Offsides on a kickoff? Seriously? After starting the season 1-5, even after two straight wins the Jets went into Sunday's contest in Miami with little margin for error. Instead, we got a comedy of errors.
The Jets were even messing up before kickoff. Todd Bowles sat stalwart defensive linemen Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson in the first quarter for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. What’d they do, cut class? Hey coach, couldn’t you have just grounded them or taken away the X-box?
Then there were the two turnovers and 10 penalties. It was a fourth-quarter flag that essentially ended the visitors’ season -- and likely killed even the faintest of postseason hopes for Gang Green. After getting the lead with just under six minutes left following a gift from the Fish -- a fumble by Miami punter Matt Darr -- the Jets lined up for the kickoff.
Special teamer Antonio Allen jumped the gun, though, meaning they had to re-kick. Naturally, Dolphins return man Kenyan Drake took the second one back 96 yards for the winning score.
Yes, down 27-23 with more than five minutes still on the clock, the Jets still had a good chance to win -- or, at least, they would have had a good shot if they were a decent team. Instead, as they’d done throughout the game, the Miami defensive front outmatched the Jets’ banged-up o-line, leading to a three-and-out. New York didn’t get the ball back again. Jay Ajayi didn’t get 200 yards for a third straight game, but the Jets couldn’t stop him late as the RB racked up 45 yards on the final possession to seal the deal.
On the bright side, we finally got a chance to see what Bryce Petty can do. Or did we? After Ryan Fitzpatrick was briefly knocked out of the game in the third quarter by a crushing, penalty-inducing hit from mountainous DT Jordan Philipps, Petty got his first snap as a pro. The second-year man did just fine in his one drive, leading the Jets to a field goal while completing both of his pass attempts.
Yes, it’s still possible that Petty will never throw an incompletion in the NFL. Then again, he may never throw another pass. We just don’t know.
Fitz returned in the fourth quarter, even though he’s shown this season that’d it be best for all concerned if he goes into witness protection for the second half. Through nine games, the QB has thrown 2 TD passes and a dozen interceptions in the final 30 minutes. He added two more to that ugly INT column on Sunday.
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Should Fitz keep starting? Yes, if it means we don’t have to suffer through another one of his post-benching press conferences. But let’s face it, the Jets are going nowhere. As bad as he’s been, Fitz is almost surely the team’s best QB. But when you’re playing for draft position, you might as well see what Petty can do with a few more passes.
