So your opponent is missing its star quarterback; you have a star quarterback, and a team you revamped, dishing out $140 million in the process, so how to do you screw it up? You play stupid, undisciplined and plain out pathetic football.
The Jets were punished for six crucial penalties that cost them 60 yards, and several important plays of positive yardage that could have put them in position to score more than 10 points.
It was just pathetic. Four times the Jets were called for fouls on their opening drive of the third quarter when they had a chance to get back in the game. On the first two plays of the drive, the Jets were called for a ten yard and a five yard penalty that put them in a second and 23 on their own ten yard line. It got so ridiculous that the Jets were asking Brett Favre to heave up one 20 yard throw after another just to make up the yards. At one point, he connected with Chansi Stuckey on a beautiful rope down the sideline for 28 yards that would have put the Jets at the Patriots 25, but Stuckey was called for offensive pass interference; he had shoved Randell Gay to the ground before making the catch. Eventually, Favre was picked off on the drive because his arm must have been ready to fall off.
Add to the misery, the Jets on their opening drive of the game ended in failure; new-comer Jay Feeley missed a cheap-shot field goal that would have given the Jets a 3-0 lead and needed momentum. Laverneous Coles did nothing to change the headlines that he openly misses Chad Pennington and is dogging it intentionally. Coles dropped three catchable balls that were in his grasp. Coles usually never drops anything, but today he dropped three balls.
As for the Patriots, they really did nothing to win the game. Matt Cassel was decent; he had his moments. He connected mostly to Wes Welker and Kevin Faulk on the sidelines but really could not avoid the constant pressure the Jets defense put on him. The Jets sacked Cassel three times, and even held Laurence Maroney to just 16 yards rushing on eight carries.
This loss is brutal for the Jets; they had it all in front of them and had chances very early in the game to win. If they had scored on their opening drive of the game and had the crowd behind them, Cassel and the Pats may have shrunk under the pressure and may not have driven down the field for a go-ahead field goal that made it 3-0.
If the Jets hadn't committed a million penalties, they could have easily scored 20 points in this game, good enough to win. If Jay Feeley and Ben Graham weren't kicking the football as if they were kicking a boulder, then, perhaps, the Jets would have had better field positon and three points to keep the game interesting.
A lot of if's! A lot of shoulda, coulda, woulda ... but it doesn't matter, it's a loss. The Jets are in big trouble. Any hopes of making the playoffs are now dangling in midair.
With the Buffalo Bills blowing over elite teams like the Seahawks and Jaguars, and the Patriots looking, well, like the Patriots, the Jets chances of winning the division or grabbing a wild card look a lot harder. They better win in San Diego on Monday, if not, maybe Favre should re-consider his retirement plans.
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