It is ironic and fitting in so many ways that on the same week that Todd Bowles announced that Josh McCown would be his starting quarterback for the rest of this season, McCown brakes his non-throwing hand and will likely miss the rest of the season. Jets fans clamoring for Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg finally get their wish.
Now is the chance for the Jets to officially end the dilly dally of going with mediocre, never-was and never-will-be quarterbacks and find out if either Petty or Hackenberg has something to offer in 2018. And if not, they can position themselves to get a true franchise quarterback in the draft.
Now is the time.
The Jets quarterback problem was on full display Sunday in Denver, as was the incompetence of their head coach Todd Bowles. Once again Bowles failed to get his team ready to play Sunday against a team that had lost eight in a row. Sure the Broncos were going to win a game eventually, but this is not the same Broncos team that won a Super Bowl two years ago. This Broncos team is just plain awful, and the Jets made them look like the Broncos of old. This game was non-competive and just flat out boring. If you fell asleep watching this nonsense, who could blame you?
The Jets managed only 100 yards of offense for the entire game. THE ENTIRE GAME!! Against a Denver defense that gave up 35 points to Jay Cutler and the Dolphins last week, and 51 points to the Eagles earlier in the year! The Jets had no game-plan, no clue and no fight in them offensively. That falls on the players as much as it does Bowles and Offensive Coordinator John Morton.
In addition, McCown wasn't just hurt late in the game with the hand injury, he suffered a back injury in the first quarter and Bowles still kept in the game. When McCown walked off the field holding his back, the Jets inserted Petty, who looked good on his first two passes. Then McCown came back onto the field, and threw an interception. Great instinctive awareness by Bowles. McCown should never have been allowed to comeback into the game, but Bowles remained stubborn to sticking with his guy.
It is moments like this that make you wonder whether Bowles should be the long term answer at head coach. All season people have credited Bowles with getting this team to overactive, but they are 5-8, and likely starring at a 5-11 finish with playoff caliber teams the Saints, Chargers and Patriots coming up on the schedule. If the Jets finish at 5-11, they will have achieved the same record as last season, a year that almost everyone considered a disaster.
Does Bowles deserve another chance after winning only 10 games in two years combined? Does he really deserve an extension because the Jets won one or two more games than people expected?
Yes, the Jets have played hard at times, but they have also played like they just didn't care other times. On Sunday in Denver, the Jets just didn't care. It showed in every facet of their performance.
While the Jets 23-0 loss in Denver will not be overly memorable, it might be the game that signals the beginning of a new era in Jetsland, at the quarterback position, and maybe, the head coach.
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