Jets don't find end zone again, end season on six-game losing streak
Raekwon Davis #98 of the Miami Dolphins tackles Zonovan Knight #27 of the New York Jets during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on January 08, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. Credit: Getty Images/Cliff Hawkins
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — A remorseful Robert Saleh had a message to everyone associated with the Jets after his team finished the season with a sixth straight defeat.
“I say sorry to everybody,” he said after an 11-6 loss to the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
Saleh directed that apology to owner Woody Johnson, other members of the front office, the coaches, the players and the fans.
The Jets started the season 7-4 and were in control of their own destiny but finished 7-10 and missed the postseason for the 12th consecutive year.
Jason Sanders’ 50-yard field goal with 18 seconds left broke a 6-6 tie as Miami (9-8) snapped a five-game losing streak and clinched the final AFC wild-card spot. The Dolphins will play at Buffalo next week.
“I know it’s been a long, long ride of not being in the playoffs and I know it was right in our fingertips — and we’re not going,” said Saleh, whose team lost eight of its last 10 games. “But at the same time, I know we’ve come a long way over two years. I’m excited about what we have ahead of us.
“It stings right now, but when all this dust settles, we’re going to be really excited about what we have to offer and kicking the offseason off the right way, getting us back in this position where we got a chance to clinch and get in the playoffs.”
Johnson, who hasn’t addressed the media this season, declined to speak to reporters after the game. He said he will talk to the media at some point this week.
This game typified the Jets’ season as they really couldn’t get anything going on offense. They failed to score a touchdown in their last three games.
The Jets’ top priority this offseason has to be figuring out their quarterback situation.
“I know we’ll get the quarterback position right,” Saleh said.
They expected Zach Wilson to be their franchise quarterback after drafting him with the No. 2 overall pick last year, but he ended his second NFL season with only six touchdown passes in nine games. He was benched twice and was a healthy scratch four times.
Wilson would have been inactive for the finale, but Mike White was ruled out with five fractured ribs. That pushed Joe Flacco into the starting role with Wilson serving as the backup.
The Jets could have started Wilson, but his confidence has been shaken. They want him to focus on getting his mind, body and mechanics right this offseason.
Saleh said playing Wilson is “not going to do him any good, it’s not going to do anyone any good.”
The Dolphins didn’t get in the end zone on Sunday either, managing only three field goals by Sanders. Miami scored a safety on the final play when the Jets kept lateraling it backward and the ball went out of bounds in the end zone for a safety.
“It doesn’t seem real,” tight end Tyler Conklin said of the season as a whole. “How do you have a collapse like that? I don’t know why we haven’t scored touchdowns. It’s frustrating as hell — how we dropped six straight. We obviously didn’t do what we needed to do to make that happen. It’s frustrating.”
The Jets’ offensive issues have put coordinator Mike LaFleur and quarterbacks coach Rob Calabrese on the hot seat. The Jets didn’t score a touchdown for the fourth time in eight games and went 10 games this season without a passing touchdown.
Saleh wasn’t ready to address anyone’s future, not before speaking with Johnson and general manager Joe Douglas. But it’s hard to imagine the Jets standing entirely pat. Despite adding playmakers throughout the offense, they had tremendous difficulty scoring during the second half of the season.
Since the spring, Douglas and Saleh had said the goal was to play meaningful games in December. Mission accomplished. The Jets weren’t ready to win meaningful games in December, though, or January, for that matter.
C.J. Mosley challenged his teammates to watch the playoffs and “let that fuel you” for next season.
“Let that [tick] you off,” he said, “because that’s where we want to be and we deserve to be there, but we didn’t do the right things this season to get that done.”
The Jets’ first three December losses were one-score games — at Minnesota, at Buffalo and home against Detroit. All three had late game-changing plays or decisions that ended up being season-impacting mistakes.
It got worse from there. The Jets didn’t score a touchdown in their next game against Jacksonville, and Wilson then was benched for the second time. They still were alive in the playoff race last week, but they eliminated themselves with another zero-touchdown game in Seattle.
“We just have things we need to fix,” Conklin said. “If anything, it gives us extra fuel. Not just fuel but know that we can be 7-4 and playoffs aren’t promised. That’s a pretty big damn lesson there.
“To think you’re going to make the playoffs for the first time in forever and bam, to have a collapse like that, you can’t take anything for granted. It’s a good lesson for this team.”
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
