The New York Jets season seems like a soap opera in which fans have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray. The team fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start. Since interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich replaced Saleh, the Jets traded for six-time NFL Pro-Bowler Devante Adams and demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and replaced him with Todd Downing, previously the passing game coordinator. To add another episode to the drama, they also terminated general manager Joe Douglas three weeks ago.
The result of the moves? The 3-9 Jets have sandwiched Ulbrich’s only win, beating the Houston Texans 21-13 on October 31, between two three-game losing streaks. This past Sunday at home at MetLife Stadium, the Jets were up 21-7 in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks, nine yards away from taking a commanding 28-7 lead. After overthrowing wide receiver Garrett Wilson for a what should have been a touchdown, quarterback Aaron Rodgers — who turned 41 on Monday — threw a pick six interception as former Jets and Giants defensive end Leonard Will returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.
The Jets would not score another point and lost 26-21, ironically led by their former starting quarterback Geno Smith, who, like Williams, also played for the Giants.
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“We got to figure it out quickly and it’s never on one person,” Ulbrich responded when asked about the team having a chance to win five games in the fourth quarter with Rodgers, but losing all of them. It’s on the entire collective group, from coaches to players to every single human being out there on offense, so we got to be better in those moments.”
Unfortunately for Ulbrich, time will soon run out for the team to get better — they only have five games remaining, beginning on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins on the road.
“(There were) moments where we really played our brand of football to our standard and there were moments that we did not, and that’s kind of been the common tale of this season,” Ulbrich said. “We’ve got to clean it up, because in critical moments, we’ve had breakdowns that don’t allow you to win games.”
