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It was an unfortunate scenario for both the player and the media.
This refers to Minkah Fitzpatrick’s quote after the Jets’ loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
I will keep this brief, because I’m sure many people are getting tired of this story.
After the game, when asked about the team’s defensive mistakes, Fitzpatrick said that was “Jets being Jets.” This made some think he was calling his own team “Same Old Jets,” a line about that team that some use when the club is struggling, which people in the building clearly hate.
After the quote went viral, Jets PR let the reporters know that Fitzpatrick meant to say, “Jets beating Jets.”
On Thursday, he had the chance to correct the issue for himself.
“It hasn’t really caused any stir within this locker room,’’ Fitzpatrick said on Thursday. “That’s the most important thing. Everyone in this locker room knew what I was talking about.”
There is no doubt about that. Fitzpatrick is highly respected and loved in that locker room.
And I know that the media is not popular in this country, with approval ratings usually in single digits, but in this case, not sure they theoretically did anything wrong. I was not at the Fitzpatrick press briefing after the game; those there said they heard him say “Jets being Jets” and many listened back over and over again to make sure. Some said they listened to it 10-20 times.
And after the quote went viral after the game, team PR officials reached out to the reporters to offer a clarification; many added that to their articles.
So this is a tough one. Many will be quick to jump to the conclusion that this is just “the media being the media.”
But when you initially quote somebody saying exactly what they said, what did you do wrong?
From what we hear, Demario Davis did a great job in the building on this issue, totally having Fitzpatrick’s back, making sure this fire was put out quickly, with all parties involved.
In retrospect, the best way to describe what happened is that it was a terrible misunderstanding, tough for all parties involved, including the media…
Garrett Wilson is out on Sunday with a concussion suffered at the end of the Jets’ loss to the Raiders.
While he is a heck of a football player, the Jets’ passing offense should still be able to function on a high level on Sunday in Kansas.
“You can’t replace Garrett Wilson, he’s a unique player,” Jets OC Frank Reich said on Thursday about the possiblity of not having Wilson. “On the other hand, we’re not afraid. Did you see the game AD had? Did you see the game Coop (Omar Cooper Jr.) has had? We have a lot of confidence in our guys.”
This isn’t just coach-speak, ‘next guy-up’ football rhetoric. It rings true with the Jets. Mitchell had seven catches, including a TD last week, and Cooper had two long receptions against Miami to go along with a TD. You throw in wide receiver Isaiah Williams and tight ends Mason Taylor and Kenyon Sadiq, and the Jets should be just okay without Wilson.
I taped an interview for the Chiefs pregame show yesterday that will air on Sunday morning to break down the Jets.
At the end, they asked for a prediction; I think I said 37-27 Chiefs. In other words, the Jets will be able to put up points against the Chiefs, but will have issues stopping Kansas City’s offense.
It’s just hard seeing this Jets defense, which struggles to stop the run, faring well against Chiefs star running back Kenneth Walker, who is playing at a high level, when they struggled recently to stop backup running backs like New England’s Corey Kiner, Miami’s Ollie Gordon, and Las Vegas’ Mike Washington. Maybe they will surprise.
And the Jets’ run defense struggles are setting up great play-action opportunities for opponents.
Also, the Jets’ defense hasn’t displayed the kind of discipline and eye sophistication to deal with all the eye candy and misdirection presented by one of the greatest offensive play-callers of all time, being directed by one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time – Patrick Mahomes.
After last week’s Jets loss to Las Vegas, we wrote that the Jets have a defensive “state of emergency” with their recent play (bad run defense, pedestrian pass rush, and too many blown coverages). It will be interested to see if they were able to fix some of what ills them this week in KC. What happened defensively against New England, Miami, and Las Vegas can’t continue.
November 6, 2026
Premium will return by 11:30 pm (or sooner) on Sunday from Kansas City.
