It didn’t take a fortune teller to guess that the New York Jets would have a difficult season offensively without their quarterback Aaron Rodgers. What was less obvious was the extent of the current catastrophe, with an attack that ranks among the worst in history.
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When Rodgers was sidelined in the first week of the schedule, I tried to comfort Jets fans by telling them that their defense would at least allow the team to be in the game the entire time.
It wasn’t such a bad prophecy, as the Jets lost four games by one possession. However, even a competent defensive team like the Jets will eventually collapse when the other team falls into such a catastrophic coma.
The Jets ultimately decided to put an end to Zach Wilson’s stressful experience, but all signs point to the damage being done.
The good news is that he will be relegated to the bench for Friday’s Black Friday game against the Dolphins. The bad news is that whoever replaces him, Tim Boyle, seems to have the potential to make things worse! Let’s put it this way: When it comes to tempting offers, we’ve seen crazier Fridays…
In shallow water
That’s why I told you that the Jets’ offense this season is historically pathetic. These aren’t just words thrown around.
If you’re a fan of boring plays like punts, the Jets are your team. So far, they have completed 22.9% of their third downs, the lowest percentage since this statistic was collected in the early 1970s.
So far, the Jets have scored a total of nine offensive touchdowns in ten games. Imagine the poor fans of this team who, perhaps at the same time as one of their rare touchdowns, were seized with an uncontrollable desire to go to the corner…
We haven’t seen this slump since the 2009 Browns, who were the only other team not to score at least 10 touchdowns in their first 10 games.
Against the Bills last Sunday, her GPS finally got her into the end zone. It was their first touchdown in their last 41 offensive streaks.
Wasted effort
Tim Boyle makes his fourth career start on Friday against the Dolphins. Getty Images via AFP
So it’s Tim Boyle that the Jets are relying on to break out of their miserable offensive stasis. The first instinct is to tell himself that he can’t do worse than Zach Wilson. Not so fast!
Boyle, a reserve since entering the league in 2018, has three touchdown passes and nine interceptions on the clock, averaging an anemic 5.1 yards per pass attempt.
We’ll see, but regardless, the Jets couldn’t stand the farce that Wilson had become any longer. He was on the bench for the third time in a year. In three seasons as a part-time starter, his record is 11-20, with 21 touchdown passes and 25 interceptions. His offensive line is poor and Wilson plays with more fear in his eyes than a deer on the highway.
The other question the Jets have to ask themselves is whether offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett isn’t a big part of the problem.
Last season in Denver, he was the orchestrator of a disastrous season for Russell Wilson, who is strangely playing far from him this season.
In 25 games over the last two seasons with the Broncos and Jets, Hackett-led offenses averaged just 15.3 points.
We know that Aaron Rodgers is aiming for a speedy return from his ruptured Achilles tendon around December 24th. His will honors him, but at this point we might as well celebrate Penard Christmas at home. The Jets didn’t do him any favors by hanging on to Zach Wilson for so long.
MY PREDICTIONS FOR THURSDAY:
(12:30 p.m.) Packers 20 Lions 30
(4:30 p.m.) Commanders 16 Cowboys 31
(8:20 p.m.) 49ers 31 Seahawks 28
MY PREDICTION FOR FRIDAY
(3 p.m.) Dolphins 27 Jets 13