The New York Jets were obliterated by the Arizona Cardinals in front of a national audience. The score showed that the Jets lost 28-3, but the real difference felt a lot bigger than that.
Last night’s Monday Night Football showing was an embarrassment for the Jets, who will still be fighting to get their second win of the season in Week 7 against the Baltimore Ravens. The game against the Cardinals revealed some serious problems that need to be addressed before the Jets will be able to turn things around. The same problems have been there all season, but were magnified by recent injuries to players like linebackers David Harris and Darron Lee, right tackle Brent Qvale and receiver Eric Decker.
There were certainly problems on defense. The Jets’ 6th-ranked run defense did not look the part, as David Johnson carved them up for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns. Darrelle Revis and the Jets’ 31st-ranked pass defense have been trying to find their footing all season.
But the most glaring problems were on the other side of the ball. The offensive line couldn’t hold their blocks. Matt Forte ran for a grand total of 19 yards. But the most frustrating miscues were under center. Fitz managed to complete only 51.6% of his passes for 174 yards and an interception.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has struggled all season and a lot of those same problems reared their head against the Cardinals. Not surprisingly, Fitzpatrick has struggled the most when it matters most: in the redzone and in the second half.
Ryan Fitzpatrick has thrown 4 INT in the red zone this season (most in the NFL)
The Jets have the worst red zone TD pct in the NFL (38.1%)
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) October 18, 2016
Ryan Fitzpatrick has 0 pass TD and 10 INT in the second half this season https://t.co/MxuJmrA1Mz #reddit #nfl
— NFL on Reddit (@NFLonReddit) October 18, 2016
I think we all remember this unbelievably terrible game Fitzpatrick had against the Kansas City Chiefs a few weeks ago:
.@chiefs D could not be STOPPED.
All SIX KC Interceptions from #NYJvsKC. https://t.co/EoANiAbgn8
— NFL (@NFL) September 26, 2016
Ryan Fitzpatrick already has 11 interceptions in six games, getting dangerously close to last year’s total of 15. With Fitzpatrick running out of Fitzmagic, the Jets’ 1-5 season is on the brink of spiraling out of control. Although coach Todd Bowles and teammate Brandon Marshall are standing by him, we’re running out of reasons to keep Fitz under center at this point. With the season quickly getting away from them, they have got to start thinking about the future. A change under center is one way to do that.
It is hard to see either Fitzpatrick or Geno Smith as franchise quarterbacks after seeing them play on Sunday, but are either one the best option for now? Or is it time for the young gun Bryce Petty to get a shot to build on the potential he showed in the preseason? Or have coaches seen Christian Hackenberg progress enough in practice to be interested in seeing him on the field?
As one of the only teams in the league with four quarterbacks on their roster, the Jets have choices. The question now is:
(Photo Credit: Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
(Photo Credit: Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)