New York Jets Blow Their Chance and Miss the Playoffs Again
The New York Jets had their chance to beat the Bills and head to the playoffs. Rex Ryan had other ideas and foiled their plans.
17. 30. Final. 22. 16
The New York Jets entered Sunday’s game with it all in front of them. They needed to beat their old coach and go on to the NFL playoffs. It was all there.
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But that was not to be. The Jets made mistakes all afternoon long. They put themselves into a deep hole, and ran out of time to dig themselves out of it. When they needed to make plays, they didn’t. The final score was 22-17 in favor of the Bills and the Jets are heading home for the winter for the fifth straight season.
First was the uncharacteristic play of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Through the winning streak, Fitzpatrick had thrown just one interception. On Sunday, he threw three. They weren’t all his fault, but the first one was a bad throw. Early in the fourth quarter, the Jets were poised to take the lead, but Fitzpatrick stared down a throw to Eric Decker when he didn’t have him open at all, and Leodis McKelvin picked him off in the end zone to end any Jets’ momentum.
Fitzpatrick had a record-breaking year for the Jets, but he did not have his “A” game on Sunday.
The Jets did not scheme well for Sammy Watkins this week. For a long time, I have said that Darrelle Revis is not the same player that he was when he was younger. He can cover, but not the way he once could. The plan was working as if this was the 2009 version of Revis, rather than the current model.
It didn’t work. Watkins owned Revis on Sunday, pulling in 11 receptions for 136 yards. They didn’t allow him to get deep, but apparently had no respect for Tyrod Taylor‘s accuracy, and they didn’t have any respect for Watkins to be able to convert yards after the catch. Revis gave him far too much of a cushion, and it cost them. Taylor completed 18 passes, 11 of those to Watkins.
Revis needed help on Watkins. No adjustment was made to give him that help. It was on Revis for not being able to cover, and on the coaching staff for not making an adjustment.
Congratulations to Chris Ivory on reaching 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career, but where was he on Sunday? He carried the ball six times! Six! He has been the Jets best running back all year. Yes, Ivory came into the game with an injury. But, he reeled off a 58-0yard run in the second quarter. Anyone healthy enough to do that could carry the football 15 times. Stevan Ridley ran it nine times for 29 yards, and Ivory led the way with 81 yards.
Todd Bowles said after the game that Ivory’s reduced role was “gameplan based”. It seems like a curious suggestion to game plan your top running back out of the game. You have to go dance with the partner that brought you to the dance. Ivory brought the Jets to the dance, why he wasn’t out on the floor will remain a mystery.
Ivory’s presence on the sideline likely played into the fact that the Jets couldn’t convert on third down, finishing 3-of-11 in that department on Sunday. It was an epic fail on the part of the Jets, and it sounds like the game plan played a huge part.
It was a harrowing sight to see Muhammad Wilkerson carted off of the field with a towel over his head, with what we later learned to be a broken leg. He was in the midst of his best year as a pass rusher with 12.5 sacks. He was looking for a deal in the off-season, didn’t get it, and it may cost him. General manager Mike Maccagnan may seek to look elsewhere with his money, with Wilkerson coming off of an injury like this, similar to how the Jets let Leon Washington go after his broken leg.
It’s a shame as he has been a top player for the team and one the fans desperately want back.
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The bottom line is that the Jets did not make enough plays to win the game and earn a spot in the playoffs. Rex Ryan swept them out of the playoffs.
For a team that was looking to turn a corner, this one is going to sting the Green and White for a very long time.