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QBs are going to have bad plays. They are human. However, if you have too many of them, it’s challenging for your team to succeed in a QB-driven league.
Justin Fields had too many bad plays against the Bills, against a team that had given up 40 points in the previous game, for the Jets to have had a chance to win that game. For instance, on third and 11, in the first series, Fields overthrew a wide-open Garrett Wilson over the middle, who was beyond the first down marker, and the Jets punted.
“He has an open receiver, but he overshoots Garrett Wilson,” said Bills play-by-play Chris Brown.
“At the QB position, you can’t have MAs and MEs – missed assignments and mental errors,” said Rich Gannon on Mad Dog Radio recently about the QB position in general, not Fields. “At that position, you can’t go out and have four or five bad plays. This league is too competitive.”
He definitely had four or five. You had the fumble on the first play of the second series, giving the Bills the ball on the Jets’ 24.
On the third series, on third-and-20, Fields threw behind Wilson cross to the left sideline. It was a short pass and probably would not have gone for a first down, but it was behind him.
To repeat what Gannon said for emphasis – “At that position, you can’t go out and have four or five bad plays. This league is too competitive.” . . .
Sometimes you get the sense that tackle stats can be a little overrated.
In the Jets’ loss to Buffalo, Jamien Sherwood led the Jets with 13 tackles, and it was not even close for second.
Often when a player has tackle numbers like that, you are thinking – “Wow, he really played well today.”
Nothing personal, because he’s a great guy and gives you everything he’s got, but you could make an argument that he didn’t have a standout game. Who did on the Jets defense?
It’s not a lack of effort, but it seems like Sherwood is often a tick late getting over to plays in pass coverage.
Last year, he had three PDs and no picks in 17 starts, and in his first two games, he has no PDs and no picks.
While it’s awesome for the player and his family that he got a three-year, $45 million contract extension – life-changing money, some might argue that it is a little rich for a former safety, who the Jets moved to linebacker, who doesn’t make a lot of plays in pass coverage.
Think about that for a second. If you move a college safety to linebacker, wouldn’t you expect him to really shine in coverage, since that was such a big part of his old position? . . .
The Jets’ run defense was really bad last week, and there is a lot of blame to go around, like when Michael Clemons was pancaked by guard O’Cyrus Torrence, opening up a big hole on Josh Allen’s 40-yard scramble on the first series.
Not really Clemons’ fault on that play, He’s very tough, but doesn’t have great balance or flexibility. This is more of a scouting issue than a player effort issue.
But while the Jets run defense was bad last week, there is a lot of blame to go around beyond Clemons.
Actually, looking at a bunch of the big runs, I didn’t see Clemons at the top of the culprit list to be honest, aside from the Allen run.
The Jets’ run defense was so bad that against Buffalo, the Bills still blew out the Jets even with Josh Allen performing way below his usual standards, going 14-25 for 148, no TDs, and a QB rating of 73.4.
In the second quarter, on a 44-yard TD run by James Cook up the middle – the entire Jets D-Line dominated on this play – Braiden McGregor, Jowon Briggs, Leonard Taylor and Clemons and then Quincy Williams missed tackle on the second level, and he was off to the races.
Let’s be honest, you could argue one big reason the Jets’ run defense was much better in Week 1 than Week 2 is that the Bills offensive line is much better than the Pittsburgh Steelers. Than isn’t meant as a shot at anybody, just a dose of reality. The Bills have a really good offensive line that came back intact from last year.
Aaron Glenn has made it clear this could take time, and I respect that, but whether it’s a new program or an established program, you must play much better run defense than the Jets played last week.
I know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but you can’t play the run that way in the NFL and expect to compete.
Clearly some lineup changes are needed . . .
Some found it strange that Glenn announced on Wednesday that Justin Fields (concussion) was already out. Because with the concussion protocol, it’s possible he could be cleared, by let’s say, Friday. And let’s not forget this game is on Monday Night Football, so there is an extra day.
But the Jets need a win, and Fields is coming off such a bad game, 27 yards passing in a little over three quarters of action, that, for the sake of the locker room, you gotta make this move this week.
Even though there was no QB competition in the off-season, don’t let that fool you; Taylor gives them a better chance to win.
September 17, 2025
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