on Tyron Smith that negated a touchdown as “a phantom holding call.” There were a number of questionable calls on both sides that definitely affected the flow of the game.
Still, the penalty issue is nothing new for the Jets. They have to clean it up. Javon Kinlaw had three on one series — a roughing the passer (Rodgers didn’t agree), a neutral zone infraction and an unsportsmanlike conduct for improper conversation with an official. This can’t happen.
Interim coach Jeff Ulbrich knows the Jets have to address the penalty problem. “Ultimately, that is not winning football,” he said. “It destroys drives on offense and it extends drives on defense. That can’t happen.”
2. They have a kicking problem.
Greg Zuerlein just doesn't look right. Last year, he made 92.1% of his field-goal attempts. This season, he has played a big role in two of the Jets’ losses and is only 8-for-12 on field-goal tries. He missed a late field-goal attempt in the Jets’ 10-9 loss to Denver in Week 4. On Monday, Zuerlein had two chances to give the Jets the lead in the second half, and both attempts hit the left upright.
It wasn’t raining. It was windy, but these were relative gimmes for Zuerlein. One was a 32-yard try and the other a 43-yarder. Last season, he missed only one field goal from 30-39 yards and one from 40-49 yards all year.
Ulbrich said the Jets “have great belief in Greg.”
Right now, Greg doesn’t have great belief in Greg.
“I’m just not kicking the ball,’’ Zuerlein said. “I wouldn't say the [windy] conditions played into it. It's just me not kicking the ball the proper way, and results showed for themselves.”
By the way, Austin Seibert, who was with the Jets in training camp, is 15-for-16 for Washington.
3. Aaron Rodgers is not free from blame.
Rodgers had the ball late in the last three games with a chance to give the Jets a lead and lift them to victory. They lost all three. Zuerlein missed a field goal against Denver. Rodgers threw an interception deep in Minnesota territory last week in London and was picked off with 1:52 left in this defeat. Both passes were intended for Mike Williams and both were underthrown. Rodgers has four touchdown passes and four interceptions in the last three games.
“Literally, you can go back to each of those games and look at details,” he said. “A lot of opportunities — if we all just do the little things, do the details.”
There was definite improvement in the offense on Monday night with Todd Downing calling plays instead of Nathaniel Hackett. The Jets scored on their first possession for the first time all season. They established the running game and got Breece Hall involved. But one of their two touchdowns was a lucky Hail Mary, so there still is some cleaning up that needs to be done.
The Jets were only 1-for-4 on red-zone chances, and it took a brilliant catch by Garrett Wilson to get his feet down and drag them in the end zone before going out of bounds. Penalties, ridiculous or not, phantom or not, are costing the Jets.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
