EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Shortly before midnight local time, Woody Johnson climbed into the passenger row of a golf cart that would transport New York Jets brass from the locker room toward their MetLife Stadium vehicle entrance.
Six days had elapsed since Johnson had exercised his control as team owner to fire head coach Robert Saleh.
Even fewer days had passed since the Jets stripped offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett of play-calling duties, a responsibility that on Monday against the Buffalo Bills fell to passing game coordinator Todd Downing.
Now, as Johnson and Co. rode down the tunnels of MetLife Stadium, his assertion that this Jets team is the most talented he’s had in 25 years seemed further validated. So, too, did concerns about whether that talent would capitalize on its potential.
Because even as the Jets unlocked their run game and bolstered their explosive pass game, the first contest of interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich’s tenure will tally in the same column as Saleh’s last two: a loss.
The Bills improved to 4-2 atop the AFC East with a 23-20 win, while the Jets fell to 2-4 and third in the division.
Their season was not over. But their chance of making the playoffs, per the New York Times’ playoff predictor model, hovered at 40%. Their chance of winning the division: 10%.
A close Monday night game slipped from their grasp, taking with it some of their postseason viability.
“This was a golden opportunity,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said, after a late interception doomed the Jets’ last chance to close a deficit that all night had seemed manageable. “Some games you win in the NFL and some games you give away.
“This was a giveaway.”
The Jets are likely asking themselves: How much more than a Week 6 game was given away?
How soon, and through what means, can they find that elusive win?
A three-game losing streak hung over the heads of a locker room that was dead silent as players began to head to the shower. Eventual murmurs picked up and spirits, slowly, afterward.
Cornerback Sauce Gardner thought back to Ulbrich’s postgame message to his locker room.
“We dug ourselves in a hole, and it’s gonna be even better,” Gardner said. “The story is gonna be amazing when we dig ourselves out of it.”
Jets’ offense started well, then couldn’t finish
The Jets’ offense started more smoothly on Monday than it had this season.
After averaging 142.2 first-half yards per game through five weeks, the Jets raced to 225 in two quarters. After averaging 9.7 points in the first half in five Saleh games, this Jets squad put up 17 before halftime on an above-.500 Bills group.
Rodgers and Wilson seemed in better rhythm than they had in previous weeks, running back Breece Hall also finding lanes more easily. Offensive momentum peaked when Rodgers unfurled a Hail Mary as the first half expired that traveled 61.4 air yards … and somehow landed in the waiting end-zone hands of Allen Lazard.
Rodgers completed 23 of 35 passes for 294 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on the night.
“When he throws the deep ball, you don’t know what can happen,” Hall said after a 113-yard, 6.3-yard-per-carry night. “It was a crazy play. But it doesn’t really matter if you lose the game.”
The recipe for a loss was relatively easy to identify, if less easily solved.
The Jets marched down to the red zone four different times but scored a touchdown just once. Kicker Greg Zuerlein missed two of the four field-goal attempts for which they settled, Zuerlein achieving the statistically improbable feat of hitting the left upright (technically two, one from each end zone) on consecutive attempts.
Jets K Greg Zuerlein after 2 of 4 FGs hit upright: “These guys and this locker room deserve to win. And they deserve to win another game this season.
“I’m not holding up my end of the bargain.” pic.twitter.com/4TgcpkRKM7
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 15, 2024
And while the Jets’ defense held the Bills to just three points in the second half, the 20 they allowed in the first were too much for their improved-but-still-unable-to-finish offense to overcome.
The Bills rushed for 149 yards, including a punishing 110 in the first half. That doesn’t include the yards the Jets allowed when failing to contain quarterback Josh Allen, whose escapes powered throws like a 42-yard heave to rookie Ray Davis that seemed to mock physics and a 12-yard touchdown to Dawson Knox.
Ultimately, the Jets had ample chances to rally against a Bills team that sputtered in the second half. Instead they faltered via dropped passes, miscommunications between Rodgers and his targets, and a rash of penalties so disruptive that Bills and Jets fans united to boo the officials.
The Jets outgained the Bills 393 yards to 353, but couldn’t finish as often as they needed to.
“We were very unified obviously with the craziness that happened this week and obviously the switch in play-caller,” Lazard said. “We really came together and unified as a team and as an offense especially … took that personally.
“It was us, especially as an offense that was shortchanged and not able to produce when we needed to, which was the issue. And that continued tonight.”
Aaron Rodgers not happy with Jets’ mistakes — or the officiating
Coaches and players alike preached accountability, discipline and looking in the mirror.
Their optimism about climbing out of the hole they dug varied from locker to locker, but ultimately they each could identify areas for improvement.
Rodgers led the callouts, noting that on his final throw that was intercepted, his accuracy was not the issue. He expected Lazard down the seam and Mike Williams down the red line. He threw a no-look pass to Williams’ intended spot, and the receiver instead ran an in-breaker.
Quarterback left no questions about whether his receiver ran the intended route.
Rodgers felt this reflected the reason the Jets have lost three straight games by one score.
“You can literally go back to each of those games and look at little details,” Rodgers said. “I’ve got my own criticism to share as well. But a lot of opportunities if we all just do the little things, do the details.”
Also receiving criticism from Rodgers: the officials.
The Bills accepted 11 penalties for 94 yards; the Jets: 11 for 110. Were flags excessive?
“Yeah, it seemed a little ridiculous,” the quarterback said. “Some of them seemed really bad, including the roughing the passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer. Might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re going to call those things. And I thought the one on [Javon] Kinlaw was not roughing the passer either.
“We had chances. We had a walk-in touchdown on Braelon [Allen] and we had a phantom holding call. Had a chance with G [Garrett Wilson] twice. Thought we had our chances.”
The Jets’ next chance will come in prime time, as they travel to the Pittsburgh Steelers to play Sunday Night Football on a short week.
Ulbrich expressed confidence in his team’s ability to rally as well as in his kicker’s ability to rebound from six missed points.
Wilson, who caught eight of 10 passes for a season-high 107 yards and a touchdown, described the urgency after a “demoralizing” night.
“It’s as high as it’s ever been,” Wilson said. “You can’t think about it too much but the reality is … there’s no time.
“We done dug ourselves in this hole. And there’s not a lot of wiggle room.”
