Embarrassing is about the only word that can best describe the Jets 15-10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.
Inexcusable is another one. It is ironic that in a season where there were next to no expectations for the Jets this season, the one week where the Jets actually were expected to win and put themselves firmly in the playoff picture they spit the bit, playing every bit like the team everyone thought would be 1-15 this season.
The Jets played scared and careless on Sunday in Tampa Bay. They made a Buccaneers defense that is ranked 28th in the entire NFL shut them down over 60 minutes of football sans a Robbie Anderson 38-yard touchdown in garbage time.While the score was 15-10, it wasn't even that close. It was really 15-3, and had the Buccaneers been piloted by Jamies Winston instead of ex-Jet flameout Ryan Fitzpatrick, it would have been more like 35-3.
The Jets stunk. The Jets offensive line couldn't create any holes for a ground game that was grounded, and held to just 56-yards on 19 carries. That is 2.9 yards per carry in case you were wondering. The offensive line couldn't even block, as Josh McCown was treated like a rag doll by his former teammates who sacked him six times and hit him over a dozen more.
This is not to say that McCown is blameless in the Jets loss. He wasn't accurate with his throws, and tossed a horrific interception in the second quarter; a few of the sacks he took were his fault. But consider this was a Tampa Bay front seven that had only eight sacks in nine games coming in, had six on Sunday, the Jets should be embarrassed.
Furthermore, for the Jets to allow Fitzpatrick to do just enough to beat them was a disgrace in itself. While Fitz wasn't good, he was accurate when he needed to be. He was nearly perfect on a 17-play drive in the first quarter that ended in the Bucs first field goal of the day. Later in the game, with the Bucs clinging to a 9-3 lead, he engineered a 15-play, 81-yard drive that ate up seven and a half minutes for Tampa's lone touchdown to make it 15-3 with 6:05 to go in the game.
Fitzpatrick wasn't spectacular, but he was better than McCown and that is all that matters.
The Jets hideous performance Sunday should rest at the feet of their head coach Todd Bowles, who once again showed why he may not be the right guy to lead this team when the stakes are high. The Jets were unprepared; they acted like a team that had arrived all week, and were falling in love with their press clippings of being an overachieving underdog.
Heck, there was even talk just a week ago that Bowles wold be a coach of the year candidate. Now, it is worth asking if Bowles will still have a job in seven weeks.
Yes, the Jets offensive game plan was horrible, they didn't adjust and that is certainly at the fault of offensive coordinator John Morton. But who is the one who should be overseeing all of those decisions? Bowles. Not only did Bowles look disinterested on the sideline, his inability to take responsibility for this team's preparation speaks volumes.
And yes, Bowles did get something out of this team this season. They showed signs of life that they didn't show at all last season, and he united this locker room for the first time since he got here. But the fact is the Jets have to ask themselves at the end of the season, is Todd Bowles the right man for the job in the longterm. Sunday's loss doesn't help.
The Jets came into this game knowing full well a win put them at .500 going into the bye week. Now they stand at 4-6; their highly unlikely shot at the playoffs are now dashed. The Jets should stop kidding themselves and start looking toward 2018 and the draft. That means benching McCown and giving Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg three games a piece to prove who should still be here when the Jets do in fact sign or draft their "franchise quarterback" in the off-season.
The Jets season is over. Let the evaluation process begin to determine what fate awaits Bowles, McCown and the rest of this football team moving forward.
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