The Jets’ protection fancies itself as among the best within the NFL.
Right here’s the factor, although: Prime defenses don’t enable 16-play, 96-yard landing drives that swallow 8:15 off the clock in a sport the crew completely, positively must win.
Prime defenses don’t enable 251 yards of offense within the first half. They don’t enable 13 first downs and 41 performs and 20:11 in time of possession within the first half-hour.
The season-squashing 19-3 loss Thursday evening to the Jaguars at MetLife Stadium was a sobering blow to the Jets’ protection, which was on its again foot all evening due to some dynamic and inventive play calling by Jacksonville head coach Doug Pederson, who placed on an absolute clinic.
That 96-yard drive represented a sequence of physique blows from which the Jets by no means recovered.
“Simply embarrassed, actually,’’ cornerback D.J. Reed mentioned afterward. “This was embarrassing. How we performed, the product we put out was simply embarrassing.’’
Talking extra of the debilitating drive, Reed mentioned: “I don’t know what to name it, man, it was disappointing. Not our normal of soccer. It was Thursday evening, we had an amazing alternative to indicate our normal of soccer and the way we play, how we’ve been taking part in all yr, and I felt like we didn’t try this on protection right this moment.’’
Rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner sounded totally bewildered by what occurred on that drive.
“I don’t even keep in mind what occurred,’’ Gardner mentioned. “We shouldn’t have allow them to march up the sphere like that. It was extraordinarily disappointing.’’
How dominant was the drive?
The primary third down the Jaguars confronted on the drive was third-and-goal from the Jets’ 1-yard line — the sixteenth and ultimate play of the possession.
The Jaguars’ 6-foot-6 quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, dove over the aim line for a TD on the play for a 10-3 lead Jacksonville by no means relinquished.
“It’s a s—ty feeling,’’ defensive deal with Sheldon Rankins advised The Submit. “We simply can’t enable it — particularly in tight video games like this. You’ve obtained to have the ability to get off the sphere. You’ve obtained to have the ability to get stops it doesn't matter what. That's our job.
“We set the usual that we don’t enable issues like that to occur. To permit it to occur is less than our normal. They had been already backed up. You’ve obtained to have the ability to win that field-position battle and get the ball again in your offense’s fingers and provides them the chance.’’
On that lengthy drive, the Jaguars bled out the Jets’ protection with a sequence of paper cuts.
Ultimately, the protection was going to interrupt, and it did with the Lawrence TD for the 10-3 Jacksonville lead.
The Jets’ protection had no reply for something the Jaguars threw at it, starting with operating again Travis Etienne, who ran 17 occasions for 64 yards within the first half.
Lawrence continuously harm the Jets together with his operating capacity, dashing for 41 yards and the TD on 5 carries within the first half because the Jaguars detonated the Jets’ playoff desires. Gang Inexperienced’s protection performed as if it had no concept Lawrence was a menace to run with the ball.
Jaguars tight finish Evan Engram, the previous Large who by no means reached his potential in blue at this very stadium after he was drafted within the first spherical, performed as if he thought his outdated crew was on the opposite facet of the sphere and he wished to show a degree.
Engram regarded uncoverable, catching six passes for 106 yards.
The Jets’ offense, which was anemic all evening, gave the protection no assist.
However what made Thursday so alarming is that this, the fourth consecutive loss for the Jets (7-8) and their fifth prior to now six video games, was one other in a string of defensive failures.
4 days earlier, the Jets’ protection failed to carry a 17-13 lead late within the sport, permitting the Lions to march down the MetLife turf and rating the game-winning TD with 1:49 remaining.
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