The New York Jets finished up their 2017 season with a 26-6 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 17 in Foxboro. Here is their report card.
It’s over for the New York Jets — finally.
The 2017 NFL season for the New York Jets came to an end yesterday afternoon with their 26-6 setback to the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Gang Green finished up at 5-11, which is one more victory than I predicted way back in September. Head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan were both given contract extensions this past week.
We’ll see where that takes New York down a very long road but for now let’s look at New York’s report card vs. the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 17.
Offense
Another day, another poor performance from Bryce Petty (19-of-36, 232 yards, no touchdowns). Petty won’t be back next year. He is far too inaccurate. The Baylor product was also sacked for a safety in the end zone because he hung onto the ball way too long. It’s time to move on from him. Petty is 0-3 as a starter this season and 1-6 over the last two years. The Jets should have played Christian Hackenberg in the second half to see what he can do.
The incredible stat from this game was that Gang Green was 0-for-12 on third down conversions. That’s downright embarrassing. New York was held to just 247 total yards and 14 first downs. Robby Anderson had just one catch for two yards but compiled a team-high 939 receiving yards in his second NFL campaign. The lone bright spot for the Jets was third-string tight end Neal Sterling who had a game-high 74 receiving yards on five receptions.
Grade: D-
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Defense
The Jets came into this contest wanting to make sure that Rob Gronkowski did not shred them to bits like he usually does and they succeeded by double-teaming him on most plays. “Gronk” was held without a catch on zero targets. Job well done.
Gang Green was also effective in putting pressure on Tom Brady (18-of-37, 190 yards, two touchdowns) through the A Gap. He was sacked twice and completed less than 50 percent of his throws. However, the Jets could not contain halfback Dion Lewis. The 5-8, 195-pounder rolled up 172 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns as the Pats compiled 330 total yards and 24 first downs.
A bright spot once again for New York was linebacker Demario Davis, who finished with a team-high eight tackles. He paced the squad with 97 tackles and added five sacks in 2017. He’ll be a free agent this year and the Jets will need to re-sign him.
Grade: C
Special Teams
New York’s kickoff and punt units were average and Chandler Catanzaro connected on two of three field goal attempts, including a 48-yarder. The University of Clemson product enjoyed a productive season (25-of-30, 83.3 percent, no missed extra points) and could be in demand as an impending free agent.
Grade: C
Coaching
Why did Todd Bowles settle for a short field goal by Catanzaro with his club trailing, 24-3 in the early stages of the fourth quarter? True, it was fourth-and-nine but the Jets were at the New England 17 at the time. You have five wins – go for it! What do you have to lose? You’re not coming back against the Patriots with field goals. That is a loser’s mentality.
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The Jets played hard in a meaningless game but they continued their season-long trend of committing too many penalties (9-84). That’s shows a lack of discipline and is a poor reflection on Bowles. Gang Green has to cut down on their infractions in 2018 if they hope to compete for a playoff berth.
Grade: D