The Jets fell to 0-7 on Sunday with an 18-10 loss to the Bills at MetLife Stadium. Here are some thoughts and observations from the game:
1. Sam Darnold looked defeated after Sunday’s loss. During his Zoom call with reporters, Darnold wore a look I’ve seen before from Jets players. He looked like a beaten man. It appears that all the losing and struggling is sucking the life out of Darnold. It is a look that Mark Sanchez wore in 2012 when he had to answer questions about losing, interceptions and Tim Tebow. Darnold is now answering questions about losing, interceptions and Trevor Lawrence.
It is sad to see. Darnold provided so much hope when he was drafted. He was going to be the franchise savior. Instead, he’s been eaten alive by the misery that is the New York Jets. The team has failed to give him a competent offensive line and competent receivers. The coaches have not helped him. It is all a mess and the likely end is him being traded before the draft when the Jets take Trevor Lawrence.
This is not to say Darnold should be absolved of all blame. He continues to make terrible decisions, like the one that led to the interception before halftime Sunday. He still does not seem to read defenses well and that is part of the protection issue. Still, the evaluation of Darnold is difficult because of his supporting cast.
Darnold played well the last two times he returned from injury. He led the Jets to a comeback win in Buffalo in 2018 when he came back from a foot injury and piloted the win over the Cowboys last year when he came back after mono. This time, though, he played one of his worst games. His passer rating of 31.1 on Sunday was the second-lowest of his career. Only the “ghosts” game against the Patriots was worse (3.6). He completed just one pass in the second half.
It appears Darnold is going to be another promising first-round pick that flops with the Jets. It is sad to watch.
2. Joe Douglas’ remade offensive line is officially a flop. This group could not protect Darnold at all on Sunday. He was sacked six times as the line looked clueless on how to stop the Bills’ blitz packages.
This was the fifth different offensive line combination this season. Josh Andrews started at left guard in place of Alex Lewis (shoulder) and demonstrated why he is a backup. Andrews was terrible. Remember, the Jets signed him this offseason and chose to keep him over Brian Winters to save some money. Winters started for the Bills on Sunday.
At least Andrews is a backup. George Fant, Greg Van Roten and Connor McGovern were brought here to be starters and they have not played like it. Fant, who did play through a knee injury, looked terrible on Sunday.
There is no way to fix the offensive line in midseason, so the Jets are going to have to just hope for improvement. This offseason, though, there will be another offensive line makeover by Douglas and he needs to get it right this time.
3. I know we’re not allowed to give Adam Gase credit for anything, but I thought he showed something with his decision to hand over play-calling to Dowell Loggains. Anyone who has spent any time around Gase knows how important play-calling is to him and how that is the part of the job that he relishes. Obviously, the results have not been there. Gase put his pride aside and tried something different to spark the team by having Loggains call the offense. It almost worked.
I suspect that Loggains will get to call during this week’s game against the Chiefs. Gase tried to stay out of Loggains’ way last week, not wanting Loggains to feel pressure from him. This week, there should be more of a collaboration. Gase likely saw some things on Sunday that he might not when his head is down calling plays. The two of them working together might find some answers.
4. It is getting lost in this miserable Jets season, but second-year defensive lineman Quinnen Williams is quietly putting together a pretty good season. He had four tackles, a third-down sack and three quarterback hits on Sunday against the Bills. That followed up a really strong game against the Dolphins last week where he looked dominant at times up front.
Now, Williams needs to do it on a consistent basis. He has to prove he is not Leonard Williams, who would disappear for weeks at a time. Quinnen Williams also needs to cut down on the penalties. He got his third roughing the passer penalty on Sunday, which is the most in the NFL. He needs to get lower when hitting the quarterback. But Williams is showing progress and looks like he could be a building block for the future.
Revealing stat
The Jets only have 14 passes of 20 yards or more. Only the Patriots (12) have fewer. On Sunday, they had one pass of 20 yards, the third-and-20 throw to Braxton Berrios. The Jets have to find a way to get some explosive plays or defenses will continue to blitz them into the ground.
Surprising snap count
Frank Gore only played 16 snaps, which was 28 percent. The Jets are making the shift to La’Mical Perine but I was still surprised to see Gore’s snaps dip so low.
Game ball
Linebacker Neville Hewitt had 10 solo tackles and 13 total tackles in the game. Hewitt has been solid in the middle for the Jets this season in place of C.J. Mosley.